Workman Song is a solo project fronted by Sean McMahon, a 25-year-old Boston native currently living in New York. In his quiver of folk songs is a collection of unforgettable melodies that tell of his journey through the city – finding love, loosing love, loosing himself, finding himself. The core of the songs lies in the familiar interplay of guitar and vocal, but he is often joined on stage by friends playing a number of different instruments including tambourine, mandolin, upright bass, piano, melodica and drums. McMahon describes his sound as ‘vintage with storytelling elements’.
His influences are eclectic – he lists medieval European music, North Indian classical music, Greek devotional chants, gospel and Neil Young as some of his inspirations. Though this combination might sound like a jumble of rejects you’d find at a junk store, what McMahon has developed is a sound that transcends anything currently in the New York music scene.
Workman Song has an upcoming show at The Rock Shop on October 5th, and an album in the works scheduled for late November. – Brescia Mascheretti