SaraWatkins joins BasicFolk to talk about Wild and Clear and Blue, the new album from I’m With Her, her band with Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan. The new LP was inspired by looking back on your life in order to move forward, with a very witchy manner of speaking that encompasses the ancient, mysterious, and spiritual. Sara shares insights into the unique telepathic connection they feel within the band, which was palpable from their first public appearance in 2014. Watkins is at it again with her incredible vocal performances on this album, bringing to mind Fiona Apple – especially on the “Sisters of the Night Watch.”
A longtime Angeleno, Sara gets into the meaning of another song, “Standing on the Fault Line,” which finds her reconsidering what’s safe, what’s permanent, and what is essential in order to remain in California. She also explains how the group’s tight-knit sisterhood and collaborative efforts have strengthened over the years. Elsewhere, we talk about the meaning of a “supergroup” versus a cohesive band, artistic processes, and how personal history and motherhood have impacted their music. Additionally, we explore the challenges of balancing life on tour, the importance of small talk, the necessity of doing music as a hobby for personal fulfillment, and the massive annual band party that inspired “Year After Year.”
On March 29, Beyoncé rode sidesaddle onto the world stage and took us all by storm with the release of her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter.
Cowboy Carter arrived as the second installment of a three-act project that commenced with Renaissance in 2022. Renaissance incorporated house, disco, hyperpop, R&B, and funk while reclaiming the Black queer roots of dance music. On Cowboy Carter, she similarly reclaims the Black roots of country, blending it with folk, rock, R&B, hip-hop, classical, house, and gospel throughout.
Prior to the release of Cowboy Carter, country has been a longstanding muse for Beyoncé. While her affiliation with the genre was popularized by Lemonade’s “Daddy Lessons,” her first country-leaning performance dates back to nearly a decade earlier when she performed “Irreplaceable” with Sugarland at the American Music Awards in 2007.
Potent and impeccably saturated, Cowboy Carter makes clear that country is inarguably a huge part of Beyoncé’s creative and cultural identity. However, her presence in the genre has not always been well-received; in an Instagram caption 10 days before the album’s release, Beyoncé revealed that CC was largely inspired by an experience where she “did not feel welcomed” into the country fold. Many speculate that this refers to her appearance at the 2016 CMA Awards. The network received racist backlash after she performed “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks, prompting the erasure of the song’s video from the show’s website (though a representative from CMA later denied the correlation between those two events).
Of Cowboy Carter Beyoncé writes, “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me.”
Beyoncé alchemizes a multitude of influences and collaborators across the gargantuan album in order to achieve the monumental musical feats of CC. With a credits list that sprawls for seemingly miles, Beyoncé enlists a number of guest artists, co-writers, producers, and musicians. Between them, they represent the Black roots of country, pay tribute to Black Americans’ impact on the genre, include legendary country artists and well-known side musicians and collaborators that assert the project’s roots in country, and represent the bright and diverse present and future of country by featuring several lesser-known Black country artists, many of which are also genre-bending in their own work.
In a list that is by no means comprehensive, here are just a few of the contributors that brought their musical magic to Cowboy Carter.
Rhiannon Giddens
“Texas Hold ‘Em” made history as the first hit single by a solo Black woman to top the Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart and 10 weeks later, as of this writing, it maintains its gilded perch. Fittingly, the song opens with the warmth and drive of the legendary Rhiannon Giddens strumming a standalone fretless, clawhammer gourd banjo. The talented multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer of many mediums, and roots scholar also sprinkles notes of viola throughout the track.
It is no coincidence that Giddens’ banjo playing, like much of her work, pays homage to the lineage of Black influence throughout roots music. Referred to by many as a “performing historian,” Giddens has spent her career shedding light upon the cross-cultural interweavings of the genre. Here, in an interview, she details the West African origins of the banjo, an instrument essential to American country music that was initially brought to the Americas by enslaved Black folks who used gourds and other accessible materials to recreate instruments of their homelands. By showcasing Giddens on the track, Beyoncé introduces a sonic representative of overlooked histories while uplifting one of the most celebrated Black musicians in modern day roots music.
Robert Randolph
Raised in a secluded religious community, Robert Randolph grew up without secular music. The renowned pedal steel guitarist heard only the music played within the House of God Church of Orange, New Jersey, for decades. He learned the instrument through Sacred Steel, a Black gospel tradition developed in the ’30s that highlighted the steel guitar during religious services.
During his early adulthood, Randolph became exposed to the world of music beyond; as he absorbed jazz, blues, funk, rock, and soul, he soon set out layering his gorgeous pedal steel tones upon a fusion of genres, particularly alongside his band, Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Across his musical arc, he epitomizes Beyoncé’s philosophy that music is transcendent; “All music is related,” he says. “Gospel is the same as blues. The only thing that changes is hardcore gospel people are singing about God and Jesus and in the blues people are singing about ‘my baby left me’ and whiskey.”
Justin Schipper
Like Robert Randolph, Justin Schipper is also credited for steel guitar on the track “16 Carriages.” A Nashville-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer, Schipper is a prominent figure in the current country landscape. His talents have landed him on tour with Josh Turner and Shania Twain (playing pedal steel and dobro), and he has gigged with the likes of Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Kris Kristofferson, Florida Georgia Line, and more.
Cam
Cam (given name Camaron Ochs) co-produced and co-wrote five songs on CC. An American country singer and songwriter, Cam began her career songwriting for musical giants in the industry such as Sam Smith and Miley Cyrus. Since then, she’s released three of her own studio albums with songs inspired by the songwriting styles of Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, and Joni Mitchell, amongst others. A prominent figure in the current country landscape, Cam lends crucial insights and layers with each of her contributions.
