Watkins Family Hour—the acclaimed musical collective featuring Grammy Award-winning siblings Sara and Sean Watkins—will release their highly anticipated new album, brother sister, April 10 via Family Hour Records/Thirty Tigers (pre-order here). In advance of the release, their new song, “Just Another Reason,” is debuting today. Watch/share the official music video HERE.
Their first release in five years, the album focuses on the musical and lyrical chemistry between Sara and Sean—the creative core at the center of the project. By carving out time to write together with the Family Hour in mind for the first time, they created a record that demonstrates their unique familial creative partnership while still harnessing the energy and honesty of their legendary live performances at Los Angeles’ Largo—the collective’s residency now in its 18th year.
Of the project, Sara shares, “It felt really good to dig into the potential of two people…the primary goal of this record became to see what we could do when it is just the two of us. The arrangements and the writing were all focused on that. Listening now, I’m really proud of what we did. These are songs that would not have come out of either one of us individually and it feels like a band sound, like this is what we do, the two of us.”
Produced by Mike Viola (Jenny Lewis, Mandy Moore, J.S. Ondara), brother sister features seven original songs co-written by Sara and Sean as well as three new covers: Courtney Hartman and Taylor Ashton’s “Neighborhood Name,” Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally Like A Martyr” and Charley Jordan’s “Keep It Clean,” which features special guest vocalists David Garza, Gaby Moreno and John C. Reilly.
In celebration of the release, the duo will embark on an extensive nationwide tour this spring including stops at Nashville’s Station Inn, Los Angeles’ Largo, Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk (two nights), New York’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, Austin’s 04 Center, Denver’s First Baptist Church and Seattle’s Neptune Theatre among several others. See below for complete tour details.
The new album follows 2015’s self-titled debut, which mirrored the experience of their residency and featured special guests Fiona Apple, Don Heffington, Greg Leisz, Sebastian Steinberg and Benmont Tench. Consisting of only covers, Watkins Family Hour was released to widespread critical acclaim—The New York Times called the debut an “oak-solid debut album,” while NPR Music described it as “glorious.” Furthermore, Pitchfork praised, “When bands we like cover songs we love, our best hope to relive those special moments is usually through sideways videos recorded on cell phones and uploaded to YouTube. But with this crystalline collection, Watkins Family Hour offers a more compelling insight” and the Los Angeles Times declared, “they’ve nurtured a communal spirit that seems rarer and rarer.”
In addition to Watkins Family Hour, Sara and Sean’s acclaimed projects include I’m With Her (Sara), Fiction Family (Sean), Nickel Creek with their friend and longtime collaborator, Chris Thile, as well as their successful individual careers.
BROTHER SISTER TRACK LIST
1. The Cure
2. Neighborhood Name
3. Just Another Reason
4. Snow Tunnel
5. Lafayette
6. Fake Badge, Real Gun
7. Miles of Desert Sand
8. Bella and Ivan
9. Accidentally Like a Martyr
10. Keep It Clean
WATKINS FAMILY HOUR CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
January 23—New Orleans, LA—Folk Alliance
January 24—New Orleans, LA—Folk Alliance
February 3-10—Miami, FL—Cayamo Cruise
March 28—Pelham, TN—Bluegrass Underground
April 8—Nashville, TN—Station Inn
April 11—Cincinnati, OH—Memorial Hall
April 16—Los Angeles, CA—Largo
April 18—San Francisco, CA—Great American Music Hall
April 24—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk
April 25—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk
April 26—Peninsula, OH—GAR Hall
April 28—Brooklyn, NY—Music Hall of Williamsburg
April 29—Annapolis, MD—Rams Head Onstage
April 30—Washington, DC—Sixth & I
May 1—Charlottesville, VA—Jefferson Theatre
May 2—Winston-Salem, NC—The Ramkat
May 3—Asheville, NC—Orange Peel
May 6—Houston, TX—Heights Theater
May 8—Austin, TX—04 Center
May 9—Dallas, TX—Kessler Theater
May 15—Denver, CO—First Baptist Church
May 16—Portland, OR—Aladdin Theater
May 17—Seattle, WA—Neptune Theatre
