The Watkins Family Hour and Sara Watkins

There are few singer-songwriters who perform with a fiddle, and there are few who do it as well as Sara Watkins.Her delightful blend of bluegrass, folk and country with pop sensibilities makes for beautiful, serene and heartfelt music. Her vocals are dynamic and wide-ranging with a soft, lilting country twang. Instrumentally, she is extraordinarily talented and adept at not only the fiddle but also the guitar, ukelele as well as percussion, which she plays when performing with the Decemberists. Performing live she moves between these instruments effortlessly as she delivers her vast number of quality tunes from her two well-received full-length releases. Her Denver performance in 2012 was wonderful to witness, with her band chemistry strikingly evident from the outset, particularly between her and Jackson Browne when he joined her on stage. Her band are as equally talented as Sara, with particularly tasty guitar work on show with delicately picked acoustics perfectly complimenting Sara's fiddle. Folky harmonies are aplenty in their set, helping give further depth to the vocal delivery. Highlights of the performance were 'You and Me' which Jackson Browne joined her on, with the pair finding musical cohesion. 'Take Up Your Spade' was a delightful country ballad that clearly moved the audience. She is a dazzling talent with a collection of timeless songs to soothe the soul.