ACL Preview – Sara Watkins
Posted: June 29th, 2009 | Author: Nathan | Filed under: Articles About Music | Tags: david rawlings, elvis costello, gilian welch, led zeppelin, nickel creek, sara watkins, tom petty | 1 Comment »
For the next artist in our ACL Preview series, I have chosen a very lovely and talented musician that I have seen perform twice before. Both times, she played more of a supporting role. Once with her former band Nickel Creek (it’s kind of hard for anyone to be in the spotlight for long with Chris Thile sharing the stage with you.) The second time was actually at ACL in 2oo6. She joined Ray Lamontagne on stage for several songs during what turned out to be my favorite performances of the weekend.
The 27 year old singer-songwriter and fiddle player has just recently released her first solo album. Although there isn’t hardly anything “solo” about this record. This album was just as much, if not more of a collaborative effort than any of the albums she released with Nickel Creek. Produced by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, this self-titled debut finds Sara surrounded by an array alt-country friends and stars such as Gilian Welch and David Rawlings, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, and Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas, as well as both of her Nickel Creek bandmates.
The album has a nice combination of original pieces along with several covers and traditional pieces. I really love her rendition of the traditional hymn “Give Me Jesus.” It has long been a favorite of mine, and I think her and Thile’s instrumentation definitely does the song justice. But the standout track for me was the closing track “Where Will You Be,” an original by Watkins. It is a very honest and lovely song that that asks a simple question that anyone can relate to. Overall the album is very enjoyable.
She is likely to find herself surrounded by a group of talented musicians this year at ACL. I would definitely put her on my list of artists to see. She has a lots of charisma and a great stage presence. She will put on a great bluegrass show that will be a grand ole time.
Sara Watkins – Long Hot Summer Days
Sara Watkins – Where Will You Be
