Siblings Sara and Sean Watkins — alumni of newgrass band Nickel Creek — “serve up raw, familial folk that doesn’t require any added glamour (or superfluous emotion) to make it attractive” —Paste Magazine

Watkins Family Hour is a collaborative performance and recording project led by Los Angeles-based siblings Sean and Sara Watkins, both of whom came to prominence in the 1990s as part of the GRAMMY-winning progressive bluegrass group Nickel Creek.

Beginning in 2002, Sean and Sara were offered a monthly residency at L.A.'s famous venue Largo, which they called the Watkins Family Hour. The gig took on the form of a variety show where the Watkins could stretch out musically, working out new material, collaborating with other players, and generally letting loose creatively while in between tours. Over the years, the Family Hour became a spontaneous meeting place where, on any given night, artists like Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Dawes, Nikka Costa, and even actor/comedian John C. Reilly might sit in for a set.

In 2015, Sean and Sara decided to turn their show into a recording project, enlisting several of their longtime collaborators to record an album of cover songs under the Watkins Family Hour banner to critical acclaim.

After spending five years pursuing solo projects, they returned to the studio and have recently released their much-anticipated new album brother sister. By carving out time to write together with the Family Hour in mind for the first time, they created a record that demonstrates their unique familial creative partnership while still harnessing the energy and honesty of their legendary live performances at Los Angeles’ Largo. They have also toured widely as Watkins Family Hour including appearing numerous times on American Public Media’s Live from Here with Chris Thile (a childhood friend and fellow founding member of Nickel Creek).

“brother sister is a down-home record, the kind only people who are related to each other could make. It’s the sound of two people reminiscing about childhood while trying to survive adulthood.”
—Paste Magazine

Aside from a solo career, Sara Watkins also performs with the group I’m With Her (with Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan) with whom she won a GRAMMY in 2019. Sean has made his way with outfits of his own, including the duo Fiction Family and supergroup Works Progress Administration.