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The 31-year-old fiddler and singer Sara Watkins has visited Utah several times since her bluegrass group Nickel Creek disbanded, and memorably with the Decemberists at a Twilight Concert (adding the female harmonies that Gillian Welch contributed to the Portland band's "The King is Dead" album) as well as a guest stint with Garrison Keillor at a Red Butte Garden show.
Those touring experiences, as well as performing since she was 8, helped create Watkins' 2012 album "Sun Midnight Sun," her second and most accomplished solo record.
2013 will be another busy year for Watkins, who spent much of 2012 as an opening act. "I'm excited to headline a lot," Watkins told The Tribune. "I opened a lot for Dawes and my friend Jackson Browne."
And, if you want to see even more of Watkins in 2013, she will be featured in an upcoming episode of BYUtv's beguiling series "The Song That Changed My Life." Watkins politely declined to reveal the song that changed her life, but spoke eloquently about the idea that a single song can change lives. "It was a pivotal point when I was 15," she said. "It was seeing beyond your previous life, and childhood. I became aware of a different kind of song-writing."
Ruth Moody opens, and a special treat, Sara's brother Sean Watkins (also a founding member of Nickel Creek) will accompany his sister in her backing band.
When • Saturday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m.Where • Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park CityTickets • $18-$65 at ecclescenter.org or by calling 435-655-3114