Sean & Sara Watkins
Renowned in the current bluegrass/newgrass scene, this sibling duo lends guitar (Sean) and fiddle (Sara) to the track “II Most Wanted.” Sean and Sara epitomize the familial quality so integral to bluegrass; their first band, Nickel Creek, was formed in 1989 alongside virtuoso Chris Thile when Sara and Chris were only 8 years old and Sean was 12. The siblings have been playing together ever since; Nickel Creek would go on to release seven albums, the latest of which, Celebrants, was released last year.
In 2002, the pair began The Watkins Family Hour as a monthly musical showcase featuring their friends and other collaborators in Los Angeles. Spanning over 20 years, the WFH has blossomed expansively. In fact, the pair released their third studio album, Vol. II, in 2022, a celebration of the project and the community surrounding it. Similarly to CC, the list of features for Vol. II is extensive, featuring the likes of Madison Cunningham, Willie Watson, Jackson Browne, and Fiona Apple, amongst others.
Stevie Wonder
A child prodigy who became blind shortly after birth, Stevie Wonder is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He makes his contribution to CC by layering tasteful harmonica atop the sonically rich layers of “Jolene,” a reimaginative cover in the shape of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic. Much like Beyoncé herself, Wonder is a trailblazer who, as Beyoncé stated in her Innovator Award speech at the iHeartRadio Awards, “defied any label placed upon [him].” From jazz to soul to funk to R&B to gospel to pop and beyond, Stevie Wonder has influenced and inspired creators across infinite genres and blendings with his vibrant propensity for experimentation. In the same speech, Beyoncé poured out a fountain of gratitude towards the legend, who presented her award —“Thank you so much Stevie, I love you,” she said. “I love you and I honor you. I want to thank you for making a way for all of us. […] Whenever anyone asks me if there’s anyone I can listen to for the rest of my life, it’s always you. So thank you, God bless you.”
Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts
These four women are responsible for the ethereal background and third verse vocals for “Blackbiird.” Additionally, Spencer, Roberts, and Kennedy also lend background vocals to “Tyrant,” while Adell’s voice is woven into the sweeping harmonies of “Ameriican Requiem.”
Initially released in 1968 on The Beatles’ self-titled album, (colloquially known as “The White Album”), Paul McCartney wrote “Blackbird” in response to witnessing on television the harassment and violence that Black students endured upon attending newly-integrated schools. In 2018, he told GQ that he was particularly influenced by the young women who constituted, in part, the Little Rock Nine in Alabama — a nickname for the first nine Black students to desegregate the formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
As McCartney explained to TODAY, “In England, a ‘bird’ is a girl, so I was thinking of a Black girl going through this; now is your time to arise; set yourself free; take these broken wings.”
Within her illustrious arrangement of the classic, Beyoncé pairs the initial guitar track recorded by McCartney with the vocals of herself and these four Black women whose careers are actively altering the historically whitewashed landscape of country. By including them, Beyoncé nods towards McCartney’s intended meaning of the song while actively uplifting these young women so that they may prosper in a genre that undervalues and mistreats the Black artists who continue to give it wings. Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts each have burgeoning careers in the genre that are largely influenced by traditional country sounds and themes.
Willie Nelson & Dolly Parton
In addition to inviting in many Black artists and roots musicians, Beyoncé strategically inserts more commercially successful country greats whose values align with her own. As Willie Nelson tells his faux-radio station listeners in the track “Smoke Hour II,” “Sometimes you don’t know what you like until someone you trust turns you onto some real good shit. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I’m here.” This line candidly demonstrates an awareness of the unfortunate truth that a vast array of today’s country fans are white listeners unlikely to take this music seriously without ample accreditation from respected white artists.
Merely four days after the release of CC, likely due in part to the inclusion of Willie and Dolly, the number of first-time listeners of Beyoncé’s music had increased by 85% on Spotify.
Willie Nelson, who celebrates his 91st birthday this year, is renowned for his left-leaning activism (especially advocating for the legalization of marijuana — hence the nomenclature of his feature tracks “Smoke Hour” and “Smoke Hour II”) and his role in pioneering the Outlaw Country movement. Outlaw Country began in the ’60s as a subgenre to rebel against the conservative suppressions, sonic and otherwise, of the country industry at the time. Willie and his like-minded contemporaries strove to achieve creative freedom beyond the political and sonic standards that dominated Nashville.
Similarly, Dolly Parton has used her platform, influence, and capital to enact social change. In addition to being an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University in 2020 to go towards vaccine research amidst the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of 2024, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton are widely regarded as two of the most successful American country artists of all time. Nelson holds 12 Grammys from 57 nominations, and continues to tour (in fact, he is actively on the road again right now). Dolly has accrued a total of 11 Grammys from 50 nominations over the course of her career and recently gave a dazzling performance at the 2023 NFL Thanksgiving Halftime Show. The amount of esteem and respect each has garnered throughout their careers grants Cowboy Carter a certain amount of credibility within the wider country circuit.
However, it is clear that Beyoncé doesn’t just merely use these two for their name recognition. She is, indubitably, a seasoned scholar in the history of American country music and respects the discography of both artists immensely. While both give narrative voice-overs, Dolly also lends background vocals to “Tyrant” and, of course, shares songwriting credits for the innovative cover of her song “Jolene” that appears on the album.
Willie Jones & Shaboozey
Willie Jones joins Beyoncé on CC to lend his resonant, smoky vocals on the duet track, “Just for Fun,” and to “Jolene.” Having gotten his start as a contestant on the X Factor in 2012, Jones is currently making a name for himself as contemporary Black country artist that Grammy.com refers to as a “country-rap iconoclast.” As proves to be a crucial theme throughout Cowboy Carter, Jones galvanizes cross-genre musings to make a sound that is entirely his own.
