About
"A mischievous guitarist and vocalist with a gift for the inimitable phrase."
— Robert Coover, The New York Times
John McDaid is a singer-songwriter from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Over his 40 years of performing, he's played his geek-inflected songs at political events, science fiction conventions, and NYC venues including Speakeasy and Folk City. His songwriting has earned international recognition, including prizes at FilKONtario and the Ohio Valley Filk Fest and a featured concert at the 2019 World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin. In 2020, he took first place at the Common Fence Music Community Hoot. He has been twice nominated for Best Writer/Composer in the Pegasus Awards. An award-winning science fiction short story author, he brings a writerly focus to his lyrics, complemented by a guitar style that draws on contemporary and traditional folk. Contact: jmcdaid@torvex.com.
— Robert Coover, The New York Times
John McDaid is a singer-songwriter from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Over his 40 years of performing, he's played his geek-inflected songs at political events, science fiction conventions, and NYC venues including Speakeasy and Folk City. His songwriting has earned international recognition, including prizes at FilKONtario and the Ohio Valley Filk Fest and a featured concert at the 2019 World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin. In 2020, he took first place at the Common Fence Music Community Hoot. He has been twice nominated for Best Writer/Composer in the Pegasus Awards. An award-winning science fiction short story author, he brings a writerly focus to his lyrics, complemented by a guitar style that draws on contemporary and traditional folk. Contact: jmcdaid@torvex.com.
Trail Of Mars"The standout here is McDaid's lyrics - superb, funny, weird and unexpected poetry in the mode of a Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan in Subterranean Homesick Blues mode."
—Cory Doctorow "If you are a lover of clever lyrics, then this should satiate your word lust. McDaid delivers his material with a Randy Newman/Leonard Cohen/Dire Straits feel." —John Fuzek, Motif Winner of the John Culkin Award from the Media Ecology Association. Fully automated luxury geek folk that takes on mediated political reality, social justice, and assorted existential crises. Ten-song studio album featuring an amazing crew of musicians, recorded remotely from June-August 2020, so you know it's topical AF. Listen on Spotify Apple Music/iTunes Amazon Music Produced by John McDaid
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mark Dann markdann.com Craig Akin—Bass craigakin.com Abbie Gardner—Dobro (Down To The River, Into Thin Air), Vocals (Down To The River, Walking Off The Earth) abbiegardner.com Tracy Grammer—Violin, vocals (Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride, Gioconda Smile, Walking Off The Earth) Recorded at The Blue Room, Greenfield, MA tracygrammer.com Jim Henry—Electric guitar (Lost In Translation, Sigmund Freud's 11th Dream, Gioconda Smile, Trail Of Mars), mandolin (Lost In Translation, Walking Off The Earth) jimhenry.net Laurie MacAllister—Vocals (Down To The River) lauriemacallister.net Eric Parker — Drums Album art by A.D. Puchalski angeldevilland.com All music and lyrics ©2020 John McDaid (ASCAP) |
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VideoDemo album available on Bandcamp |
Upcoming gigsMarch, 2023 Consonance
Milpitas, CA Date/time TBA Interfilk guest |