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.

The most recent video episode of The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour features two artists sure to be of interest to readers of The Bluegrass Blog.

The show, which aired originally on June 8, has performances by Sara Watkins and The Lovell Sisters, viewable online as a Windows Media file. Both artists show the vibrancy and diversity of young bluegrass-oriented acts, and the ways in which young women interpret the music, as they offer live music from their new CDs.

Tonight’s (6/15) Woodsongs broadcast will include a set from Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, showcasing songs from her next CD, Destination Life, due out tomorrow (6/16) on Rounder. It airs live at 7:00 p.m. (EDT) and you can catch the show in real time online, in both video and audio.

Woodsongs is carried by a very large number of radio stations all over the world, most of who run the show later in the week. Check their affiliates list for details on when the show may air in your area.

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.