Similarly, Shaboozey is a rapping Black country artist who represents the future of the genre. Combining hip-hop, rock, country, and Americana, Shaboozey further embodies the blending spirit behind CC. His contributions to the album include rapping verses on both “Spaghettii” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin.”
Linda Martell
Beyoncé ingeniously laced together Cowboy Carter to demonstrate the past, present, and future of Black musicians who have influenced the American roots music; and Linda Martell stands as a crowned example of the past. Martell, now 82, was the first commercially successful Black woman in country. In 1969, she made history as the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry, and she held the status of highest peaking single by a Black woman on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles Chart for her song “Color Him Father” until Beyoncé’s very own “Texas Hold ‘Em” took its place.
However, Martell’s success was short-lived; she left Nashville and country music altogether in 1974 after receiving racist backlash following the release of her first album. Nearly every live show was corroded by racial slurs from belligerent audiences, and her label eventually shelved her music when her single, “Bad Case of the Blues,” failed to do the numbers they were expecting. As Martell postulates on the CC track “Spaghettii,” “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined.”
While Martell’s career arc fell victim to the confines of hegemonic racism within Nashville (and the country at large), her appearance on Cowboy Carter pays tribute to her historical strides for Black artists nevertheless. The track “The Linda Martell Show” (wherein Martell poses as the host of her own radio show) acts as a foil to Willie Nelson’s “Smoke Hour” — Beyoncé here reimagines the career of Martell, granting her the accreditation to host her own show, something history previously never afforded her.
Miley Cyrus & Post Malone
Beyoncé’s respect for innovation rings loud and clear in her inclusion of Miley Cyrus and Post Malone on CC. Each share a vocal duet with Beyoncé on the album — Miley sings “II Most Wanted” and Post Malone contributes to the track “Levii’s Jeans.”
Though both are primarily known as pop artists, each has a career largely informed by their capacity to genrebend. Miley, daughter of country icon Billy Ray Cyrus and God-daugher of Dolly Parton, adds additional credibility to Beyoncé’s country venture. Throughout her career, Miley has traversed country, rock, pop, and R&B.
Similarly, Post Malone has woven together pop, alternative R&B, hip-hop, and indie throughout his career, and many speculate that he will soon release a country album.
It should be noted that both Miley Cyrus and Post Malone have been able to immerse themselves in genres that are historically Black throughout their respective careers. That both have moved between country and R&B without controversy is telling; their capacity to do so seamlessly and successfully demonstrates how white artists are able to express themselves fluidly without systemic repercussions. It is this very ease that Beyoncé wishes to cultivate for artists of every race; in her Instagram post about the release of the album, she writes, “My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
Raphael Saddiq
Referred to by music critic Robert Chrisgau as the “preeminent R&B artist of the ’90s,” Raphael Saddiq made mark as an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He rose to fame in the ’90s with his R&B/soul group, Tony! Toni! Toné!, and went on to have a successful solo career. Additionally, he has produced songs for musical giants such as Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, TLC, D’Angelo, Solange Knowles (Beyoncé’s sister), John Legend, and more.
He is credited 18 times over the course of Cowboy Carter for his producing, writing, and instrumental contributions to the tracklist.
Whether you’ve been following the Bluegrass Situation for 10 years or 10 days, you’ve likely noticed that we cover more than bluegrass. That’s especially evident in our BGS Class of 2022, a retrospective written by our contributors that includes numerous familiar faces, a couple of superstars, and even a few surprises. (And you can probably tell that we’re fans of live music.) Here are our favorite moments of 2022, listed alphabetically and enthusiastically.
Banjos, Banjos, and More Banjos
For banjo lovers, 2022 offered an array of styles and inspirations. Jake Blount explored Afrofuturism on The New Faith, while Caamp’s Evan Westfall channeled his Ralph Stanley influences into the Americana-leaning album Lavender Days. Pharis & Jason Romero embraced a folk sound in “Cannot Change It All,” Tray Wellington indulged his interest in jazz on Black Banjo, and Leyla McCalla related her Haitian heritage in songs like “Fort Dimanche.” Could banjos be the great unifier? — Craig Shelburne
Big Thief, “Spud Infinity”
With its bounding cartoon mouth harp and Adrienne Lenker’s hound dog howl, this standout on Big Thief’s double album, is a goof on Americana tropes, a funny embrace of the kookier sides of early Dylan or maybe Country Joe & the Fish. The song’s odd climax is the bemused realization that you can’t kiss your own elbows: “They’re on their own!” Lenker declares. How the band manages to pivot from such silliness to a genuinely moving existential query is a cosmic bit of choreography. — Stephen Deusner
Black Artists in Country Music
Forty years ago I wrote a review of Big Al Downing’s LP on the Team label for the Bridgeport Post-Telegram (today the Connecticut Post). I got two letters — one from (I presume) a white man saying, “N-words don’t sing country music. Why did they print your crap?” The other came from a Black guy saying, “You’re a great writer. Write about OUR MUSIC.” I know he’d be thrilled at the presence of so many Blacks in country today, and at videos like Jimmie Allen’s poignant ‘Down Home.’ It’s about life, love, country things and every bit as much about Black life as any ghetto saga or rap chronicle. Seeing it always makes me happy and seeing him and other Black stars excel in country reaffirms it is AMERICAN music, period. — Ron Wynn
Kate Bush’s Second Run and Sam Bush’s Radio John
If this year gave us one thing to be especially grateful for, it was the return of Kate Bush, whose 1986 earworm “Running Up That Hill” was inescapable following its prominent inclusion in Season 4 of Stranger Things. Suddenly Kate was almost everywhere (though to some of us she never really went anywhere but I digress…). Even my 16-year-old niece suddenly knew about “Cloudbusting” and “Wuthering Heights,” to my great joy. But Kate wasn’t the only Bush to make an impact in 2022. A more familiar face to BGS fans, the Sam variety of Bush released a beautifully personal tribute, titled Radio John, for his friend and musical icon John Hartford. While the Bushes’ music couldn’t be more diametrically opposed, the “Bushaissance” was a welcome reminder that some of our most legendary artists continue to be as prolific and relevant as ever. — Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
This March 15 show began as a statement of where Mike Campbell is going and ended with a celebration of where he’s been. It was a cathartic night of mourning Tom Petty’s death and celebrating that his brand of literate rock lives on through Campbell’s music vision. It was exhilaratingly joyful. Bonus: Margo Price bashing away on drums behind husband and opening act, melodic songwriter Jeremy Ivey. — Jim Patterson
