Sara Watkins, who has joined Jackson Browne on his U.S. tour, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St.
Watkins, a native of California, released her sophomore solo album "Sun Midnight Sun" on Nonesuch Records earlier this year, receiving rave reviews. USA Today gave the album a perfect four stars and she also performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in May to promote the release of the album.
Watkins began her music career at 8 years old as a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning band, Nickel Creek. She also has been a guest vocalist and fiddle player for Bela Fleck, The Chieftains, The Decemberists and many others. She went on tour with Garrison Keillor and was the first and only guest host for his "A Prairie Home Companion" podcasts.
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Sara Watkins will perform with Jackson Browne at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Community Arts Center, 220 W.?Fourth St.
"Take Up Your Spade," the final track on her new album, was the chosen tune for a music video, produced by Blake Mills. Watkins is no stranger to having her music on film, but said this was the first time she got to have a strong voice in the process.
"It was very special because it was a lot more fun for me. It was a very small-time operation with a really big-time director," Watkins said about filming the video. "A lot of people donated their time and the concept for the video was something that makes a lot of sense to me. It was new for me, I never had much of an opinion before. I enjoyed being a part of the video process."
The video premiered June 1 on The Lost Angeles Times blog "Pop & Hiss." It was shot during a recording session for the new album and it features Jackson Browne and Fiona Apple, who also sing backup vocals on the track.
Watkins said she, Browne and Apple have known each other from performances at a Hollywood club, Largo, where she and her brother, Sean, have co-hosted the "Watkins Family Hour" for almost a decade.
"(The Watkins Family Hour) is a great place to try out new material and a lot of people sit in with you and have fun playing," Watkins said of the live show. "Fiona is a member of the family hour and Jackson is a very frequent guest."
Watkins said she and her band enjoy touring with Browne and find it to be a very comfortable atmosphere. She said it is different touring with Browne than on her own, because she would normally play a show and is back on the road, driving herself to the next location, not taking in much of the places she goes.
"A lot of times you don't get to see much of these towns you wish you had," she said. "Jackson has been wonderfully inclusive and we get to travel with him and his band and enjoy the cities we are in. It's really fun."
Watkins is thankful for the talented musicians that make up the band that accompany her and said it was a bit of an adjustment at first to be the one "making the calls."
"I'm really fortunate to have a great group of musicians around me who are a great help and play a big role and are generous with feedback," she said. "I don't feel like I'm on my own."
Watkins said all musicians want their work to be valuable and appreciated, and her fans provide encouragement for her to continue to do what she loves.
"It's what I do, it's who I am ... it would be hard to live this life if it was not appreciate," she said. "The thing about being a musician is what you do and kind of how you see the world and what you do when no one is around."
Free podcasts of the Watkins Family Hour are available for download at wfh.libsyn.com. For more information about Watkins, visit www.sarawatkins.com or for tickets to the show, go to the CAC website at www.caclive.com/index.php/mu sic/jacksonbrowne.
