Watkins Family Hour includes brother and sister, Sara Watkins (Vocals, Fiddle) and Sean Watkins (Vocals, Guitar) and they are set to release a new album, brother sister, on April 10 via Family Hour Records/Thirty Tigers. “Fake Badge, Real Gun,” is the second track from their new album and features Griffin Goldsmith (drums) and Alan Hampton (bass) on the track. The vocals from this sibling duo is a refreshing blend of sound that weave against a light drum track and guitar strings. The lyrics, “You’ve got a fake badge and a real gun. Throwing shame in the name of love. Give ‘em hell from up above. With a fake badge and a real gun. You only see a battle, won. You’ll never know the damage you’ve done.” The hook comes through on repeat, as the vocals drive deeper and lower in intensity, “The truth will be waiting. The truth will be waiting.”
This is Watkins Family Hour’s first release in five years, the album focuses on the musical and lyrical chemistry between the siblings, the creative core at the center of the project. 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, New York’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, Austin’s 04 Center, Denver’s First Baptist Church and Seattle’s Neptune Theatre among several others.
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. 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 Tracklist
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 Tour Dates
03/28 — Pelham, TN — Bluegrass Underground
04/08 — Nashville, TN — Station Inn
04/11 — Cincinnati, OH — Memorial Hall
04/16 — Los Angeles, CA — Largo
04/18 — San Francisco, CA — Great American Music Hall
04/24 — Chicago, IL — Old Town School of Folk
04/25 — Chicago, IL — Old Town School of Folk
04/26 — Peninsula, OH — GAR Hall
04/28 — Brooklyn, NY — Music Hall of Williamsburg
04/29 — Annapolis, MD — Rams Head Onstage
04/30 — Washington, DC — Sixth & I
05/01 — Charlottesville, VA — Jefferson Theatre
05/02 — Winston-Salem, NC — The Ramkat
05/03 — Asheville, NC — Orange Peel
05/06 — Houston, TX — Heights Theater
05/08 — Austin, TX — 04 Center
05/09 — Dallas, TX — Kessler Theater
05/15 — Denver, CO — First Baptist Church
05/16 — Portland, OR — Aladdin Theater
05/17 — Seattle, WA — Neptune Theatre
07/17 — Katonah, NY — Caraoor Center for Music and the Arts
08/21-23 — Ottery St. Mary, UK — Beautiful Days Festival 2020
11/16-20 — Punta Cana, Dominican Republic — John Prine’s “All the Best Fest”
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