About Seansmcmahon.com

About

Sean McMahon is one of the new generation in the long tradition of poet singer-songwriter/composers that includes Guillaume de Machuat, John Dowland, and William Byrd. His music is both surreal and sober, and often focuses on the primal story of Journey and Return. “Last bite from the apple,” for example, is a Vonnegut-esque short story in D about a young boy’s alien encounter and subsequent return to earth in order to share the new knowledge he gained from his wise new alien friends; while “The ballad of mighty Jim & his mother,” now often played at American Foundation for Suicide Prevention support groups for its healing power, tells the story of a young man’s suicide, resurrection, and reconciliation with his bereaved mother. McMahon’s songs have been compared to the songs of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Nick Drake; in addition, he is a composer of choral and instrumental works sometimes compared to the work of Sun Ra, Carlo Gesualdo, and Erik Satie.

McMahon has performed his songs solo and with various bands (Counterpoint; Tidwell’s Treasure) throughout Western Massachusetts venues including Iron Horse Music Hall (Northampton, MA), Pearl Street (Northampton, MA), and The Majestic Theater (West Springfield), as well as internationally at Kork’s (Yorkshire, UK), The Swan (Yorkshire, UK), and De Barras (Cork, Ireland). In April 2007, he raised funds for the USO alongside his younger brother, singer-pianist and organist Griffin McMahon at the Church of The Good Sheperd in West Springfield, MA; in April 2006, McMahon played songs regularly throughout New Orleans while doing relief work in the area; and in May 2005, he took part in a Benefit Concert for tsunami relief in Thailand at St. Mary’s Church in Longmeadow, MA.

Presently, McMahon continues to play throughout Massachusetts and the New England area, while studying music with Joe Morris, Dominique Eade, and Ran Blake at New England Conservatory of Music. His recent works include a children’s nativity play musical “Three Men & a Star” performed in December 2007 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Houston, TX. His song “Last bite from the apple” is presently #15 on the Clear Channel Alternative Playlist, with 109,000 plays and counting, and he was recently nominated “Best Songwriter” in the annual Valley Advocate Grand Band Slam. His latest album “VIIb” (2006) is available at Turn It Up! Records in Northampton, MA, and www.seansmcmahon.com. This summer, McMahon plans to record an album of new material.