Since the formal if not permanent dissolution of Nickel Creek, Sara Watkins has released three solo albums, including last year's Young in All the Wrong Ways, a breakup album that's as plainspoken and unaffected as it is musically wide-roaming. While the album has few traces of Nickel Creek's bluegrass-meets-pop experiments, Watkins' sometimes bitter, often resilient songs shine with crunching rock, eerie folk, jumping honky-tonk and convincing country soul. Her voice, once a tangy and trilling instrument, has become more adroit, tougher even as she lays out truths that she knows alone won't set her free. Watkins may still be feeling burned, but her talent is far from flaming out.
Long View: The sultry-voiced Liz Longley opens this evening with a dark, indie-rock spin on Americana.
Watch Watkins' video for "Move Me" below:
Sara Watkins
8 p.m. Saturday, January 28. The Old Rock House, 1200 South 7th Street. $20 to $22. 314-588-0505.
