Watkins remains "Young in All the Wrong Ways"
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Watkins remains "Young in All the Wrong Ways"

Thursday, April 21, 2016 – Sara Watkins, one-third of Nickel Creek, has signed a record deal with New West Records.

Watkins will release "Young In All The Wrong Ways" on July 1.

Watkins , who also plays with Watkins Family Hour, described the 10-song disc as a "breakup album with myself." She will launch a tour in the fall, which will go to Europe.

The sonics range from B3 organ and jagged electric guitar to quiet sounds. "I looked around and realized that in many ways I wasn't who or where I wanted to be," said Watkins, who has been playing professionally since the age of eight. "It's been a process of letting go and leaving behind patterns and relationships and in some cases how I've considered myself. What these songs are documenting is the turmoil you feel when you know something has to change and you're grappling with what that means. It means you're losing something and moving forward into the unknown."

Watkins just finished a seven-week tour with Patty Griffin and Anais Mitchell as part of the League of Women Voters' Use Your Voice Tour in an effort to drive voter engagement and education. She returns to the road in June for a series of performances, including Bonnaroo, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the Kennedy Center in D.C., Rough Trade in Brooklyn and a hometown record release show in Los Angeles at Largo at the Coronet on July 7.

On release day, Watkins will take part in Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" show at the Hollywood Bowl.

Watkins premiered the video for her first single today on NPR. She described the song as starting as a "gentle country-pop arrangement" that builds to "full-on, hair-flinging '90s-goddess rock." Directed by director/photographer Allister Ann (The Civil Wars), the video features Watkins at a dining table with her perfect mid-century American family having Sunday brunch. As she intensely sings about wanting to be "moved," as day-glo gelatin "salads" and a cornucopia of '50s and '60s dishes are passed around, the others at the table are oblivious to her.

"This song came out of feelings of frustration with some relationships that had gotten stale or outdated," Watkins said. "Sometimes with old acquaintances and friends, and even family, we keep conversation to the surface for fear of rocking a boat. But in order for forward motion, sometimes there has to be disruption."

"Young In All The Wrong Ways" was produced by Gabe Witcher at United Recording (formerly Ocean Way) in Hollywood last year. Watkins wrote and recorded the album during a period when she was without a manager and record label.

The band for the recording included two of Witcher's fellow Punch Brothers, guitarist Chris Eldridge and bass player Paul Kowert, and musicians Jon Brion and Jay Bellerose. Watkins' band mates in her trio, I'm With Her - Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O'Donovan - harmonize with her throughout - and Jim James of My Morning Jacket provides a vocal foil on "One Last Time." "I've known these guys for a long time, so there's a personal trust as well as a musical trust," Watkins said.

Watkins wrote or co-wrote all 10 songs - a first for her. While known for her fiddling playing, Watkins opted for electric guitar on many songs.

The track list is:
1. Young In All The Wrong Ways
2. The Love That Got Away
3. One Last Time
4. Move Me
5. Like New Year's Day
6. Say So
7. Without A Word
8. The Truth Won't Set Us Free
9. Invisible
10. Tenderhearted

Tour dates are:
June 12 - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
June 17 - Telluride, CO @ Telluride Bluegrass Festival
June 22 - Portsmouth, NH @ Prescott Park Arts Festival
June 23 - Washington, DC @ Kennedy Center Atrium - American Acoustic
June 24 - Washington, DC @ Kennedy Center Concert Hall - American Acoustic (as I'm With Her)
June 25 - Katonah, NY @ American Roots Music Festival
June 26 - Shirley, MA @ The Bull Run
June 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
July 1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl - "A Prairie Home Companion"
July 7 - Los Angeles, CA @ Largo at the Coronet
July 13 - Vail, CO @ Vail Summer Bluegrass Series
July 14 - Boulder, CO @ eTown Hall
July 16 - Oak Hill, NY @ Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival
Aug. 13 - Alta, WY @ Targhee Fest
Sept. 3 - Pagosa Springs, CO @ Four Corners Folk Festival
Sept. 9 - Pasadena, CA @ Levitt Pavilion @ Memorial Park
Sept. 10 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
Sept. 14 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Sept. 16 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
Sept. 17 - Seattle, WA @ The Tractor
Sept. 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota Jazz Club
Sept. 21 - Chicago, IL @ Old Town School Of Folk Music
Sept. 24 - Atlanta, GA @ City Winery
Sept. 25 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
Sept. 27 - Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head On Stage
Sept. 28 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Sept. 20 - Pawling, NY @ Daryl's House
Oct. 1 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Oct. 2 - Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square
Oct. 3 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
Oct. 5 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Oct. 6 - Washington, DC @ The Hamilton
Oct. 9 - Peninsula, OH @ The G.A.R. Hall
Nov. 2 - Dublin, IE @ Whelan's
Nov. 3 - Belfast, IE @ Errigle Inn
Nov. 4 - Bury, UK @ Met
Nov. 5 - Gateshead, UK @ The Sage
Nov. 6 - Sheffield, UK @ Greystones
Nov. 8 - Bristol, UK @ Tunnels
Nov. 10 - London, UK @ Bush Hall
Nov. 11 - Oxford, UK @ Bullingdon
Nov. 12 - Guildford, UK @ St. Mary's
Nov. 13 - Saltaire, UK @ Live at Caroline
Nov. 30 - Lincoln, NE @ Lied Center


More news for Sara Watkins


CD reviews for Sara Watkins

CD review - Under the Pepper Tree Understand that this is a children's album. Yet, if you're looking for the sounds of Sara Watkins with her groups Nickel Creek and I'm With Her bandmates, they are here on "Under the Pepper Tree," just not in the way you typically hear them. The album also features guest appearances from Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, David Garza and Watkins' now three-year-old daughter who inevitably factored into the album's inspiration. These 15 songs, only two of which are ...
CD review - Young in All the Wrong Ways Sara Watkins' voice is powerful. "Young In All The Wrong Ways" showcases her instrument admirably. Watkins burst upon the music scene in 1989, as part of Nickel Creek, teaming with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile. Nickel Creek had a solid run of recording and live music performances for a couple of decades before the members spread out into other collaborations (Nickel Creek has played a few festival dates most years, alongside their other projects). ...
CD review - Sun Midnight Sun Well, so much for the sweet, adorable Sara Watkins. After an endearing, cuddly solo debut in 2009 that included her foot-stomping rendition of John Hartford's Long Hot Summer Day, Watkins adds a new wrinkle with her latest effort: an edgy, sometimes angry attitude. Bathing her songs in a folky-bluegrass setting with an array of way-cool guests, If It Pleases You is a defiant flip-off while Willie Nelson's I'm a Memory seethes with open hostility as Watkins and brother Sean rage ...


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