Sean Charles WatkinsSean Charles Watkins Writing Credits at ASCAP.com
/ref> (born February 18, 1977) is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is a member of the

contemporary folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from tradit ...

band

Nickel Creek Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins ( fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six ...

, the duo

Fiction Family Fiction Family is a musical collaboration between Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins. The duo's self-titled, full-length album was released on January 20, 2009. The band has since added a drummer and a bassi ...

and the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...

. He is the brother of

Sara Watkins Sara Ullrika Watkins (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass group she formed with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile. In a ...

Career

Nickel Creek

Sean Watkins began his tenure with Nickel Creek playing mandolin, but later switched to guitar. The band has released six albums and a CD composed of their hits (called ''Reasons Why: The Very Best'') and won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for ''

This Side ''This Side'' is the Grammy-winning third album by the progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek, released on Sugar Hill in the summer of 2002. It gained attention in indie rock circles due to the group's recording of a Pavement song, "Spit on ...

'' – a coveted trophy that Watkins reportedly put on top of his toilet at home. Explaining the somewhat odd situation, Watkins said that "it seems like a humble place. I didn't want to put it out in plain view of my house. I didn't feel like displaying it right when you walk in. It's a nice crown for the porcelain."Million-selling trio Nickel Creek gives bluegrass a facelift
/ref> In addition to playing with Nickel Creek, Watkins has released multiple solo albums. As a solo musician, his early material was contemporary bluegrass, but he has since incorporated other influences into his music (especially indie rock.) Watkins' solo music career seems to reflect Nickel Creek's: turning from traditional bluegrass songs to indie rock with bluegrass instrumentation. He is the oldest member of

. Sean qualified for the National Flatpicking Championship in 1993 at age 16. His sister

, also a member of

, plays violin and sings background vocals on the two latest of his three solo albums. In 2004,

participated in a project dubbed ''Mutual Admiration Society'', a collaboration with former

Toad The Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Gus ...

singer Glen Phillips. Sean and Sara are also part of the 2007 soundtrack for the psychological thriller '' Bug'' with the track "No Way to Live".

Current projects

In 2006, Sean and

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock music, rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drum kit, drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (g ...

frontman

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician, the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother T ...

started a collaborating duo called The Real SeanJon.Nickel Creek Official Website
/ref>Watkins, Sean. "a very long blog about what i'm up to". ''MySpace''. January 5, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2007. In March 2008, the duo announced that they had changed their band name to

. In a spring 2008 interview, Jon Foreman said that the album would have a summer 2008 release and the duo was considering having the album be distributed by

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...

. However, a September 2008 press release by Nickel Creek confirmed that the album, ''Fiction Family'', is to be released on January 20, 2009, on ATO Records. In January 2008, it was reported by

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

that a new

octet tentatively named

The Scrolls Works Progress Administration, formerly known by the working name The Scrolls, is an American supergroup led by Sean Watkins, Glen Phillips, and Luke Bulla.Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...

(W.P.A.). The octet is composed of Watkins, his sister Sara Watkins (fiddle), Glen Phillips (guitar, vocals),

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...

(piano), Luke Bulla (fiddle),

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

(various), Pete Thomas (drums), and

Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work with ...

(bass). The group released their self-titled debut album on August 28, 2009. As the group continued, the lead singer-songwriters Watkins (Sean), Phillips, and Bulla were considered the core group and were supported by others when their projects made it possible. Bulla is no longer considered part of the group and as of summer 2011, their most recent lineup was Watkins and Phillips supported by Jerry Roe on drums and Sebastian Steinberg on bass guitar. Sean and sister Sara play regularly at the Largo nightclub in Los Angeles as "The

Watkins Family Hour Watkins Family Hour is a bluegrass musical collaborative led by siblings Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins, who also form two-thirds of the Americana music group Nickel Creek. The group began in 2002 as a monthly, informal musical variety show with ...

". Keyboardist

(of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and bassist Sebastian Steinberg (formerly of Soul Coughing) are regular participants and other guest musicians from the Largo family generally show up as well, including

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score comp ...

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards a ...

, Don Heffington,

, and former Nickel Creek bandmate

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

when he is in town. The irregular collaboration lead to a 2015 album and tour under the same name. Sean has also frequently supported his sister Sara on guitar and vocals for her solo dates since the release of her debut album in April 2009. In addition, Watkins plans to release what he calls "15 minutes of noise" as a digital download on his website. He said that the final product was "very strange", and that there would "be some cool art to go with it". In October 2013, Sean announced that he had completed a record entitled ''All I Do Is Lie'', which was released in June 2014.

Discography

Solo

* '' Let It Fall'' (2001) * ''

26 Miles ''26 Miles'' is the second solo album by Sean Watkins. It was released on April 8, 2003. Track listing Personnel Musical *Sean Watkins – Guitar, Piano, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Harmony Vocals, E-Bo ...

'' (2003) * '' Blinders On'' (2006) * ''

All I Do Is Lie Sean Charles Watkins (born February 18, 1977) is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is a member of the contemporary folk band Nickel Creek, the duo Fiction Family and the supergroup Works Progress Administration. He is the brother of S ...

'' (2014) * '' What to Fear'' (2016) * ''This Is Who We Are'' (2020) – with The Bee Eaters

Nickel Creek

Fiction Family

With Watkins Family Hour

Albums

*Watkins Family Hour (2015) *Brother Sister (2020)

References

External links

Sean's websiteNickel Creek's websiteLAist Interview with Sean WatkinsFiction Family WebsiteWorks Progress Administration websiteCareer Retrospective Interview from April 2016 with Pods & Sods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Sean People from Vista, California Nickel Creek members 1977 births American country singer-songwriters American folk guitarists American male guitarists American mandolinists American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California Living people American bluegrass mandolinists Guitarists from California 21st-century American singers Country musicians from California 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers Works Progress Administration (band) members