The Foreign Landers
A Transatlantic Delight
There is something special about some musical partnerships. Think about Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Sonny and Bobby Osborne, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Sierra Hull and Justin Moses or Tony Rice and Ricky Skaggs, to name just a few dynamic duos. They all have a chemistry and a sound uniquely their own. Every now and then a new pairing of individuals occurs that warrant having their names added to the list. David Benedict and Tabitha (Agnew) Benedict who play together as The Foreign Landers are making a strong case to do just that. Each of them is an established and accomplished musician in their own right, but their synergy playing together is undeniable. Sierra Hull noted that “Hearing The Foreign Landers for the first time immediately landed a huge smile on my face and for a moment allowed escape from all the noise in the world. Tabitha and David simply sound like two people who are meant to make music together. The playing, singing and arrangements are all wonderful…I’m a fan!”
David was born in South Carolina and Tabitha in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. One started playing Celtic music and the other played bluegrass. If you guessed David played bluegrass while Tabitha devoted herself to Celtic music, you might be surprised to learn that is not the case.
David started his journey at the age of ten. He was attending church and the guitar player in the worship band also doubled on mandolin. David was drawn to the sound and look of the mandolin. His parents inquired about mandolin lessons for him from the worship band’s guitarist and he recommended David start by learning guitar first. So began an uninspired flat top journey for a couple of years and eventually David lost interest. However, when he was 13 his father surprised him with an A-model Alvarez mandolin and a book of beginner fiddle tunes and he was on his way.
He says he played recreationally over the next few years without much direction. That changed mid-way through high school when he acquired a Flatiron mandolin and began playing in a Celtic folk band called Emerald Road. He immersed himself in music, taking classical mandolin lessons from a violinist and studied theory composition and arrangement. David says his eureka moment occurred when he attended the 2011 Mandolin Symposium. It was there that he got a peek behind the curtain and was exposed to the endless possibilities of the mandolin.
After high school, David decided to commit himself fully to studying music with a focus on mandolin. He made his way to Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee where they were willing to work with him in designing his one of kind major. It was while at Bryan that David began studying with mandolin master Matt Flinner. Because he took several dual enrollment classes in high school, he was able to graduate from Bryan in two and a half years with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mandolin Music Performance.
David cites Mike Marshall and Matt Flinner as major influences in his development and credits Matt for being his conduit into bluegrass and old-time music. Matt also produced David’s first solo effort titled Into True Country released in 2014. David wrote all the songs on the recording. Upon listening to the songs on the CD, two things become readily apparent. First is his knack for writing beautiful and memorable melodies and second is the effort serves notice that David indeed has a bright future ahead of him.
After he graduated from college, David made his way to Nashville and spent two years playing in acclaimed seven-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Bass Player of the Year Missy Raines’ band…The New Hip. Missy had this to say about David “David Benedict is destined to be a major voice in the world of mandolin. His compositions are thoughtful, elegant and tastefully complex. I believe that a musician’s deepest intent can be heard and felt through their instrument. David’s music conveys a grounded, artistic and generous spirit that belies his youth.”
Missy Raines’ comments turned out to be prescient. David went on to play for five years with the popular bluegrass band, Mile Twelve. During his tenure, the group received the 2017 IBMA Band Momentum Award, recorded three albums and the 2019 IBMA “New Artist of the Year” award. David received the 2018 IBMA Momentum Award for “Instrumentalist of the Year.” He also recorded his critically acclaimed second solo recording The Golden Angle. He was nominated for a Grammy in 2019 as part of Missy Raines album Royal Traveler. David left Mile Twelve in 2020 to pursue other projects.
Enter the other half of The Foreign Landers, Tabitha (Agnew) Benedict. Tabitha is a talented banjo player, guitar player and singer who has developed a unique style. The Bluegrass Situation noted “The subliminal transatlantic touches through her playing are like Easter eggs, keeping listeners on their toes, never quite sure what’s coming next.” Northern Ireland is not a place that comes to mind when talking about bluegrass music. It just goes to show the power of this music to reach and influence people world-wide. Tabitha’s first instrument was the bodhran, a traditional Irish hand drum. She was initially exposed to banjo and bluegrass by her father who happens to play banjo. Tabitha remembers growing up and hearing him working on his banjo rolls and listening to bluegrass music. Growing up in a musical family they made it a tradition to attend the Omagh Bluegrass Festival held in Northern Ireland.
Hearing and seeing bands like Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Kenny and Amanda Smith, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver and the Lonesome River Band served to spark Tabitha’s interest in the banjo and in pursuing music professionally. She began playing banjo when she was twelve years old. As you might expect, there were not any teachers in the local vicinity. Tabitha began learning by watching YouTube videos and trying to copy what she the banjo players were doing. She also made extensive use of her dad’s tablature books and recalls sitting and practicing her banjo rolls while watching television. Tabitha also pilfered her dad’s copies of Banjo Newsletter and credits them for expanding her horizons and exposing her to new material and information.
