Sarah Jarosz

Sarah Jarosz
Jarosz at the Austin Music Awards during the SXSW festival, 2010
Background information
Born	May 23, 1991 (1991-05-23) (age 20)
Origin	Austin, Texas United States
Genres	Bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, folk, country, Old-time music
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Mandolin, Bouzouki, banjo, guitar, vocals
Years active	2009- Present
Labels	Sugar Hill Records
Associated acts	Jerry Douglas, Chris Thile
Website	Official site
Notable instruments
Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Octave Mandolin

Sarah Jarosz (pronounced /dʒəˈroʊz/ jə-rohz) is a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter whose first CD, Song Up in Her Head, was released by Sugar Hill Records on June 16, 2009.^[1] She was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance for the track "Mansinneedof" from that album.^[2] Her second album, Follow Me Down, was released by Sugar Hill Records on May 17, 2011.

Jarosz was born in Austin, Texas on May 23, 1991, but was raised in Wimberley, Texas. She picked up the mandolin at age 10 and has been called "a songwriter of uncommon wisdom" by the Austin Chronicle.^[3] Fourteen year old Sarah Jarosz emerged on the scene around 2005 as someone to watch. Jamming onstage with bluegrass icons David Grisman and Ricky Skaggs, she played her mandolin with a sure touch and real joy. It looked and sounded comfortable in her then twelve-year-old hands. She started writing songs on the guitar and took up the banjo. While her instrumental talents are formidable, "Sarah is a singer. She's just flat got it" -Tim O'Brien. She also plays clawhammer banjo and guitar and wrote all but two of the thirteen tracks on her album. Jarosz began attending the New England Conservatory of Music in the fall of 2009.^[4]

Song Up In Her Head

During her senior year of high school, Sarah signed with Sugar Hill Records and released her debut album “Song Up In Her Head” on June 16, 2009. The project, produced by Gary Paczosa, features a mix of her new-old-timey ballads, and some rocking covers. Her collaborators include her teenaged peers and well-known veterans of the acoustic scene including Chris Thile, Darrell Scott, Stuart Duncan, and Jerry Douglas.

Sarah Jarosz has been interviewed by NPR, where she discussed her life, music, and influences. In 2009. Jarosz was interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, who conveyed the interviewer's opinion that Jarosz' debut was "impressive," and compared her to Gillian Welch, saying that Jarosz could easily be mistaken for "Welch's long lost daughter." The interviewer goes on to refer to her as a contemporary-bluegrass prodigy, gives a high opinion of her performance on claw-hammer banjo alongside "dobro king Jerry Douglas," and was won over by two cover songs: Tom Waits' "Come On Up to the House" and The Decemberists' murder ballad "Shankill Butchers," which the interviewer felt was better than the original.^{[citation needed]}

Follow Me Down

In the Summer of 2010, after Sarah's freshman year of college, she began recording her follow-up to "Song Up In Her Head" entitled "Follow Me Down". Like her first album, Jarosz co-produced Follow Me Down with Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, John Prine, Chris Thile). Only this time, they had a college course schedule coming in the fall and high profile gigs to work around. The album was recorded in Nashville with some of the acoustic world’s finest pickers and singers, including Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Viktor Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Shawn Colvin and Darrell Scott, and in Boston with her talented young trio mates Alex Hargreaves and Nathaniel Smith. A very special session with Punch Brothers in New York produced one of the albums most surprising tracks, a beautiful cover of Radiohead's "The Tourist"

Jarosz’s growth can be felt throughout the resulting eleven tracks. The grooves are more adventurous, for starters on the first single “Come Around”. She comments, “I know for some purists out there, it’s like, ‘Why do you have to have drums?’ For me, it’s like, ‘Why not?’” And she has explored alternative ways of using her already-strong voice (see her Radiohead cover “The Tourist” and Radiohead-inspired original “My Muse”; Bob Dylan’s folk hymn “Ring Them Bells” is the album’s other cover). The album was released on May 17 to rave reviews, with USA Today giving the album 3 and half stars out of 4. The New York Times spoke about Sarah as “widely regarded as one of acoustic music’s most promising young talents: a singer-songwriter and mandolin and banjo prodigy with the taste and poise to strike that rare balance of commercial and critical success.” And American Songwriter wrote, “Follow Me Down is an invitation. Sarah Jarosz invites us along with her into a growing sonic space of collaboration and artistry at this the second step in what will surely be a long and productive musical journey.”

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US Grass [5]	US [6]	US Heat [7]	US Indie [8]	US Folk [9]	US Rock [10]
Song Up in Her Head	Release date: June 16, 2009 Label: Sugar Hill Records Formats: CD, music download	1	158	3	21	–	–
Follow Me Down	Release date: May 17, 2011 Label: Sugar Hill Records Formats: CD, music download	2	98	–	16	4	26
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Title	Director
2011	"Run Away"[11]	Adam Hall
	"Broussard's Lament" (live)[12]	Bruce Keen

References

1. ^ "A Bluegrass Debutante, A High School Graduate" NPR All Songs Considered. June 14, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
2. ^ "52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List" Grammys. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
3. ^ Moser, Margaret. "Texas Platters: Sarah Jarosz" Austin Chronicle. June 12, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
4. ^ "A Bluegrass Debutante, A High School Graduate" NPR All Songs Considered. June 14, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
5. ^ "Sarah Jarosz Album & Song Chart History – Bluegrass Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/sarah-jarosz/chart-history/962205?f=307&g=Albums. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
6. ^ "Sarah Jarosz Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard 200. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/sarah-jarosz/chart-history/962205. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
7. ^ "Sarah Jarosz Album & Song Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/sarah-jarosz/chart-history/962205?f=324&g=Albums. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
8. ^ "Sarah Jarosz Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/sarah-jarosz/chart-history/962205?f=326&g=Albums. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
9. ^ "Sarah Jarosz Album & Song Chart History – Folk Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/sarah-jarosz/chart-history/962205?f=1071&g=Albums. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
10. ^ "Sarah Jarosz Album & Song Chart History – Rock Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/sarah-jarosz/chart-history/962205?f=408&g=Albums. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
11. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sarah Jarosz : Run Away". Country Music Television. http://www.cmt.com/videos/sarah-jarosz/693536/run-away.jhtml. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
12. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sarah Jarosz : Broussard's Lament (Live)". Country Music Television. http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/702967/broussards-lament-live.jhtml. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 

External links

• Official site
• "A Bluegrass Debutante, A High School Graduate". NPR. June 14, 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105374610. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 
• Andy Langer (May 7, 2011). "Singer, Songwriter, Prodigy, All at 19". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/us/08ttlanger.html. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 
• Jon Stone (May 17th, 2011). "Sarah Jarosz: Follow Me Down (review)". American Songwriter. http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/05/sarah-jarosz-follow-me-down/. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 
• Elysa Gardner; Edna Gundersen; Jerry Shriver; Brian Mansfield (5/17/2011). "Listen Up: Harper, Moby, Danger Mouse, more". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2011-05-16-listen-up-jarosz-harper-moby-danger-mouse_n.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 

Persondata
Name	Jarosz, Sarah
Alternative names
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Date of birth	1991
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