From the very beginning of Sara and Sean Watkins’ Watkins Family Hour shows at Los Angeles’s Largo nightclub, their focus has been on musical community; building, sharing, and growing. From the start, friends and contemporaries would show up, try out new songs, and collaborate on old ones, resulting in a modern musical institution catered to musicians and music lovers that is now two decades-running. With their new album, Vol. II, the Watkins returned to the recording studio with a host of long-time friends and Watkins Family Hour band mates like Jon Brion, Jackson Browne, Madison Cunningham, Lucius, Gaby Moreno, Benmont Tench, and Willie Watson. Today, the group shared “(Remember Me) I’m the One Who Loves You” from Vol. II; a track that features former Family Hour touring band member, longtime fixture at Largo, and wholly singular artist in her own right, Fiona Apple.

With a Texas swing take somewhere between Dean Martin’s and Ernest Tubb’s definitive versions, Watkins Family Hour’s “(Remember Me)” kicks off with long-time Heartbreaker Benmont Tench’s honky-tonk piano and ends with Greg Leisz’s slinky pedal steel; the two enveloping a smile-inducing performance crowned by Sara, Sean, and Fiona’s three-part blend in the song’s iconic choruses. “I first heard this Stuart Hamblen song while going down an Ernest Tubb rabbit hole,” remembers Sara. “It’s hard for us to resist a country shuffle with attitude like this one. It’s our favorite kind of thing to sing with Fiona Apple.”

Fans can hear “(Remember Me) I’m the One Who Love You” now at this link and read the premiere on Consequence of Sound here. Check out WFH’s previously-released Tune-Yards cover “Hypnotized,” and pre-order or pre-save Vol. II ahead of its August 19th release date right here. Watkins Family Hour tour continues on July 10th at HopMonk Tavern in Novato, California. A full list of tour dates can be found below or at watkinsfamilyhour.com/tour.

More About Vol. II: Vol. II follows Watkins Family Hour’s sophomore album Brother Sister, which they released as the COVID-19 pandemic began taking hold of the globe and, in turn, shut down the live music industry. That record was, serendipitously, a quieter affair, showcasing the musical interplay between Sara and Sean that keeps the Family Hour heart beating. In many ways, it’s also a successor to Watkins Family Hour, the self-titled 2015 album that introduced the band to a broader audience and sent them, along with some of their closest collaborators, out on the road to tour.

Sean and Sara recorded Vol. II in January of 2022. The siblings and their guests recorded the entire LP in just three days, decamping at the historic East West Studio in Los Angeles with producers David Boucher and Tyler Chester. While plotting the project, the pair had a deep roster of past Family Hour guests to choose from, a process that also contributed to song selection for the album.

“A lot of the strategy was marrying the songs to the guests that we wanted to be part of the record,” Sara says. “So we knew, for example, that Willie Watson was somebody who we wanted to have on the record because we have such a long history with him specifically. So we did the Jim and Jesse song ‘She Left Me Standing on the Mountain’ with Gabe Witcher and Willie, who are both part of the foundation of the Family Hour.”

While Vol. II is certainly a celebration of the band’s collaborative show itself, it’s also a tribute to Largo, the beloved Los Angeles venue that first hosted them and is an essential hub of the city’s creative community. “We wanted to capture what we’ve done over the years, but also capture the process that is continually at work, which is this intermingling of the musical community here in Los Angeles that surrounds Largo.”

As both Sean and Sara continue to work on their own solo music, as well as with their other bands like Nickel Creek and I’m With Her, Watkins Family Hour remains an invaluable resource and respite for them both, offering a familiar but ever-evolving space to test new ideas, meet new collaborators and, most importantly, have a good time doing what they love.

“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,” Sean says. “The consistency has been invaluable to both of us, as musicians.” 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.”

Vol. II Tracklist:

The Way I Feel Inside (Ft. Lucius)

Hypnotized

Pitseleh (Feat. Madison Cunningham)

Thanks a Lot (Ft. Jon Brion)

The Late Show (Ft. Jackson Browne)

Tennessee Waltz (Ft. Benmont Tench)

She Left Me Standing on the Mountain (Ft. Willie Watson)

We Were Meant to Be Together

On the Outside (Ft. Gaby Moreno)

(Remember Me) I’m the One Who Loves You (Ft. Fiona Apple)

Grief and Praise (Ft. Madison Cunningham)

Catch Watkins Family Hour On Tour:

July 10 - Novato, CA - HopMonk Tavern

Aug. 13 - Lexington, VA - Lime Kiln Theater

Aug 14 - York, PA - Susquehanna Folk Festival

Sep 16 - Cincinnati, OH - Longworth-Anderson Series at Memorial Hall

Sep 17 - Nashville, TN - Americana Fest

Sep 18 - Indianapolis, IN - The Toby Theatre

Sep 20 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark

Sep 21 - Kent, OH - Kent Stage

Sep 22 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Clyde Theatre

Sep 23 - Bay Harbor, MI - Great Lakes Center for the Arts

Sep 24 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music

Sep 25 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music

Nov. 13 - Beaverton, OR - The Reser

For all tour dates and ticket information, please visit watkinsfamilyhour.com/tour.