LITTLE ROCK — Sarah McQuaid could be considered almost a quadruple threat in the world of folk music, if only for her background. Born in Madrid, raised in Chicago, she lived in Ireland before moving to Cornwall, that squiggly part of England that sticks out toward the southwest, like it’s trying to move to the colonies.
McQuaid is on a two-month American tour that will swing through Little Rock.
“I met the Little Rock Folk Club’s Len Holton at the Folk Alliance conference in Memphis in 2010,” McQuaid, explains in an e-mail interview from her home, where she lives with her husband and two children, a 9-year old son and a 7-year-old daughter. “We’ve been trying to find a date that works for both of us ever since.”
Born to a Spanish artist father and an American art critic and folksinger mother, Mc-Quaid is a citizen of the United States and Ireland. At age 8, she learned piano and guitar, and was further inspired by a famous cousin, Gamble Rogers, along with Joan Baez, Peggy Seeger, Jean Ritchie and The Beatles.
“My influences range from singer-songwriters to jazz, classical and early music, and I’ve been told that with me, it’s really a duet between my voice and my guitar, rather than the guitar merely accompanying the song,” she says. “If I could have my pick of any great artist to perform with, it would be James Taylor, who is such a great songwriter, a wonderful singer with such a natural laid-back style, a terrific instrumentalist and a riveting live performer. He even puts up video guitar lessons so fans can learn how to play his songs properly.”
In 1994, she moved to Ireland, and after three years, she released her debut solo album, When Two Lovers Meet. After 13 years, she moved to England, and after a year, released her second album, I Won’t Come Home ’Til Morning, which contained mostly American material, including a cover version of the old Bobbie Gentry hit “Ode to Billie Joe.”
“I love Bobbie Gentry,” Mc-Quaid says. “She wrote so many brilliant songs and was a real innovator. She also wrote her own songs, accompanied herself on guitar, and produced one of her own albums in an era when all those things were rare.”
In 2009, McQuaid collaborated with another singer, Zoe, on Crow Coyote Buffalo, under the band name, Mama described by an Irish newspaper as “Janis Joplin’s freewheeling spirit crossed with Joni Mitchell’s lyrical density.”
In March, McQuaid released her third solo album, The Plum Tree and the Rose, which came out on Chicago label Waterbug Records. The album’s 13 tracks contain nine originals, three traditionals with new arrangements, and a cover of Scottish singer-songwriter John Martyn’s “Solid Air,” a tribute to his doomed friend, Nick Drake.
“I had the privilege of seeing John Martyn live in concert three times, all memorable for different reasons,” McQuaid says. “Two of those gigs were magnificent and one was a disaster. He was such a great talent and it was tragic to see him at his worst, but I feel lucky that I also got to see him at his best.”
Though she will never relinquish the 1965 Martin D-28 acoustic guitar that she has had since 1988, McQuaid is still excited over the custom-made guitar she took delivery of in January 2008 — a “Bluebird” model made by Andy Manson, who has also created guitars for Ian Anderson and Martin Barre of Jethro Tull, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Andy Summers of The Police and Mike Oldfield.
“The traditional tunes in particular are a revelation on the new instrument,” she says, “as clear as a bell, every note ringing out strong and true. I haven’t looked back since.”
Sarah McQuaid
7:30 p.m. Friday, Little Rock Folk Club, Thomson Hall, Unitarian Universalist Church, 1818 Reservoir Road, Little Rock
Admission: $15
(501) 663-0634
lrfolkclub.org
Weekend, Pages 36 on 09/06/2012