Sara Watkins began the month-long Summer Love Tour with Garrison Keillor and the cast of A Prairie Home Companion last night at Kresge Auditorium in Interlochen, Michigan. The tour takes Watkins and Keillor, along with the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band and sound-effects man Fred Newman, across the United States for summer evenings filled with tender duets and ballads, poetry (Poe, Shakespeare, Anonymous), stories of passion and marriage, and Keillor’s intermission walk through the audience for the sing-along of “Unchained Melody” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” Also on board are all the audience favorites from A Prairie Home Companion—Guy Noir, Dusty and Lefty, the News from Lake Wobegon.
The tour heads next to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a performance at the Meijer Gardens this evening. Watkins spoke with the Grand Rapids Press about the show and her excitement at touring with Keillor and crew. "One of the things I'm looking forward to," she says of the show's host, "is getting to hear him tell stories every night." Read the interview at mlive.com.
Just before the launch of the tour, the Prairie Home Companion website published an interview with Watkins in which she discusses her self-titled solo debut, released last year on Nonesuch. Read what Sara has to say about and hear live performances of two of the album's self-penned tracks, "Jefferson" and "My Friend," as well as Jon Brion's "Same Mistakes" and the Tom Waits tune "Pony," taken from Sara's earlier appearances on A Prairie Home Companion. It's all at prairiehome.publicradio.org.
And mark your calendars for more music making from Watkins: she will perform on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Thursday, September 2. The show airs on CBS stations across the country beginning at 12:35 AM ET.
While Watkins is away on tour, her hometown of San Diego continues to celebrate her work. She has been nominated as Artist of the Year in the San Diego Music Awards, and her new album's take on Davíd Garza's "Too Much" is up for Song of the Year. You can vote for your favorite now through August 20 at sandiegomusicawards.com. The 20th annual awards ceremony will take place on September 12.
Below are all the tour dates for the Summer Love Tour. For more information on these and the rest of Sara Watkins' upcoming shows, head to nonesuch.com/on-tour.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION SUMMER LOVE TOUR
| Aug 10 |
Kresge Auditorium |
Interlochen, MI |
| Aug 11 |
Meijer Gardens |
Grand Rapids, MI |
| Aug 12 |
Fraze Pavilion |
Kettering, OH |
| Aug 13 |
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden |
Richmond, VA |
| Aug 14 |
Music Center |
Brevard, NC |
| Aug 15 |
Conner Prairie |
Indianapolis, IN |
| Aug 17 |
Count Basie Theater |
Red Bank, NJ |
| Aug 18 |
Ives Concert Park |
Danbury, CT |
| Aug 19 |
Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion |
Gilford, NH |
| Aug 20 |
AT&T Perf. Arts Center |
Dallas, TX |
| Aug 21 |
Pine Mountain Amphitheater |
Flagstaff, AZ |
| Aug 22 |
Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre |
Salt Lake City, UT |
| Aug 23 |
Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay |
San Diego, CA |
| Aug 25 |
Mountain Winery |
Saratoga, CA |
| Aug 26 |
Britt Festival |
Jacksonville, OR |
| Aug 27 |
Cuthbert Amphitheatre |
Eugene, OR |
| Aug 28 |
Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre |
Portland, OR |
| Aug 29 |
Denver Botanic Gardens |
Denver, CO |
| Aug 31 |
Majestic Theater |
San Antonio, TX |
| Sept 1 |
Imagine Theatre |
Moorhead, MN |
| Sept 8 |
Knoxville Civic Auditorium |
Knoxville, TN |
| Sept 9 |
Salem Civic Center |
Salem, VA |
| Sept 10 |
Pier Six Pavilion |
Baltimore, MD |
| Sept 11 |
Koka Booth Amphitheater |
Cary, NC |
| Sept 12 |
The Charlottesville Pavilion |
Charlottesville, VA |
