SINGER songwriter Sarah McQuaid is coming to Thirsk as part of a three-month UK and USA tour.

She will be performing at St Mary’s Church, Kirkgate, near Thirsk (YO7 1PR) on Friday, November 17, at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm).

This will be Sarah’s second visit to this beautiful 15th century church in North Yorkshire.

Born in Spain (to a Spanish father and American mother), Sarah grew up in the USA, lived in Ireland for many years and moved in 2007 to Cornwall, where she swiftly struck up a friendship with a fellow mum outside the gates of their children’s school.

That fellow mum turned out to be Zoë Pollock, writer and performer of 1991 UK Top 5 single 'Sunshine On A Rainy Day'.

The pair soon found themselves co-writing songs for an album released in 2008 under the band name Mama, lauded by MOJO’s Colin Irwin as “a pleasingly maverick mix” and by The Irish Times as “Janis Joplin’s freewheeling spirit crossed with Joni Mitchell's lyrical density”.

“I owe Zoë a massive debt of gratitude for getting me into songwriting in a serious way,” says Sarah. “Prior to that I’d thought of myself basically as a folk singer who happened to write an occasional song, but through working with Zoë I not only learned a lot about the craft of songwriting, but also just the fact of someone of her calibre wanting to co-write with me was what finally gave me the confidence to start focusing on my own original material.

Through Zoë, she met Martin Stansbury, a longtime collaborator and former bandmate of Zoë’s, who produced and engineered the Mama album, then became Sarah’s manager and sound engineer, and has accompanied her on all her tours worldwide since 2009.

Most recently, Martin produced and engineered Sarah’s sixth solo album, The St Buryan Sessions, recorded live in lockdown in the beautiful medieval church of St Buryan, just over a mile from Sarah’s home.

Released in October 2021 on CD and limited-edition double LP, the album made it onto Best of 2021 lists on three continents and features stunning solo performances by Sarah on acoustic and electric guitars, piano and floor tom drum.

For tickets, which cost £15 (including light refreshments and a glass of prosecco) — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm), call 01845 574742, visit www.thirskparishes.org/what-s-on or www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sarah-mcquaid-tickets-694212286637.