Sarah McQuaid’s music is rooted in folk but with pop and rock sensibilities and she is usually to be found on the road entertaining audiences all over the world. ‘If We Dub Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous’ is a remix of ‘If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous’ the title track from her 2018 album of the same name.
Sarah McQuaid’s long-standing manager, producer and sound engineer, Martin Stansbury explains how the song came about: “It all started with a tongue-in-cheek conversation when we were on tour in the USA to promote the album back in 2018. Long drives and longer days led, as they often do, to rambling chats that were occasionally intense and often frivolous in nature.” One of these was the ‘jokey’ idea of producing dub versions of Sarah’s work in the vein of the Easy Star All-Stars’ classic Dub Side of the Moon. As happenstance would have it Martin worked with Tim Norman, one half of UVX the Brighton-based duo, on a another project and the fun but frivolous conversation topic became a reality.
‘If We Dub Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous’ is built on McQuaid’s fuzzed rolling guitar pattern and haunting vocal line, but Tim Norman has amped up the bass and wrapped a cloak of synthesiser swirls and reverb around everything. The subterranean metaphors and allusions to an impending apocalypse are all enhanced by the dark, brooding soundscape, and Sarah McQuaid’s exceptional voice sits at its centre like a canary in this electronic coalmine.
Sarah McQuaid is on tour at the end of April, dates below.
Sarah McQuaid socials: Twitter | Instagram | Website | YouTube
Friday 28 April 2023
St Hieritha’s Church — The Square, Chittlehampton, Devon EX37 9QW
Tel 01769 540581 — Tickets £8 advance/£10 door — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Saturday 29 April 2023
Church of St Philip & St James — Vicarage Lane, Norton St Philip, Bath, BA2 7LU
Tel 01373 834488 — Tickets £12 in advance / £13 on door — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Sunday 30 April 2023
Hanger Farm Arts Centre — Aikman Lane, Totton, Southampton, SO40 8FT
Tel 023 8066 7683 — Tickets £14 (£12 concessions) — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Tuesday 2 May 2023
The Roses — Sun Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 5NX
Tel 01684 295074 — Tickets £16.50 — 8pm (Doors 7pm)
Thursday 4 May 2023
The Witham — 3 Horse Market, Barnard Castle, DL12 8LY
Tel 01833 631107 — Tickets £15 (£13 student/concs) — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Friday 5 May 2023
Alne Music Club — Alne Village Hall, Main Street, Alne, York, YO61 1RT
Tel 01347 838114 — Tickets £14 in advance/£15 on door — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Saturday 6 May 2023
The Salt Works Sessions — Lion Salt Works, Ollershaw Lane, Marston, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 9ES
Tel 07796 175437 — Tickets £15 — 8pm (Doors 7:15pm)
Sunday 7 May 2023
Water Yeat Village Hall — Water Yeat, Ulverston LA12 8DJ
Tel 01229 885662 — Tickets £15 — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Monday 8 May 2023
Almost a House Concert — The Hopetoun Arms Hotel, 37 Main Street, Leadhills, Biggar ML12 6XP
Tel 01659 74234 — Tickets £10 — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Thursday 11 May 2023
Kilbrannan Sound Events at Carradale Village Hall — B879, Carradale, Campbeltown, Kintyre PA28 6SB
Tickets £10 — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Saturday 13 May 2023
Tin Hut Sessions — Gartly Community Hall, Gartly, Aberdeenshire AB54 4PX
Tel 01466 720234 — Tickets £12 (U16 £5) — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Sunday 14 May 2023
Craigmonie Centre — Glen Urquhart High School, Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire IV63 6XA
Tel 01456 459224 — Tickets £16 (Concessions £14), £13 early bird discount (to Jan 31st 2023), U18 free if accompanied — 3pm (Doors 2:30pm)
Monday 15 May 2023
The Stables at Cromarty Arts Trust — Cromarty IV11 8XS
Tel 01381 600354 — Tickets £14/£12 concessions — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Tuesday 16 May 2023
Aberdeen Arts Centre — 33 King Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5AA
Tel 01224 635208 — Tickets £12 — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Wednesday 17 May 2023
Irvine Folk Club — Vineburgh Community Centre, Quarry Rd, Irvine KA12 0PS
Tel 01294 551047 — Tickets £8 (Members £6) — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Friday 19 May 2023
Seaside Folk — Saltburn Community Theatre, Albion Terrace, Saltburn by the Sea, TS12 1JW
Tel 01287 624997 — Tickets £11 Early Bird/£13 Full Price — 7:30pm (Doors 6:45pm)
Saturday 20 May 2023
Wainsgate Chapel — Wainsgate Lane, Old Town, Hebden Bridge HX7 8SU
Tel 07704 873894 — Tickets £11/£9 concs/£4 U18 — 3pm (Doors 2:30pm)
Sunday 21 May 2023
Burton in Lonsdale Village Hall — High Street, Burton in Lonsdale, Carnforth LA6 3JU
Tel 015242 62014 — Tickets £10 — 7:30pm (Doors 7:15pm)
Friday 26 May 2023
Roots Music Club Doncaster — Ukrainian Centre, 48 Beckett Road, Doncaster DN2 4AD
Tel 07941 316571 — Tickets £12 advance/£14 on door — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Saturday 27 May 2023
Fulbourn Arts — Fulbourn United Reformed Church, Home End, Fulbourn, Cambridge CB21 5BS
Tickets £14 advance/£15 on door — 8pm (Doors 7:30pm)
Monday 29 May 2023
St Mary of Charity Church — Church Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GZ
Tel 01795 227600 — Tickets £12 — 7:30pm (Doors 7pm)
Sarah’s summer appearances include Festival At The Edge, The Minack Theatre and the Cornwall Folk Festival, after which she’ll be embarking on a seven-week US tour for the first time since the pandemic. Further touring in the UK and continental Europe continues through the winter and into 2024.
See https://sarahmcquaid.com/tour for up-to-date listings including contacts and ticket links.
Review by Paul F Cook
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Mailing List