Sara Watkins Teams With Nickel Creek Mates For ‘Blue Shadows On The Trail’ Single

Sara Watkins‘ new single, “Blue Shadows On The Trail,” features contributions from her Nickel Creek bandmates. Both Chris Thile and Sara’s brother, Sean Watkins appear on the track from Under The Pepper Tree, an album due out via New West Records on March 26.

Randy Newman wrote “Blue Shadows On The Trail” for the 1986 comedy The Three Amigos. The song is among 13 covers featured on Under The Pepper Tree, which also includes a pair of originals. Sara Watkins tapped Tyler Chester to produce the follow-up to 2016’s Young In All The Wrong Ways.

Sara shared the following regarding “Blue Shadows On The Trail”:

As a kid, I watched the movie The Three Amigos a LOT. Specifically, I watched it a lot with my Nickel Creek bandmates at the Thile’s house. We’d run around quoting jokes, sing along and even tried the ‘My Little Buttercup’ dance once. As an adult, I’ve sung this countless times to my own daughter. When I decided to make a record full of songs from my childhood, I knew that I wanted ‘Blue Shadows on the Trail’ to be included, and I also knew the only way to do it was with Nickel Creek. Now that we in the band have our own families, it makes this moment even more sweet for this lifetime Nickel Creeker.

Watkins recorded songs that impacted her as a child for Under The Pepper Tree, an album aimed at families. Sara’s I’m With Her bandmates, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith and David Garza are among other guests who contributed to the 15-track LP.

Watch Sara Watkins’ “Blue Shadows On The Trail” video, which Paste premiered, below:

Nickel Creek reunites for a pair of livestream concerts dubbed “Nickel Stream: A Livecreek Experience” later this month.