Cimafunk at Austin City Limits
When Cimafunk taped his Austin City Limits debut in May, it was like watching the spirits of James Brown and Prince explode into an Afro-Cuban soul-funk supernova. The moves, the grooves, the seductive way rhythms rippled through his body … the language barrier simply melted away, replaced by pure, infectious energy. From gorgeous balladry to syncopated deliciousness, Cimafunk & the Tribe, his eight-piece, jazz-influenced band, left me crushing hard — and dancing out the door. — Lynne Margolis
JazzFest Returns
The first second line parade… the first blaring brass band … the first Cajun waltz… the first bite of a cochon de lait po’ boy… New Orleans’ JazzFest was back after three looooong years! The “headliners”? Who cares? The stuff you can’t get anywhere else was what we missed. DahkaBrakha from war-torn Ukraine, their traditional towering hats against a backdrop of the words “Won’t Bow Down,” the defiant credo of New Orleans’ Black Masking Indians? Yeah you right. — Steve Hochman
Kentucky Rising Raises $3 Million
After flash flooding decimated Eastern Kentucky in early August, Chris Stapleton organized a relief concert at Lexington’s Rupp Arena on Oct. 11 that included Kentucky all-stars Tyler Childers and Dwight Yoakam. The show’s highlight came during a star-studded finale that saw Eastern Kentucky musical paragons Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless join others for a rendition of John Prine’s “Paradise.” The surprise moment was a powerful reminder of how, even in the darkest of times, music has the power to lift spirits. — Matt Wickstrom
After a 2015 aneurysm left Joni Mitchell having to relearn how to walk and sing, her performing days seemed over. But she had a comeback for the ages at this past July’s Newport Folk Festival, with help from Brandi Carlile and friends. Mitchell’s first full set in 23 years was an unequivocal triumph, especially the penultimate “Both Sides Now” – which had everyone there openly weeping. The moment of redemptive healing we didn’t know we needed. — David Menconi
Plains, I Walked With You a Ways
Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson teamed up to form Plains this year, and Williamson may have written the perfect millennial country song for the project (though, as country music tends to do, it’ll resonate with any generation.) “Abilene” reluctantly talks of dreams that once were — now abandoned, for one reason or another. With white picket fences being harder than ever to reach these days, “Abilene” might leave my fellow millennials crying into their avocado toast, but immediately swept back up by this wholly incredible and refreshing album. — Shelby Williamson
Caitlin Rose, CAZIMI
Before November, Caitlin Rose hadn’t released an album since 2013 — and still managed to be a “top-played” artist for me every year. CAZIMI perfectly encapsulates why: Her hummable melodies, expertly balanced instrumental twang, and smart lyrical candor make every song feel like a confessional with your wittiest friend. From the forward-looking harmonies of “Getting It Right” to the vulnerable, clear-voiced “Blameless,” CAZIMI is yet another Rose stunner I’ll be spinning for decades to come. — Dacey Orr Sivewright
Sam Shackleton on Gems on VHS
A top musical moment for me this year was watching Scottish musician and folklorist Sam Shackleton on GemsOnVHS’ YouTube channel, performing the classic song “House Carpenter” from Arthur’s Seat which overlooks his hometown of Edinburgh. I love how Shackleton’s spirited busker style puts him at ease anywhere, solo or in a crowded pub jam. His richly accented singing voice and his unpretentious banjo style shine through in this video. — Lindsey Terrell
Sister Sadie, “Diane”
So, how’s this for a storyline? The singer finds out not only that her boyfriend is a two-timing creep, but also that he’s married to her friend Diane. And in this female take on the cheating story, knowing she has betrayed a friend is what hurts most. After a sweet acapella intro, a banjo backup tells you to strap in — the bluegrass is about to take off. Great story, great vocals, great drive. – Claire Levine
Chris Stapleton & Patty Loveless at the CMA Awards
For my musical moment of 2022, I didn’t have to go too far back. At this year’s CMA Awards, Chris Stapleton and Patty Loveless joined forces on a Darrell Scott classic, a gut-wrenching song about the hardship of living in the coal country of Eastern Kentucky. I performed this song a few times in my day and it still makes me shiver when I hear the hook: “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” — Jonny Therrien
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ2ZgQ1AP2c
Town Mountain, “Lines in the Levee”
With its first album on New West Records, Lines in the Levee, Town Mountain has broken into a new, exciting level. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, this Americana/bluegrass act is a high-octane, live-wire presence on stage. And, with this latest record, the group dug deep into its lyrical wellspring, commenting on the state of affairs in America — a melodic voice of reason amid uncertain times. In truth, after 17 years together, the band is only getting more raucous and riled up. “Lines in the Levee” has already become a staple in the concert realm. — Garret K. Woodward
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, “Crooked Tree”
Molly Tuttle’s “Crooked Tree” is a testament to finding strength in otherness. It’s a track that leans into traditional aesthetics while oozing Tuttle’s personality, worldview, and musical ethos — which remind of second-generation bluegrass trail blazers like Laurie Lewis and Lynn Morris. The confidence, vigor, and panache Tuttle has built with Golden Highway and on Crooked Tree are striking and widely resonant; in November, she received two Grammy nominations: Best New Artist and Best Bluegrass Album. — Justin Hiltner
Watkins Family Hour, Vol. II
I cheered about everything that went into Watkins Family Hour’s Vol. II. Not to downplay the 20-year milestone of Sean and Sara Watkins’ collaborative project but their third LP being devoted to just that, collaboration, felt like a burst of sunshine against lockdown’s darkness. Each song sounds so full of human individuality — of life. Rather than listening to a recording, I feel like I’ve walked into Largo for Watkins Family Hour’s next live show. — Kira Grunenberg
Photo Credit: NPR (Leyla McCalla); Newport Folk Festival (Joni Mitchell); Nonesuch Records (Molly Tuttle)
Sara and Sean Watkins were still children when they began playing bluegrass festivals, where the siblings often performed songs arranged on the fly with people they’d met just minutes before. When the Vista, California, natives began exploring Los Angeles’ music scene, they were delighted to discover infusions of that same collaborative spirit — particularly at Largo, the club where composer/producer Jon Brion often mixed and matched players and songs of seemingly incongruous musical styles at his Friday night shows. When the Watkins Family Hour residency began in 2002, Brion encouraged them to create their own adventurous pairings. Twenty years later, they’re still at it, and credit his inspiration for their approach to Vol. II, the latest chronicle of their now-legendary monthly gatherings.
