Sheffield — The very first guitar Simon McTeigue ever owned came to him as a gift from the legendary John Prine—the two time Grammy-award winner, American singer-songwriter, and flattop guitar player the Berkshire-based musician counts as his biggest inspiration. Their meeting was due in large part to serendipity: McTeigue’s mother met Prine’s future wife Fiona on a biking trip in Ireland; following their marriage, reciprocal trips between Nashville, Tenn. and Great Barrington ensued. McTeigue literally picked his way toward a second career as a musician and, come Friday night, he’ll take to the stage at Dewey Hall for a 7:30 p.m. show featuring all original songs (save for one, by Prine); he’ll be joined by Jesse Murphy and Aaron Johnston of the Grammy-nominated Brazilian Girls and Clayton Squire. Tickets will be $10.
“Since I was a kid, I knew that songwriting was a thing,” said McTeigue who—while he pays the bills doing custom plaster work by day—marvels after hours at the long line of musicians who have paved the way before him. McTeigue points to Prine (who died in 2020 due to COVID) as belonging to a group—ranging from Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan to Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley—who wholeheartedly perpetuated the tradition of folk music and, perhaps more importantly, storytelling.
“The music industry has always been a bit of a brutal machine [through which] individuals [run the risk] of losing their creative freedom,” says McTeigue who hails from a gem of a local family, one he credits with supporting his hopes and dreams early on.
At age seven, after attending his brother’s music recital (where someone played Greensleeves—a traditional English folk song with roots stretching back to Elizabethan times—on the guitar), McTeigue went home and announced, “I want to learn how to play the guitar.” He was quickly connected with Ed Flower, a classical guitarist from Sheffield, who taught McTeigue (beginning in second grade) all the way through high school. “We’re really good friends,” said McTeigue who, after 23 years, remains in close contact with his mentor—the first person he turns to when bouncing ideas around, whether they be about chords or intros.
Today, McTeigue counts those with whom he’ll share the stage on Friday night as encouraging him along in his journey. “I feel really lucky to be playing with them,” he says of having a group of contemporaries—not simply an aunt or uncle cheering, “You’re really good at this!”, but a group of Grammy-nominated musicians who are taking time out of their lives to help him put together an album. “It’s like a whole other level,” says McTeigue of the mere possibility of being able to make music for a living.
Fame and fortune has never been the goal. Instead, McTeigue has remained grounded—eschewing some of the more conventional avenues offered by record labels and management—to forge a more authentic path, one rooted in playing music with and for people who appreciate it.
Following his graduation from Monument Mountain Regional High School (where I was his 9th grade Honors English teacher!), McTeigue was accepted into Westfield State University’s music department but opted instead to pursue employment: He worked locally for an architect; in Colorado at a ski resort; then spent a year in Switzerland as an au pair (where he played the guitar, a lot, as a means of entertaining the kids).
“I’m so grateful for every step of the way,” McTeigue says of his largely unconventional journey to date. As for what the future holds?
“I believe in local music,” says McTeigue who has performed at other notable venues—from The Lion’s Den to the Egremont Barn—and admits he’s an emotional and sensitive guy who, when thinking about Prine, can get a bit choked up. He even remembers his earliest mentor fielding a question once, about Prine’s best advice for aspiring musicians:
“Don’t quit your day job,” was the message—which McTeigue now understands to carry with it a deeper meaning than the possibility of not making it (and, by extension, having cut off one’s source of income). In retrospect, he now hears this wisdom: “Without this living of life part of art, you don’t really have anything to share. I think the most important part about this path I’ve been on is the life part,” a sentiment that resonates with McTeigue’s ardent belief in the potential for music to connect disparate individuals in a fractured world.
For almost a year, following surgery to remove polyps from his vocal chords, McTeigue hardly had a voice; instead, he leaned into the lyrics.
“I was hating my voice, and thought it sounded terrible,” he remembers, despite the props he got for sounding gruff and gravelly. He invested in working with voice coaches and was able to figure out, “this way to sing in a more sustainable manner,” he says—shrugging off the inclination to compare himself to other artists who made it big in the conventional music industry by age 20 (a decade younger than McTeigue, who is 30). Instead, he has his sights set on the next step.
McTeigue is invested in the Berkshires, and in bringing his next chapter of singing and songwriting to fruition.
“In all of it, where I get the biggest high—and feeling of satisfaction—is when I hit that combination of words that [evokes] something simple and it releases me from it … and hopefully does the same for someone else.”
