Grapevine Music Agency - representing some of the finest roots musicians from the UK and North America. Folk, Blues, Country, Americana.

One of Ireland’s top folk singers now living in England and enjoying considerable success with her bewitching vocals and passionate songs.

"Sarah's voice is both as warm as a turf fire and as rich as matured cognac.... An astonishing debut by a unique talent" The Rough Guide To Irish Music (of "When Two Lovers Meet")

"Pure magic! We have been running our club for 16 years and I have never experienced such a thrilling interaction between artist and audience" De Fookhook, Netherlands

Born in Madrid, Spain, raised in Chicago and holding dual Irish and American citizenship, singer/guitarist and songwriter Sarah McQuaid lived in Ireland from 1994 to 2007. She has now moved with her husband and two children to the home formerly occupied by her parents near Penzance, Cornwall.

As might be expected of one who has led such a peripatetic existence, Sarah developed a taste for the road early on: From the age of twelve she was embarking on ten-day tours of the US and Canada with the Chicago Children’s Choir. At eighteen she went to France for a year to study philosophy at the University of Strasbourg, where her performance at a local folk club drew a rave review in the Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace.

Having discovered Irish music and the DADGAD open tuning during her stint in France, Sarah went on to found the traditional band Carnloch after graduating from Haverford College. The band toured folk clubs, colleges and universities for several years, and released a self-produced CD, “The Crooked Road”, in 1993.

In 1994, Sarah moved to Ireland, where she became a weekly folk music columnist for the Evening Herald and a contributor to Hot Press magazine. She is also the author of a guitar tutor, The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book, described by The Irish Times as “a godsend to aspiring traditional guitarists.”

In the autumn of 1997, she recorded her debut solo album, “When Two Lovers Meet”, featuring traditional tunes and songs along with one original number. Despite huge critical acclaim, a long break from the music scene followed, during which Sarah worked as a magazine editor, married Feargal Shiels and had two children.

“When Two Lovers Meet” was re-released in Ireland in 2007, with distribution and promotional support from Gael Linn Records. Sarah’s ensuing nationwide tour was highly successful, thanks in large part to a very well-received appearance on The View, the acclaimed arts television show hosted by John Kelly on RTÉ1. Later in 2007, the album had its first UK release, with distribution through Proper Records. The December 2007 edition of fRoots described it as “a masterclass in restraint and subtlety. Authoritative singing and quietly insistent arrangements make for a sumptuous whole – recommended.” Tracks from the album were included in FolkCast’s December 2007 “artists of the year” podcast and in Mike Ganley’s Top Ten picks for 2007.

More recently she returned to Trevor Hutchinson’s Marguerite Studios in Dublin, where “When Two Lovers Meet” had been recorded some ten years previously, to make a new album with Gerry O’Beirne once again in the producer’s seat. The focus this time round is on old-timey American folk songs and tunes, plus two original songs; guest musicians include Hutchinson, O’Beirne, percussionist Liam Bradley and violinist/violist Máire Breatnach. “I Won’t Go Home ’Til Morning” is set for release later this year.

Now busy with upcoming tours and concerts in Ireland, the UK and Holland, Sarah is also slowly but surely working on a novel for which she’s received two Arts Council Bursaries in Literature. She hopes to finish it one of these days.

Sarah gives highly informative workshops on the DADGAD open guitar tuning.

Our View: A remarkable talent who deserves to be widely appreciated. Her voice has exceptional depth and range and carries a real emotional punch. Add this to almost effortless guitar playing and a real rapport with her audience and you have the ingredients of a great night out.