Tabitha cites the Alison Krauss album Now That I’ve Found You as a major influence. She was mesmerized by Ron Block’s banjo playing on the song “Every Time You Say Goodbye.” Another influential album for her was Stolen Moments by Alison Brown. Tabitha notes the approach of playing traditional tunes and the way Alison incorporated the banjo really appealed to her.
It would be hard to imagine a bluegrass banjo player that would not list Earl Scruggs as an influence and Tabitha is no exception. She singled out the classic Flatt & Scruggs album Foggy Mountain Banjo as her introduction to straight-ahead banjo. Tabitha cites Alison Brown, Ron Block, Earl Scruggs, as well as Jens Kruger, Sammy Shelor and Bela Fleck as her main banjo influences but she is quick to point that are so many others and the list goes on and on.
Once she began playing, it was not long before she joined her two brothers, Benjamin on bass and Reuben on guitar. The group goes by the name Cup O’Joe and they have recorded three CD’s and toured the United Kingdom, Europe and showcased at the IBMA in 2017. The lineup has expanded to include a certain mandolin player—David Benedict. The group remains very active and is hard at work touring and recording. Tabitha also played with her brothers in an Irish bluegrass crossover group called Roots Revival that blended Irish traditional, folk, bluegrass country and swing. It quickly becomes apparent that she has quite an array of musical interests.
Tabitha also plays banjo and sings with the all-female Anglo-Irish bluegrass group Midnight Skyracer. The group formed in 2017 and the other band members are Laura Carrivick on fiddle and Dobro, her sister Charlotte on guitar, Leanne Thorose on mandolin and lead vocals with Eleanor Wilkie on bass. The group has toured extensively throughout Europe and Australia building an enthusiastic and loyal fan base and has recorded two well received CD’s. Their recordings have been nominated for awards by the IBMA and Tabitha was the first artist outside North America to be nominated by the IBMA as an instrumentalist. Tabitha went on to win the IBMA Momentum Award for Banjo in 2020. Unfortunately, COVID and life’s changes forced the group to say farewell for now and they signed off with a month-long tour in June of this year.
To this point you have had a peek behind the curtain about David and Tabitha individually. How they came to play together as The Foreign Landers can only be called destiny. The seeds were first sown, although they did not know it then, when they met at the IBMA in 2017. They kept in touch and grew closer as time passed. David and Tabitha sealed the deal on May 31, 2019, getting married at Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland next to Tabitha’s home. The music at the reception was provided by Mile Twelve and Midnight Skyracer—that must have been some reception! The plan was for David to continue to live in Boston playing with Mile Twelve and Tabitha to remain in Northern Ireland and playing with Midnight Skyracer and Cup O’Joe while the application for Tabitha’s green card to live and work in the US made its way through the system.
As the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote in his poem “To A Mouse”… “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” COVID changed everything and when the U.S. announced they were closing international travel on 18 Mar 2020, David decided to try to get to Northern Ireland to be with Tabitha before the lockdown. Somehow the heavens aligned, and he was able to make his way there the day before the U.S. curtailed international flights.
Over the course of the next six months David and Tabitha made the most of their time together writing, playing and recording. Like many other people during the height of COVID, David and Tabitha did a lot of reflecting on their lives and priorities. They made the following decisions…make family time a priority, put down roots in South Carolina and focus on playing music together. As a result, David announced his departure after five years from Mile Twelve. David and Tabitha settled in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and they began playing together as The Foreign Landers.
The Foreign Landers released an EP Put All Your Troubles Away on May 10, 2021. It consists of six songs, two covers and four originals. The covers include John Hartford’s “Put All Your Troubles Away”and Gordon Lightfoot’s classic “I’m Not Sayin.” David and Tabitha have that rare ability to cover a song by remaining true to the original recording while leaving their mark and making the song their own. The originals include an infectious instrumental named after their dog “Finn’s Rescue.” The remaining songs are well crafted melodies with first-rate musicianship and a hint of Tabitha’s Celtic DNA.
The duo is gaining traction and growing their fan base with every show they play. They were delighted to learn they were selected to showcase at the IBMA held in Raleigh, North Carolina 27 Sep-Oct 1. They are hard at work on a new recording due out before the end of the year. It is going to be called Traveler’s Rest paying homage to the town where they have settled. They have released a captivating single from the new recording called “Traveler.” The new single, and their first EP are available on Spotify or Bandcamp. Additionally, David and Tabitha have made several videos available on their website or on YouTube. If the single “Traveler” is any indication, we are all in for quite a treat when the new recording comes out.
So be forwarned…The Foreign Landers have arrived. Listening to their music is like reuniting with an old friend. So, open up your door, welcome them in and put their music on. You will be glad you did.
