Madd Daddy Bio
Madd Daddy is the father-daughter duo of Ted Walsh and Maddy Walsh, lead singer and songwriter of Maddy Walsh & The Blind Spots. The two have performed together professionally for almost twenty years, and although it was lost on both of them at the onset (when Maddy was home from college in the summers) just how unique a father-daughter band was, each of them now appreciates just how special these shows are. A Madd Daddy show features original material; quirky, unusual covers; strong vocals and blood harmonies; and finger-picked or flat-picked acoustic guitar, with occasional looping of the rhythm for solos. Ted’s guitar styles were shaped by such early influences as Mississippi John Hurt, Taj Mahal, and Leo Kottke.
Maddy’s work with The Blind Spots has led to four studio albums, with a fifth scheduled for release in the spring of 2027. She also completed two solo records released at a sold-out show accompanied by a regional all-star eight-piece band at the Hangar Theatre in the duo’s hometown of Ithaca in 2021. The Blind Spots have maintained a steady schedule of national touring in recent years, and Maddy has embarked on a number of creative projects alongside her travel, including taking over as host of Tallahassee-based singer-songwriter Grant Peeples’s pandemic-era variety show, Clay Tablets; and she is currently working on a book about the history of the music scene in Ithaca, New York (Barndance Books, tentative release date July 2027.)
Ted Walsh currently plays mandolin and slide guitar with the Ithaca-based band GoGone and has fronted or contributed to a number of other Central NY bands, including Unreal City, The Beauchesnes, Hall Pass, and Eddy's Basement. He can be found performing throughout the region in these various projects (and solo) almost every weekend throughout the warmer months.
The Madd Daddy album, That Good Life (2018), includes original songs co-written by father and daughter, along with one cover song (the haunting folk-blues tune “Well, Well, Well” co-written by Danny O’Keefe and Bob Dylan), and the two have a new record in the works now.
