With her new recording and rehearsal studio nearing completion, Sarah McQuaid is once again heading out on the road — this time for a 9-week, 36-show coast-to-coast US tour beginning on the 11th of September.
The short UK run that follows it will bring her 2026 total to 118 concerts between mid-January and the end of November: an average of one show every 2.6 days.
“It’s been quite the marathon”, she admits, “but having put every penny I had plus a whole lot of pennies I didn’t have into the studio, I basically took every gig I could get.
“On the plus side, it’s been fantastic to get the opportunity to try out my new material on live audiences before I record it. Pretty much every song has changed and developed along the way, so that’ll make our task a lot easier when we finally do get started on the next album.
“And in the meantime, even in its unfinished state we’ve already been using the studio for rehearsals, without which there’s no way some of the new songs would have been concert-ready.
“For example, there’s one where I start off a cappella, then bring in my acoustic guitar, then use looping to layer up percussion, keyboards, electric guitar and harmony vocals. That one needed a LOT of rehearsing, but it’s working beautifully now!”
Throughout her concerts, Sarah moves between the battery of instruments onstage with ease and grace, chatting amiably to the audience between songs and occasionally prevailing on them to lend their own voices to the mix.
Her original compositions — which themselves span a wide range of styles, from contemplative ballads to playful blues to atmospheric instrumentals — predominate, but she also sprinkles in the odd folk song, evergreen classic or unexpected contemporary cover.
Born in Spain, raised in Chicago and now living in rural England after spending many years in Ireland, Sarah is as multinational as she is multitalented. She met her longtime manager Martin Stansbury soon after moving in 2007 to Cornwall, in the UK’s southwesternmost corner.
Outside the gates of her children’s school, Sarah struck up a friendship with a fellow mum who turned out to be Zoë Pollock, writer and performer of 1991 UK Top 5 hit single “Sunshine On A Rainy Day.”
The pair soon found themselves co-writing songs, and in January 2009 they released the critically acclaimed album Crow Coyote Buffalo under the band name Mama. That album was produced and recorded by Stansbury, who’d collaborated previously with Zoë on a variety of projects.
Ever since then, for nearly 17 years now, Stansbury has accompanied Sarah on all her tours, looking after everything from logistics to sound and stage lighting. “And he does all the driving,” laughs Sarah, “which is a good thing because I’m a terrible driver!”
Stansbury produced and recorded Sarah’s latest album The St Buryan Sessions, and has recently been recording and filming a series of “Garage Sessions” videos in the above-mentioned studio (formerly a derelict garage, hence the name). The first four of these can already be viewed on Sarah’s website and YouTube channel; a fifth is currently in the works, with more to come very soon.
Artist’s website: https://sarahmcquaid.com
Tour dates
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2026 – USA
September 11 GILBERTSVILLE PA: The Crossroads Guitars & Art
September 12 HERNDON VA: Artsbarn
September 14 PARKSLEY VA: Eastern Shore Public Library
September 17 WARSAW KY: Private event
September 18 INDIANAPOLIS IN: Redbud Tree House Concert Series
September 19 MEQUON WI: Wisconsin Singer/Songwriter Series
September 20 SKOKIE IL: Skokie Public Library
September 21 ROCHESTER MN: Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Concert Series
September 24 PERU IL: 408 Fine Arts Factory
September 25 DEKALB IL: DeKalb Public Library
September 26 MINNEAPOLIS MN: 1777 Dupont House Concerts
September 27 MILLER SD: Hand County Library
September 29 SINCLAIR WY: Parco/Sinclair Historical Theatre
October 3 PASADENA CA: Pasadena Folk Music Society
October 4 SANTA BARBARA CA: SBAcoustic
October 6 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES NM: The Lighthouse of Riverbend Hot Springs
October 7 FARMINGTON NM: Farmington Public Library
October 10 TUBAC AZ: The 1885 Schoolhouse at Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
October 14 TULSA OK: Drifters Theater via House Concerts Unlimited
October 15 WINFIELD KS: Winfield Public Library
October 16 OMAHA NE: FolkHouse at the Castle
October 17 UNIONVILLE MO: The Bixler 108
October 18 JACKSONVILLE IL: Jacksonville Public Library (Music Under The Dome)
October 21 EMPIRE MI: Glen Lake Community Library
October 22 GRASS LAKE MI: Green Wood Coffee House Series
October 23 LIVONIA MI: Trinity House Theatre
October 24 LOVELAND OH: Live in Loveland/Tunes on the Trail
October 25 EUCLID OH: Church of the Epiphany
October 29 FARMINGTON ME: Old South Church Concert Series
October 30 WAYLAND MA: First Parish in Wayland
October 31 FREEPORT ME: Cadenza
November 1 ROCKPORT MA: Whale Cove House Concerts
November 2 WAREHAM MA: Wareham Free Library
November 5 WATERFORD NY: Waterford Public Library
November 6 BETHEL ME: BAAM – Bethel Area Arts & Music
November 7 WEST HARTFORD CT: The Sounding Board Coffeehouse
NOVEMBER 2026 – UK
November 19 OTTRINGHAM (HULL): The Beggar’s Folk Club
November 20 LLANIDLOES: The Hanging Gardens
November 21 LLANGOED Village Hall
November 22 MATLOCK: The Grand Pavilion Matlock Bath
November 25 BIDDULPH Up In Arms
November 26 ILKLEY Manor House
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