While their 2020 Watkins Family Hour release, Brother Sister, focused on Sean and Sara’s vocal and instrumental interplay (on guitar and violin, respectively) and original compositions, the new album returns to the collaborative approach used on 2015’s Watkins Family Hour.
Recorded in three days, Vol. II is full of inspired combinations: The Zombies’ “The Way I Feel Inside” features a heavenly near-a cappella quartet of Watkins and Lucius voices; on the Charlie Rich-penned Ernest Tubb classic “Thanks a Lot,” Sean evokes Teddy Thompson as he and Sara channel the Everlys — to a Bo Diddley beat and some Brion chicken-pickin’. On Elliott Smith’s “Pitseleh,” Madison Cunningham’s twinkling high-strung Telecaster notes gorgeously counterpoint Sean’s lovely vocals and Sara’s sweeping violin parts.
While the range of material is impressive enough — they might be the first artists to cover a Tune-Yards song (“Hypnotized”), which certainly stands as a testament to their boldness — it’s the mind-boggling list of contributors that confirms Sara and Sean Watkins really have built a family. One they look forward to expanding.
BGS: Twenty years — that’s literally half your lives, and most clubs aren’t even around that long. You mentioned wanting to pay homage to Largo as well as the scene and the music, which you do by delving into history, yet also drawing on current styles. How do you make it all fit together so well?
Sara: One of the things we love about bluegrass is how it’s a living history, and how there was a bit of a perspective of, like, built to last — the idea that a song is built to last, and old songs and musicians from earlier generations are all that much more respected and admired for how much they have contributed over the years. And if it’s a song, how many people this song has touched and affected, and it’s still alive, and people love playing it still. Playing that material, and respecting the heritage, is a big part of what we grew up with. We didn’t really grow up (thinking), “What’s new, that’s the best stuff.” We grew up with “what’s old, that’s the best stuff.” So in our repertoire, there’s always been older songs. That respect is common to all roots music. … There’s so much older stuff that we already know; we were really happy and eager to include some of the new material we’ve been turned on to by friends like Glen Phillips (“Grief and Praise”), Tom Brosseau (“We Were Meant to Be Together”), Ethan Gruska (“On the Outside”) and Tune-Yards.
Sean: We chose old songs that we played early on, like “She Left Me Standing on the Mountain” and “Tennessee Waltz,” but we also tried to highlight some of our favorite songwriters that are part of the community, or Largo specifically, like Glen. He’s the reason we play at Largo; he’s the one that vetted us to play there and introduced us to that whole community. We picked songs based on how they related to Largo and the Family Hour, rather than just random songs we like to play.
Old songs that we’re able to do with the Watkins Family Hour band, like “Tennessee Waltz,” we wouldn’t do at a bluegrass festival because it’s been done a million times, and in probably a similar way. But for us to do it with Benmont Tench playing beautiful piano voicings, I mean, piano is not a bluegrass instrument, and the voicings he’s using are not bluegrass voicings, so it enables us to play an old song that we might write off as being overdone, and give it some new life because of the people we’re playing it with. It doesn’t modernize “Tennessee Waltz,” but it’s a new twist on it.
Sara: Equally relevant to the Family Hour in a lot of ways, I think, is that’s a song that has been a part of so many generations and so many people’s lives. We don’t play it a lot, but I think that’s what made that performance on the album so special.
Sean: One of the things that we discovered early on at Largo that made it really exciting for us is that we can do these songs for people that maybe have never even heard bluegrass before, and if they have, it’s totally fine to do “Tennessee Waltz.”
BGS: You’ve played with a lot of people in 20 years. Just reading the list of backing vocalists on “Grief and Praise,” I was like, “Damn, that’s all the cool kids in L.A.” — including the co-founder of the Bluegrass Situation. Would you say that you discovered more of those artists from playing at Largo, or that they discovered you and wanted to jump in because of Largo?
Sean: In the beginning, it was certainly us being introduced to people, and then once we got going, people knew about it. When it got to a point where people would ask us if they could play a show, we felt very honored. Sometimes Flanagan, who owns and runs Largo, would ask us to sit in and play with a comedian or another musician as part of their show, and then we would tell them about our show. It’s a lot of that back and forth.
