Sarah White is a singer-songwriter based in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
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, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
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, whose music can be roughly characterized as
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
or
alt-country
Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style f ...
.
Biography
Sarah White was born in
Warrenton, Virginia
Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, of which it is the seat of government. The population was 9,611 at the 2010 census, up from 6,670 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2019 was 10,027. It is at the junction of U.S. R ...
, and relocated as a child to
Monroe County, West Virginia
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,376. Its county seat is Union.
Monroe County was the home of Andrew Summers Rowan of Spanish–American War fame, who is immortalized in ...
. When she returned to Virginia she became involved with the growing music community in
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...
— a town where she "grew up" and lived in "off and on for years."
There she played in several bands towards the end of the 90's (White Trash Cookin', Pat Nixon, Miracle Penny).
Record label
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
, originally based out of Charlottesville before moving to Indiana to merge with
Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...
, released her first solo album in 1997 – a collection of lo-fi four-track recordings made over a 3-year period – dubbed ''All My Skies Are Blue.''
In 2000, she released her second album, entitled ''Bluebird'', also on Jagjaguwar. The record garnered her a wide range of positive reviews and comparisons to artists like
Cat Power
Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...
and
Edith Frost
Edith Frost (born August 18, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter who describes her music as "pensive countrified psychedelia".
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Frost moved to Brooklyn in 1990 where she played in the country bands ''The Holler Sis ...
. Later that year she recorded and self-released ''Pickin' Strummin' And Singin' ... The Versatile Sarah White'' which was a collection of early country standards and traditional songs.
After remaining fairly quiet for the next several years, White returned with a new band, Sarah White & the Pearls, in 2004 with the self-released ''You're It'' EP which focused even further on melodic writing and incorporated the more traditional folk and country song structures. In 2006 she completed her next full-length album with The Pearls, ''White Light,'' which was released by Antenna Farm Records. The Richmond Times-Dispatch called her third full-length album "an unassailable collection of absolutely unforgettable songs, the product of White's talent and tenacity."
Of the title track, White says:
White will release her first full-length album in over 10 years on August 3, 2018. ''High Flyer'' Recorded at Montrose Studio in Richmond, Virginia, features a dozen of White's "best songs" backed by Daniel Clarke (
K.d. lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop (music), pop and country music, country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical perfor ...
,
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown.
In 2000, Adams left ...
) on piano and keyboard, and Charles Arthur (
Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves is an American singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine, United States. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Aust ...
) on guitars – with vocals by Carl Anderson and Michael York of Sleepwalkers.
Dave Matthews sings with White on "Sweetheart".
Stewart Myers, who produced the album,
also provided bass.
White also performs with Sían Richards in the Acorn Sisters.
Awards and distinctions
Sarah White's song ''Sweetheart'' won best song in
Mountain Stage
''Mountain Stage'' is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio (NPR). Hosted by Larry Groce from the show's inception until 2021 and current ...
's annual Newsong Festival in 2007.
Discography
*''All My Skies Are Blue'' (
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
, 1997)
*''Bluebird'' (
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
, 2000)
*''You're It'' (2004)
*''White Light'' (2006)
*''High Flyer'' (2018)
Compilations
*''Folk Music for the End of the World'' (2006)
*''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' (2007)
References
External links
*
Unforgettable sound of Sarah White ''Richmond Times-Dispatch,'' November 15, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Sarah
American alternative country singers
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia
People from Warrenton, Virginia
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Virginia
Year of birth missing (living people)
Jagjaguwar artists
21st-century American women