The first time I saw Sara Petite and the Sugar Daddies they were opening for Shooter Jennings. I was more impressed with Sara's performance than Shooters. This time she was opening , for Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women. Both shows were at the Belly Up, and both times I left smiling. The Sugar Daddies are lead guitarist Rick Wilkins, Wade Maurer on bass, John Kuhlken on drums, and Steve Peavey on guitars/mandolin.
Sara Petite makes her home in San Diego and has grown quite a following, not just locally but worldwide. With the release of her new CD Doghouse Rose, she hopes to expand on the notoriety she earned with her first two independent CDs Tiger Mountain and Lead the Parade.
Sara Petite's website bio states that she learned to sing country music in her hometown of Summer, Washington by listening to Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. Singing along with her sister, they would perform for family and friends, mimicking the vocal inflections of their idols, Parton and Lynn, and it's evident in her style.
But it's not just her voice, or her award-winning songwriting, or her band. It's the whole package. And on top of that, you can just tell how much fun she is having performing from the moment she hits the stage (Crazy) to the final note of the final song (Promiseland). Her smile is infectious. Just looking around, everyone in the crowd is doing something. Some dancing, some nodding their heads with the music, some singing along, but everyone is smiling. She has that effect.
Every song tells a story, and she shares many of them in between songs. Like the bluegrass ditty Little House, which she tells the inspiration she drew from her visit to Paris, and the small accommodations she shared while there. Bootleggers tells of running moonshine with her sister on Tiger Mountain, which is not only the title of her first CD, but also the emotional home of her family in Washington state.
It won't be long before Sara Petite is the headliner, and another up-and-coming artist will be able to say "Remember when we opened for Sara Petite?".
Comments
Ditto! Sara's awesome.
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