Grace McNally - Full Circle (2023)

The rustic new album Full Circle from Charleston classical guitarist Grace McNally rises and sets like the sun, peaceful and illuminating. The delicate melodies and mounting rhythms heard on the eight songs are the product of McNally’s five-year journey of writing, arranging and recording the material.

“Ultimately, the album is a celebration of a journey coming full circle personally, but also celebrating the common ground in the music that comes from West Africa, Charleston, Central America, Cuba, South America and Brazil,” McNally told the Charleston City Paper.

The album highlights the musical continuities McNally experienced in her travels between West Africa and North, Central and South America. Some of the lyricism and vocals heard on Full Circle are from the creative stores of her fellow local musicians, including Afro-Cuban percussionist/vocalist Gino Castillo and electronic artist and poet Marcus Amaker.

Amaker’s words unveil a deep remembering as he speaks on “Open Door”: “Home can be opening the door to a heritage that is a water length away from what you know, but you find your fingerprints in a foreign land and answer the call in a place that has always been calling your name.”

McNally’s original arrangements are layered with vocal segments from a cappella singing group, The Plantation Singers, Castillo on percussion, Brett Belanger on acoustic bass, Abdiel Iriarte on piano, Tim Khayat on bass, Jonathan Lovett on keys and Ron Wiltrout on drums.