Tabitha and David Benedict, one of bluegrass music’s latest power couples, welcomed their first child earlier this summer. The two perform together as The Foreign Landers, and with Tabitha’s brothers as Cup O’Joe. Both are first rate instrumentalists, and Tabitha is a unique vocalist with few peers. They are also frequent studio session players.
Joanna Eilidh Benedict was born on July 24 at 9:09 p.m., almost a month since they celebrated their fifth anniversary. The new family is happy and healthy at home.
Many congratulations to the Benedicts, who are living a bi-continental professional life. The Foreign Landers are based in South Carolina, while Cup O’Joe is headquartered in Tabitha’s native Northern Ireland. Something tells me they’ll be staying close to home for a while.
The Foreign Landers are a musical duo consisting of husband and wife, David and Tabitha Benedict. As evidenced in their first full length release, Travelers Rest, the pair are adept at playing, singing, and writing songs within multiple genres. All but one of the ten tracks are originals written by the Foreign Landers.
The opening track, Traveler, gets things off to a smooth start. Tabitha’s vocals particularly stand out on this piece about longing for a place to rest and call home. Tabitha is also featured playing three finger style banjo and guitar. David provides mandolin, bass, and backing vocals for this track.
Waves falls into the singer/songwriter camp. Although electric guitar is provided by Ethan Ballinger and snare drum is played by David, these two instruments don’t take away from the overall acoustic feel, but rather complements the performances and the lyrics which explore the complexities of emotion.
Johnny’s Peacock/The Red-Tailed Hawk is an instrumental track firmly planted in Irish and Celtic roots. Featuring Brian Finnegan on tin whistle, Cathal Murphy on bodhran, and John Doyle on guitar, this piece is one of the most authentic tracks on the album.
On the other side of the coin, Flying Back To You falls firmly in the bluegrass camp. With solid fiddling from Brittany Haas and harmony vocals from Reuben Agnew, it’s clear that the Foreign Landers are well versed in that genre.
We’ll Be Fine contains elements of country music with great pedal steel guitar playing from Karl Smakula, as well as snare drumming from Stephen Benedict. This song has a great message about being content, no matter what the circumstances are in a particular moment or time.
Although Sunny Side of the Mountain is the only track not originally written by the Foreign Landers, the duo put a really unique spin on it. With beautiful clawhammer banjo playing from Tabitha, the couple has arranged it with new lyrics from the perspective of a couple singing it to each other. The Benedicts have completely made it their own.
Garden is a song which discusses settling down and finding somewhere to call home. Once again featuring Brittany Haas on fiddle, this track takes on a smooth old-timey feel.
Travelers Rest is an eclectic mix of musical styles and lyrical themes. Tabitha and David have captured the essence of what making music is about. Not only are The Foreign Landers presenting great performances with their instruments and voices, but also rich material that any listener can relate to on their own personal level.
The Foreign Landers, transatlantic bluegrass couple David Benedict and Tabitha Agnew Benedict, have a debut EP set for release on May 10. It’s called Put All Your Troubles Away, and includes six tracks encompassing new music they have written, and a couple of favorites from the bluegrass world.
Tabitha and David work with different touring bands, in different countries, and as she is from Northern Ireland and he from South Carolina, travel is a major part of their lives. Since being married in 2019, they split time between Ireland and the US, depending on his commitments on mandolin with Mile Twelve, and hers on banjo with Cup O’Joe and Midnight Skyracer.
When the COVID restrictions hit last year, they were at Tabitha’s home in County Armagh, and were unable to leave for six months. They used that time to write and learn new material, and decided to record what they had been doing. Voila… The Foreign Landers.
In advance on the EP’s release next week, they have agreed to share a track with our readers, a lovely banjo/mandolin instrumetal called Finn’s Rescue. It shows Tabitha’s remarkable virtuosity on both bluegrass and Celtic material, and David’s deft mandolin playing right alongside.
Tabitha tells us a bit about the genesis of this tune, a precious little dog that she and David rescued in South Carolina.
“After sifting through countless rescue shelters nearby to find the perfect puppy, I stumbled upon an advertisement for Finn, a 12 week old Spaniel/Terrier mix. He’s now 9 months old, and has brought David and I so much joy over the past few months! He slept in the recording room during most of the tracking for the EP, and we hope he will continue to do this for many more releases in the future!”
Pre-orders for the digital album, Put All Your Troubles Away, can be placed now via bandcamp. Several of the tracks are also available as singles now from the various download and streaming sites. The full six-track EP will be there as well on May 10.
The Foreign Landers, aka David and Tabitha Benedict, have released a new single as a tribute to Tony Rice.
People took different things from Tony’s music. Some loved him for his hard hitting bluegrass, while others preferred his jazzier new acoustic side, or his interpretations of tender ballads, like the many Gordon Lightfoot songs he reinterpreted.
Probably most of us remember Rice for all three, not to mention his glorious solo work on Church Street Blues, or his duo projects with Ricky Skaggs, Norman Blake, or David Grisman.
For today’s entry by The Foreign Landers, it’s the ballad side of Tony being recalled. And as they are a duo act, it makes sense that they bring to mind this aspect of the catalog with their version of I’m Not Sayin’.
David said that they wanted to cover Tony (covering Gordon) with their personal style.
“We recorded this in honor of two of our most beloved musicians Gordon Lightfoot and Tony Rice. Ever since hearing this beautiful song on the Blake and Rice album, it’s been a favorite. And in light of Tony’s passing we were moved to share our version here in remembrance of all that he did for this community.”
Tabitha delivers the song in a way neither Rice nor Lightfoot imagined, with her susurrant tones supported by David’s rippling mandolin.
I’m Not Sayin’ by The Foreign Landers is available now wherever you stream or download music online.
David and Tabitha Benedict, a very talented, newly-married, bi-continental couple, have launched a new side project aside from work with their regular bands. David plays mandolin with Mile Twelve and Cup O’Joe, and Tabitha plays banjo with Cup O’Joe and Midnight Skyracer.
Their commitments to these touring groups is further complicated by the fact that Mile Twelve is based in Boston, Midnight Skyracer in England, and Cup O’Joe in Northern Ireland. Tabitha is part of the artistic Agnew family who form the bulk of Cup O’Joe, born and raised in County Armagh, while David is a South Carolina native. So they spend time both in the States and in Northern Ireland, as band schedules dictate.
Now they have each added a third performance vehicle, a duo act they are calling The Foreign Landers. Even living together in far flung spots, at least they can always count on being able to get this group in sync.
David tells us that spent the shutdown period with the Agnews, and used a lot of that down time to work on music together. A debut single has just been released, their reimagining of John Hartford’s Put All Your Troubles Away, which is available now from the popular download and streaming sites.
They have also recorded a music video as a sample of their sound, which combines Tabitha’s delightful voice with both Benedicts’ instrumental prowess.
Tabitha and David are in South Carolina now, but the video was filmed in County Armagh earlier during the summer.
You can learn more about The Foreign Landers online.
