American Songwriter recently interviewed former Nickel Creek fiddler, Sara Watkins. Watkins just released her first, self-titled, solo project.

The interview takes the form of a question and answer session. Some attention is given to songwriting, but much of the discussion concerned Sara’s music background and influences, her experiences with Nickel Creek, and of course, her new CD. One interesting exchange concerned the transition from being a band member to a solo artist.

Having played with Nickel Creek for most of your life, what was it like transitioning to life as a solo artist?

It has been interesting and really exciting, empowering and also frustrating. And I want to learn how to do it better‚Äì “it” meaning I want to learn to manage myself better. I have a manager but I want to learn to be more self-sufficient and to be more capable and to just be able to handle more, like multi-tasking. I don’t want to be so overwhelmed with details about travel and logistics. I want to be able to handle all of that and still be able to put everything into a show.

Check out American Songwriter for the entire interview.

Nonesuch Records has announced that the debut solo project for former Nickel Creek fiddler and vocalist Sara Watkins will be released in April 7, 2009. The CD was produced by John Paul Jones, and will include guest spots from former NC bandmates Chris Thile – who also records for Nonesuch – and her brother Sean.

From the label’s description, it appears that her new album will hew closer to the Nickel Creek mold than Thile’s more adventurous acoustic direction, mixing folk, pop and fiddle music.

Watkins segues gracefully from the lighthearted country and western swing of Jimmie Rodger’s Any Old Time, to the world-weariness and spiritual yearning of Norman Blake’s Lord Won’t You Help Me, to the romantic wistfulness of Jon Brion’s Same Mistake. Though she still considers herself a neophyte as a songwriter, her own work is as evocative as any of the material she’s chosen to cover. Her wordless fiddle tunes are exuberant, foot-stomping pieces, while the songs for which she wrote both music and lyrics have a heart-meltingly lovelorn quality.

Jones, who made his name as the bass player with Led Zeppelin in the 1970s, has been actively involved in folk and acoustic music of late. He produced the most recent project from Uncle Earl, Waterloo, Tennessee.

Last Friday we shared news about a Nickel Creek DVD which was to have been shot during the last two shows on their Farewell (For Now) tour at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

The folks at Sugar Hill were delighted when it seemed that the DVD would be released on their label next year, but it now appears that the plans for the video shoot at the end of November have been scrapped.

Last night Nickel Creek played here in Roanoke, Virginia, as one of the stops on their Farewell (For Now) Tour. It was a late addition to the tour and tickets sold out quickly. The concert took place in a nice theater environment at the Jefferson Center, where Chris, Sara and Sean, joined by Mark Schatz on the bass, put on a great show.

The show is everything you’d expect from this youthful bunch of seasoned pickers. They performed their hits, starting with the newest ones and working their way backward towards The Fox, intermingled with newer material. As a fan of the band, it was great to get to hear them perform these songs live one more time, but the fun came from the newer material.

It’s not uncommon for rock, pop, or country bands to espouse political views from the stage, but it’s somewhat unheard of at a bluegrass show. I guess the freedom Nickel Creek enjoys from not having the bluegrass label firmly affixed, gave them the liberty to venture into that realm. They firmly stated their pro-progress stance, Chris was very firm about it, and addressed an issue of national concern to all, the state of our National Policy on Breakups. (more…)