That she does. Starting off a cappella, then layering acoustic and electric guitars, floor tom drum, keyboards and lush vocal harmonies, she uses looping technology to create a gentle, organic progression that’s a world away from the frenetic showiness of some of its less subtle practitioners.

Throughout the concert, she continues to move 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.

Sarah’s 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.

Enhancing the show are beautiful lighting effects created by Martin Stansbury, Sarah’s longtime manager and sound engineer — a lyric about car headlights triggering a bright flash across Sarah’s eyes on one song, shimmering columns of purple and green swooping over the stage to evoke the Aurora Borealis during another.

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, and she’s about to embark on a marathon 67-show tour that takes in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the length and breadth of the UK, from Cornwall and Kent to Wales and the Scottish Highlands.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, she’ll be working hard on her much-anticipated new album, to be recorded in the new studio she’s built next to her home in far west Cornwall.

“I’m so incredibly grateful to all the crowdfunding contributors who helped to make the studio possible,” Sarah says, “There’s no way I could be performing some of the new material live in concert without having had the space to rehearse it in.

“And because we’ve been able to set up our full PA and stage lighting in there, Martin’s been able to design specific lighting for every song in the set. It’s really brought the production values of my live show up to a whole new level.

“Even with all the generous support I’ve received, the building work has put me into deeper debt than I’ve ever been in before — but I don’t regret the financial outlay for one second, because it’s been life-changing. Hopefully this huge tour will help me to recoup some of the costs!”

Stansbury will be producing the new album as well as recording and mixing it. He’s been working with Sarah since 2008, when Zoë Pollock (writer and performer of 1991 hit single “Sunshine On A Rainy Day”) brought him in to produce and recordCrow Coyote Buffalo, the album of co-written songs she and Sarah made under the band name Mama.

He’s also filmed several “Garage Sessions” videos in the then-unfinished studio (formerly a derelict garage, hence the name). The first three of these can already be viewed on Sarah’s website and YouTube channel; a fourth is on the way, with more to follow.

“The idea is to have the Garage Sessions become an ongoing series,” explains Stansbury, “and to get a few guests in to collaborate with Sarah on future live performance videos from Sarah’s Garage, which we’re going to stick with as the studio name.”

“All we need to do now is get the walls and floor sealed and painted,” adds Sarah, “and then we can start tracking the album. I can’t wait!”

You can watch Sarah's performances:

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Thursday, 9th April, Sterts Sturrock Studio -- Upton Cross, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 5AZ.

Tel 01579 362382 -- Tickets £15 -- 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)

https://www.sterts.co.uk

Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/sterts/t-njokorm

Thursday 4 June 2026, Launceston Folk Club -- Keep Audio Co - The Music Cafe, 2 Southgate Place, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 8DX.

Tel 07791 520388 -- Tickets £12.50 (members)/£15 non-members -- 7.30pm (Doors 7pm)

https://wreckersmusic.org/launceston-folk-club

Tickets: https://snappytickets.co.uk/event/sarah-mcquaid-launceston-folk-club-2

Launceston Folk Club is sponsored by The Adept Living Foundation CIC (ALFCIC) and profits will go towards supporting ALF's work.

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Visit Sarah’s website – https://sarahmcquaid.com – for details of all tour dates, all her albums, and videos including a 10-minute video intro to the artist and her music.

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