Sara: When we started doing this show regularly, we were seeing a bunch of shows and being inspired by tons of new music and new artists. Occasionally, we would ask if they would want to do our show, and sometimes they would ask if we wanted to open for them or play a song in their show, and you just meet each other. When you move to a new town, you go out and meet new friends, and that’s what we did.
You started that residency pretty young, but when you stepped into it, you must have already had the respect of the community.
Sara: I don’t think we did, honestly.
Sean: Not that community.
Sara: One of the best things that I learned from the Family Hour is how important it is to give people a chance to develop and grow, because when Flanagan offered us this residency, it could have lasted six months or a year. But it lasted 20. I think he just wanted to give us a chance to interact with the scene in Los Angeles and introduce us to some of his musician friends and people that play Largo, and by opening the door to that, we were just completely blown away by the people we got to perform with and to become friends and sit in with, and the people who were interested in sitting in with us. It was like Flanagan was vouching for us by inviting us to do this residency. And as Sean was saying, over time, as it became something that was pretty consistent, we’ve been able to expand the group of friends and also have an opportunity to write with people. It opened the doors for all kinds of other collaborations.
Sean: When we started doing these shows at Largo in our early 20s, there was a lot of stuff happening in Nashville with our kinds of music. We thought about moving there and starting something, but when we started going to Largo and playing these shows, it felt really good to be a little different than the average musician in Los Angeles. It was more fun and more of a challenge to dive into a scene like Largo that’s really big and heavy in different ways, and new and challenging. I’ve had to learn so many songs and so many styles of music that really pushed me, and I’m really grateful for that. And that’s partly why we made this album. It’s a past that we’re celebrating, but it’s not just nostalgic; it’s continued to be this way, much to all of our surprise. We didn’t expect it to feel this exciting still. But that’s because there’s new people all the time, and new songs, and like Sara says, because it’s a monthly show and we have such a regular audience, it makes us realize that we need to mix it up and present new songs.
It was an unexpected treat to hear Fiona Apple on what’s almost a Western swing tune.
Sara: That was one of the first examples of what Sean was saying about things we learned from Jon Brion putting people together and finding common material. When we first met, Fiona was onstage; I think Jon knew that we probably grew up with some classic country stuff, and that Fiona also loved a lot of that. One of the first things we played with her was “Walkin’ After Midnight,” and we got to experience the power of how she embodies every song that she sings. For us, “Walkin’ After Midnight” is a clichéd song that very few people would take on. It’s been done very well; we don’t really need to do it a lot more. But for us to hear her sing that gave it this new relevancy and a completely transformative power. That is another example of the context affecting the message.
I’ll never forget hearing Gaby Moreno sing at your Watkins Family Hour session during the 2017 Folk Alliance International conference. She just blew me away. She seems like the perfect example of a deserving artist you can draw attention to with a project like this one.
Sean: I’m in a band called Fiction Family. We used to play this show on Sunday nights. There’d be like four bands a night, and Gaby was doing a bunch of songs that were like poppy, kind of raucous rock songs. Then she did a traditional Guatemalan song and played guitar. And it was like, “Oh, we could totally do music together.” So I invited her to one of our shows. It was that moment of hearing a commonality that opened the door to a great musical relationship. She’s taught us so much about her style of music and even, just, rhythm. We played a show with her in Aspen, Colorado, and she was showing me these different traditional mariachi guitar-strumming patterns that I videotaped on my phone because it’s just so cool. So it’s a really great relationship; it’s not only fun, but we get to learn from each other.
On the flip side of that, you have some legends on here. But since you’ve been doing this all your life, it probably doesn’t feel as goose-bumpy.
Sean: Oh, it does.
Sara, how do you take a song that you’re performing with Jackson Browne and let him be the background vocalist and you take the lead?
Sara: We’ve gotten to know Jackson over the years quite well. We played “The Late Show” with him on his tour a long time ago, singing the background parts. We love the song, but it’s best done with two harmony singers that can sing those beautiful answering parts. Jackson was doing the show, so we just on a lark thought, “Well, we should do ‘The Late Show.’ Why don’t we see if he’d sing the harmony part?” And so we worked it up, and it was great. He was gracious enough to sing harmony on it at a live show, and then shortly after, we were planning the album and we asked if he would sing a song or maybe we could do one together. And he’s like, “Right. Should we do ‘The Late Show?’” So we did.
You two have a long list of projects and collaborations that have always kept you busy, but you’ve stayed by each other’s sides since Nickel Creek (formed with Chris Thile when he and Sara were 9 and Sean was 12). I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but how do you make it work?
Sean: (Laughs.) I mean, we’ve just done it since we were kids, and it’s always been fun. We’ve always been great friends and love playing with each other. The older we get, the more we realize how rare it is. There are a lot of bands of siblings, but the thing that I’m grateful for is that we’re both driven, musically, pretty much the same way and amount. We both enjoy it the same amount and are able to step in and out of different roles.
Sara: It is a nice partnership. There has been a good give and take between us over the years. If there’s a time when one of us feels more capable of taking the helm, it’s really nice to let that happen. Like in bicycle races, there’s somebody in front that takes the wind and the other person just rests for a minute, then the other person goes. It feels like that sometimes. Because we’re a team in Family Hour and Nickel Creek, we’ve learned how to support each other. But it’s also really great that we have other individual projects. Sean works on scoring and writing a lot, and I’ll do things here and there. It’s good to be able to have your own zone; your own corner, as well as to bring things to the table for all the other projects.
