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www.myspace.com/sarahsiskind Sarah Siskind’s music is not easily explained or contained. She’s a singer and songwriter based in Nashville and grounded in folk and Appalachian roots, but one who transcends category with a beguiling fusion of the traditional and the modern. Whether solo, fronting an electric band or in her harmony-laden side project Old Black Kettle, Sarah creates emotionally charged soundscapes that consistently delight and surprise even her long-time fans. Alison Krauss has championed Sarah and values her songs so highly that she’s recorded two of them, both of which became singles and videos that received widespread airplay. Bluegrass legend Tim O’Brien calls her a rare talent. Boston folk icon Jennifer Kimball once dubbed her the perfect hybrid of Joni Mitchell and Gillian Welch. Not yet 30, Sarah has become a respected and acknowledged master of her craft in the crowded scene of Nashville. In the years to come, the wider world will come to know her as an artist of striking originality and emotional complexity. Sarah grew up in a music-filled household in North Carolina, surrounded by not only the bluegrass and old-time her parents played at countless jam sessions, but a wide slice of the best that’s been composed and recorded across all genres. Her love of and affinity for music was obvious, and by four years old she was singing and playing piano. She wrote songs starting at eleven, and when she was 14, she completed her first album. Over the next few years she won numerous songwriting competitions and appeared on stage with luminaries like Doc Watson and Maya Angelou. By the time she moved to Nashville at age 21, she’d released her third recording and astonished those around her with the boldness of her songwriting voice. In 2002, Sarah released “Covered,” the most fully-realized album of her career thus far. Despite its title, it featured mostly original songs that dealt with love, family and relationships. It included contributions from special guest Jennifer Kimball, whose 1990s vocal duo The Story with Jonatha Brooke had been an important influence on Sarah and who supported Sarah’s development with performance opportunities and generous praise. Sarah’s inspired choice to invite Bill Frisell, a modern-day giant of jazz guitar, to anchor the studio band gave “Covered” a shimmering, unforgettable sound, while Sarah’s striking lyrics and melodic ideas made the songs both hummable and sophisticated. Sarah battled sinus and throat ailments that threatened to derail her career during her 20s, braving several surgeries in the process. Despite the setbacks, she continues to achieve new landmarks in what are still the early stages of her career. Recently she made a keepsake double EP featuring intimate performances from her home aptly titled "Studio. Living Room." She recently collaborated on the first album by Old Black Kettle, a vocally thrilling, genre-bending band with friends and fellow artists Julie Lee and Jodi Haynes. Her song “Simple Love” became the signature single from Alison Krauss’s “A Hundred Miles or More” compilation album of 2007. The recording earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Performance. In 2006, Sarah signed with prestigious Nashville publisher Big Yellow Dog Music, home to such extraordinary writers as Mindy Smith and Shawn Camp. Sarah Siskind would be writing and performing even if this attention wasn’t coming her way. Hers is a natural gift and an overflowing expression of someone with an alert ear and a full heart. Rewards are beginning to come however, richly deserved ones, and as she tours and continues to record, more are sure to follow. |
