Sara Watkins | |
|---|---|
 Sara Watkins in 2009 at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, North Carolina | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sara Ullrika Watkins[1] |
| Born | (1981-06-08)June 8, 1981 (age 43) |
| Origin | Vista, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Bluegrass,folk,country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals,fiddle,guitar,ukulele,[2] percussion |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Nonesuch Records Sugar Hill Records |
| Website | sarawatkins.com |
Sara Ullrika Watkins (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter andfiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler ofNickel Creek, theprogressive bluegrass group she formed with her brotherSean andmandolinistChris Thile. In addition to singing and fiddling, Watkins also plays theukulele and the guitar, and also played percussion while touring withthe Decemberists. In 2012, she and her brother played withJackson Browne during his "I'll Do Anything" acoustic tour.
With Nickel Creek, Watkins released five studio albums, onecompilation album, and sevensingles. During the band's seven-year hiatus, she released three solo albums:Sara Watkins andSun Midnight Sun onNonesuch Records andYoung in All the Wrong Ways onNew West Records.[3]
In late 2005, Watkins stated in aPopMatters interview when discussing her first solo-written recorded song, "Anthony", that she "definitely [makes] the effort [to write more], but it's something that doesn't come too easy for me. Nor does it come really easy for the guys, I think they've just been doing it for a very long time."[4]
Watkins signed as a solo artist withNonesuch Records in fall 2008[3] and released her self-titled debut solo album on April 7, 2009. Watkins started recording the album in February 2008, and it was jointly recorded inNashville and Los Angeles.[5]Sara Watkins was produced by bassistJohn Paul Jones ofLed Zeppelin fame, who first performed with Watkins on aMutual Admiration Society tour in 2004.[5]
Watkins toured the United States as an opening act in 2008.[5] She performed short tours as an opening act for singer-songwriterTift Merritt along theWest Coast in March and April[6] and withRobert Earl Keen aroundNew England in September,[7] as well as doing a 17-date tour withDonavon Frankenreiter in October. On April 14, 2009, she appeared onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon, with Jones on bass,Questlove ofThe Roots on drums, and her brotherSean Watkins on guitar. On August 28, 2011, she made her debut withA Prairie Home Companion, at theMinnesota State Fair.[8][9] In 2012, she toured withJackson Browne as the opening act for his acoustic winter tour.
In September 2011, Watkins indicated via Twitter that she would begin work on a second album in the fall of 2011. In May 2012, Watkins released her second solo album,Sun Midnight Sun, again onNonesuch Records.[10] Produced by formerSimon Dawes guitaristBlake Mills, it features guest appearances fromFiona Apple and Jackson Browne.[10]
In 2016, Watkins won "Instrumentalist of the Year" at theAmericana Music Honors & Awards.
In 2002, Watkins starred in an advertisement for cell phone providerCingular Wireless alongside her former fiddle teacher Dennis Caplinger, as well as other prominent bluegrass artists.[11][12] Between 2000 and 2004, Watkins and the other members ofNickel Creek (Chris Thile andSean Watkins),Glen Phillips,John Paul Jones, andPete Thomas collaborated on an EP,Mutual Admiration Society Solo Sampler; an album,Mutual Admiration Society (recorded in 2000); and a brief tour.
The 2007 documentary filmArctic Tale featured a song by Watkins and musicianGrant-Lee Phillips, titled "Song of the North (Beneath the Sun)". Watkins lent her vocal talents to the film alongside other performers such asAimee Mann andBrian Wilson.[13]
In January 2008,Billboard reported a newsupergroup octet tentatively namedThe Scrolls, later named Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). The octet is composed of Watkins, her brotherSean Watkins (guitar),Glen Phillips (guitar, vocals),Benmont Tench (piano), Luke Bulla (fiddle),Greg Leisz (various),Pete Thomas (drums), andDavey Faragher (bass). The group released their albumWPA in September 2009.
Watkins is featured onNeedtobreathe's 2009 CDThe Outsiders on the track "Stones Under Rushing Water".
In late January and early February 2010, Watkins undertook a short tour withJerry Douglas andAly Bain in Scotland and England under the "Transatlantic Sessions" banner, culminating in a performance in theRoyal Festival Hall in London on February 6, 2010. In June 2010, Watkins appeared on theNerdist podcast as a musical guest, performing her best-known solo song, "Long Hot Summer Days" (aJohn Hartford cover). Later that summer, she participated in the Summer Love Tour withGarrison Keillor in venues across the United States.[14] She guest hosted Keillor's show,A Prairie Home Companion, on January 15, 2011.[15] Watkins contributed fiddle, guitar, percussion, and vocals onThe Decemberists' 2011 tour.[16] Also in 2011, she (and her brother Sean) began to perform as a musician and singer in the humor/retro-radio podcast "Thrilling Adventure Hour".
Watkins played violin and sang on "A Face To Call Home" onJohn Mayer's 2012 albumBorn and Raised. During 2012 and 2013, she toured with Jackson Browne, both as an opening act and accompanying him during the performance.
Watkins and her brother Sean play regularly at theLargo nightclub in Los Angeles as "Watkins Family Hour". KeyboardistBenmont Tench (ofTom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and bassistSebastian Steinberg (formerly of Soul Coughing) are regular participants, and other guest musicians from the Largo family generally show up as well, includingJon Brion, Fiona Apple, Don Heffington,Greg Leisz, and former Nickel Creek bandmateChris Thile when he is in town. The irregular collaborations led to a 2015 album and tour under the same name.[17] Also in 2015, Watkins toured extensively withSarah Jarosz andAoife O'Donovan (ofCrooked Still fame). The trio, who now play under the nameI'm With Her, hosted the radio showA Prairie Home Companion on October 10, 2015. Watkins also performed vocals for "June & Johnny" onJon Foreman's 2015 EPThe Wonderlands: Darkness.[18][19]
In 2020, she played fiddle onPhoebe Bridgers's recordPunisher, on track 10 "Graceland Too".
In 2021, she played fiddle onThe Killers's recordPressure Machine (Tracks:West Fields,Cody,Pressure Machine) and violin onIn Another Life.
On August 16, 2008, Watkins married Todd Cooper in her parents' backyard inVista, California.[7][20] On June 15, 2017, she announced via Twitter that she and her husband were expecting a child in September.[21]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [22] | US Folk [23] | US Heat [24] | ||
| Sara Watkins |
| — | — | 13 |
| Sun Midnight Sun |
| — | 11 | 16 |
| Young in All the Wrong Ways |
| 200 | 7 | 1 |
| Under the Pepper Tree |
| |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "When It Pleases You"[25] | Peter Zavadil |
| 2013 | "You and Me"[26] | Russ Kendall |
| 2016 | "Move Me"[27] | Allister Ann |
| "Say So" | Alex Chaloff | |
| "Young in All The Wrong Ways" | Emilie Sabath |
Albums[edit]
Compilations[edit] | Singles[edit]
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