Twenty years ago, two young musicians in the West Coast music scene started a residency that would outlive more bands than they could’ve imagined at the time. The brother-sister duo is none other than Sean and Sara Watkins, whose earliest national success came from their collaboration with mandolinist Chris Thile in Nickel Creek. Performing and recording with that band fostered the Watkins kids’ interest in acoustic music from a young age, and by the time they were both in their early twenties, Sara and Sean began a residency at the Los Angeles club Largo.
“It’s been really exciting to be part of this thing that is happening and growing and enables us to dig deep into this musical community. The consistency has been invaluable to both of us, as musicians,” Sean says. Sara adds, “But also, in life, the Family Hour has been and continues to be a huge part of making us feel anchored in the crazy city of Los Angeles.”
Now after numerous albums recorded with friends and on their own, Watkins Family Hour have reunited for a new project. It’s the third album from the duo, despite its curious name, Vol. II. As with previous installments from Watkins Family Hour, this new record features artists that have made guest appearances at Largo during the Watkins’ residency, including Madison Cunningham, Jackson Browne, and Gaby Moreno, to name a few.
Upon announcing the new album, Watkins Family Hour released their own spin on “Hypnotized,” one of their personal favorites discovered on their travels. “While on tour for our previous record, we heard this Tune-Yards song on the radio and then proceeded to listen to it just about every day after that while driving to the next town,” they stated. “Their version is so beautifully intricate and wild. We knew it would be a challenge, but it became apparent we needed to learn the dang thing ourselves and record it.”
It was 2010 when the true origins of “The Sitch” first materialized. For five days in May, BGS founder Ed Helms congregated a lauded lineup of roots artists at the storied Largo at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles. That first annual LA Bluegrass Situation festival included the likes of Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, The Watkins Family Hour, Gillian Welch, Will Ferrell, Jackson Browne, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Ed’s Whiskey Sour Radio Hour variety showcase.
In the festivals that followed, LABS brought in the likes of Nickel Creek, John C. Reilly, the Punch Brothers, Willie Watson, and many others before broadening to bigger venues across Los Angeles. The online iteration of “The Bluegrass Sitch” wouldn’t come to fruition for another two years, but the heart of it was all there, on stage at Largo, from the very start.
The widespread shuttering of the music industry during coronavirus has given many musicians, bands, and artists the opportunity to inspect and reconfigure their priorities. In the many months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, this phenomenon has been well-documented in writing about music — music released as a result of the coronavirus or released in its all-eclipsing shadow, both. Artists have altered so many of the ways they interact with and create music and watching creatives respond to this worldwide cataclysm has been all at once entrancing and existential.
Especially in instrumental music. Especially in instrumental music made in the off time — away from the “day job,” the main gig, or perhaps, again the off time afforded by COVID. In the gaps, where life allows, acoustic musicians in bluegrass, Americana, and old-time have been exploring the existential questions brought about by the pandemic — and also often by parenthood, by identity, by health and well being, or simply by the pursuit of self — in endlessly fascinating musical endeavors.
Andrew Marlin, co-frontperson of longtime Americana string duo Watchhouse (formerly known as Mandolin Orange) released not one but two albums of such endeavors this year, ostensible results of introspection of his role as a father, fighting-while-resigning-to the day-to-day beauties and fears within fatherhood. There’s a bleak, beautiful nakedness to “The Jaybird,” off Fable & Fire, an age-old sounding fiddle tune with sleek, modern simplicities that seem to indicate the gorgeousness possible from being still, watching, waiting, and listening.
On Witching Hour, “Too Hot To Move” isn’t a barn burner, it’s a Musgraves-level slow burn; a tepid, mosquito-laden, languid afternoon on a back porch, the air thick with humidity. Again, striking in its display of the delectable everyday, in not just occupying the same place with the same people daily, but inhabiting that place with intention. Marlin’s backing band of Clint Mullican (bass), Josh Oliver (guitar, piano, and more), Jordan Tice (guitar, bouzouki), and Christian Sedelmeyer (fiddle) is largely consistent between the projects as well, reiterating this point.
Sara Watkins, known for many a “main gig” — whether that be Watkins Family Hour, Nickel Creek, or I’m With Her — released another fantastic solo offering, built on many of the same tenets evident in Marlin’s recordings. Under the Pepper Tree, whose title track is the album’s sole instrumental, is a whimsical, winking collection of near-lullabies and other ageless classics rendered as only Watkins could, with pop underpinnings and gloss, but a worn, charming patina of bluegrass and Americana via the American Songbook and its associated canon.
“Under the Pepper Tree” listens like a fiddled campfire coda to a day on the trail; or, similarly, as if a goodnight to Watkins’ young daughter, after returning from tour. While the album as a whole carries the movement and adventure of the Wild West, as well as theatre and cinema and gaiety, its sense of place — of rootedness — is remarkable, especially in “Under the Pepper Tree,” oozing of lessons learned and intentions made underneath its boughs through pandemic isolation.
Continuing on fiddle, Mike Barnett’s non-Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder project released in 2020, +1, feels like somewhat familiar territory, a collection of duets with friends and musical compatriots that stretches out purposefully and athletically from his tours with the Country Music Hall of Famer (who also appears on the album). “Piece O’ Shrimp,” with guest Alex Hargreaves on twin fiddle, is wonky, newgrassy, orchestral, and sly with old-time baked in and a dash of Darol Anger & Mike Marshall’s duet work.
The poetry in the tune, and the entire project really, came from a health-related pausing of a different kind, though. While the rest of us felt the world halt due to the coronavirus, Barnett’s record release, as well as his performing career, were unexpectedly paused when Barnett suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in July 2020. This collection of songs gains an entirely new meaning, not only in the context of COVID-19, but also as a waypoint on Barnett’s journey through music, his recovery, and his eventual return to playing. Still in in-patient rehabilitation and therapy, Barnett posted an update via GoFundMe (support here) in February 2021 that closed, “…A full recovery is possible and likely!”
