Sara Watkins To Sprinkle Some 'Sun Midnight Sun' At SPACE

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 30, 2013 10:25PM

It’s hard to believe that Nickel Creek, one of the gold standards of the progressive bluegrass movement, went their separate ways six years ago. But the three members of the band have hardly let the grass grow under their collective feet. Mandolinist and singer Chris Thile has easily had the most productive solo career of the trio, has released a series of albums with his band Punch Brothers, collaborated with bluegrass legend Edgar Meyer, and was the recipient of a 2012 MacArthur Fellowship.

Fiddler and vocalist Sara Watkins, meanwhile, slowly established her own solo career and, over the course of two albums, has quietly grown as a performer and, especially, songwriter. Her 2009 debut was produced by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, which itself is a ringing endorsement of her talent and potential. Her follow-up, last year’s Sun Midnight Sun, wouldn’t be out of place on a jukebox in rotation with The Band’s Songs from Big Pink. The collection of mostly original material benefits from a production that would have been tailor made for AM AOR radio, guest turns from the likes of Jackson Browne, Fiona Apple and former Semisonic bandleader Dan Wilson, and was one of our favorite album purchases of the year. Watkins has also gradually gotten thinner and more blonde as the years have passed, reminding us of that other insanely talented dinger and fiddle player, downstate Illinois’ own Alison Krauss.

While a Nickel Creek reunion isn’t on the horizon, the post-breakup output of Thile, Watkins and her brother Sean have been a boon for contemporary music. Sara Watkins rolls into the Chicago area with a March 14 show at SPACE in Evanston. Tickets, $17-$32, are available here.