Finally, to conclude our foray into solo instrumental explorations, Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter of Meadow Mountain, considers ideas of place, identity, and belonging on his upcoming crowdfunded release, Spark in Your Smile. Decidedly forsaking tradition-adjacency, perhaps more than might be expected if a listener’s entry point is Meadow Mountain, the album is a testament to Armstrong-Zickefoose’s commitment to community building; he’s utilizing music and creative expression for that purpose. The expansive quality of the project’s lack of genre conjures joy first and foremost, especially on “Mona,” and globe-crossing communities as a near second, each instrument, texture, and tone evidence of what’s possible when roots music allows folks to be and to belong. A priority high on everyone’s list, but especially queer folks in bluegrass, old-time, and Americana like Armstrong-Zickefoose.
As touring bands return to the road, it will continue to be fascinating to watch musicians navigate the reconfiguration of their priorities — and how they will continue to carve out the time to express themselves, instrumentally and otherwise, while life, and the music industry, charges on ahead.
Photo credit: Sara Watkins by Jacob Boll; Andrew Marlin by Lindsey Rome.
Of all the good news that has come out of 2021 so far, none might be sweeter than the news that Nickel Creek has been re-joining forces to write and perform music again. On the final two Sundays of February, the band hosted two livestream concert events called “Nickel Stream: A Livecreek Experience” via Mandolin.com.
Not missing a step or forgetting a lyric, the trio’s performances were immaculate and reminded audiences why Nickel Creek is a special band. In this video of “Helena,” they exercise the signature spice that has always marked their music, taking their listeners on a journey that grows and evolves until its frenzied end. Sara and Sean Watkins together with Chris Thile effortlessly create beautiful, entrancing music, no matter the context and to hear fresh renditions of some of Nickel Creek’s beloved material is welcome anytime here at BGS.
BGS is excited to announce the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Pre-Show, produced and presented in partnership with IBMA and highlighting this year’s Emerging Artist Award nominees. WATCH HERE.
The half-hour-long special will be hosted by Sean & Sara Watkins (winners of the Emerging Artist award as part of Nickel Creek in 2000) and features performances from all five 2020 nominees: Appalachian Road Show, Carolina Blue, High Fidelity, Mile Twelve, and Merle Monroe.
“In a year of firsts, we’re excited to launch a new collaborative tradition for BGS and IBMA,” says Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, BGS co-founder and Executive Director. “The Pre-Show is an opportunity to kick off the biggest night in bluegrass and highlight the future of the genre.”
The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Pre-Show starts at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT on Thursday, October 1 — just before the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards — and will air on our YouTube channel as well as IBMA’s conference and festival platform, Swapcard. (Free music pass registration is available here.) Immediately following the event, viewers can click through to Swapcard, or IBMA’s Facebook page, to stream the full awards show. The Pre-Show is presented in partnership with BGS sponsor, Preston Thompson Guitars.
IBMA World of Bluegrass 2020 is a virtual music homecoming and convention, taking place September 28-October 3; the event includes the IBMA Business Conference; IBMA Bluegrass Ramble presented by Count On Me NC, an innovative series of band showcases; the 31st Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards presented by Count On Me NC, and IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC.
(Editor’s note: A previous version of this announcement listed the air time for the show as 7pm ET / 4pm PT. The correct airtime is 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT.)
Don’t look now, but we’re approaching the mid-point of June and another week has passed us by. YIKES! Luckily, we have another week’s worth of long reads for you, too!
The long-winding catacombs of the BGS annals and archives have so much to offer. As we share our favorite longer, more in-depth articles, stories, and features to help you pass the time, take a minute to follow us on social media [on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram] so you don’t miss a single #longreadoftheday pick!
This week’s long reads travel from the canyon drives above Hollywood to Pavement to a former Oregon poet laureate to everyone’s favorite five-stringed instrument. Check ’em out.
Stephen Malkmus, of the bristly, brainy 1990s indie rock band Pavement, joins a host of fellow alt-rockers in dabbling with folk and acoustic sounds. On a brand new album, Traditional Techniques, which was produced by Chris Funk of the Decemberists, Malkmus expands on the flickers of folk interest that have permeated his career, though he may not claim mastery of any of them. [Read our #CoverStory interview]
Earlier this week we celebrated Sara Watkins’ birthday (June 8, for the record) with a revisit to our recent Artist of the Month interview where she walked us through her recent Watkins Family Hour album, brother sister. For the first time in their lifelong musical careers, Sara and her brother Sean focused on creating music centered on their own duo. brother sister was the result. [Celebrate Sara’s birthday with a read]
Aoife O’Donovan’s latest EP, Bull Frogs Croon (And Other Songs), arrived in March. Our Cover Story unspooled the inspiration she gained via poet Peter Sears, the former poet laureate of Oregon, whose verse is utilized in three songs O’Donovan wrote and arranged with Teddy Abrams and Jeremy Kittel. The project is rounded out by a Hazel Dickens cover and a classic folk song, giving listeners a sampling of each of O’Donovan’s folky expertises. [Read the interview]
A new, two-part documentary, Laurel Canyon, traces the comings and goings of several generations of folk rockers down Sunset Boulevard and up into the hills. Chris Hillman (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers), one of the canyon’s earliest and most famous residents, about the new film, the community, the music, the neighborhood, and why he had to leave. [Read the full story]
With her classic 2018 Mixtape banjoist and singer/songwriter Ashley Campbell reinforced the deeply held BGS belief that– MORE!! BANJOS!! From songs by her late, legendary father Glen and her godfather Carl Jackson to classics from folks like J.D. Crowe, John Hartford, and the Dixie Chicks, this mix has a little bit of everything and a whole lot of five-string. [Read & listen]
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