Search - Sara Petite :: Doghouse Rose

As she releases her third CD, Doghouse Rose, Petite builds on a reputation for quality that has already led the San Diego-based artist to release two independent CDs ( Tiger Mountain and Lead the Parade ) to international acclaim. On her new CD, Doghouse Rose, Petite follows the musical path she began laying down on Tiger Mountain and Lead the Parade, however, this album is tempered with the more rocking but still roots-based influences of artists such as Steve Earle. With the new release coming on the heels of being named Best Americana or Country in the 2009 San Diego Music Awards, Petite stands to go from up-and-coming artist to an artist that has arrived on an international level. Kicking off a tour in April, Petite will head to the U.K. for a three-week tour with several dates in England and Ireland. No stranger to Europe, Petite was first introduced across the pond when her song Coming Home from her 2005 debut album of the same name was featured on the compilation CD Country, from Universal Music in France. The song and Petite were featured alongside legendary artists such as Lucinda Williams, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton, with whom she s been compared. Coming Home also appears on Shut Eye Records compilation CD, The United States of Americana. Not just a original voice, Petite is a natural songwriter, evidenced by the fact in her first-ever songwriting competition, three of her songs advanced in the International Songwriting Competition in 2005, with two making it to the semi-finals. Since then, she has been honored in the West Coast Songwriter s Competition; Great American Songwriter s Competition; Great Waters Folk Festival Song Contest (Top 5 finalist); San Diego Music Awards (2nd). In 2006, Petite earned the Grand Prize in the 2006 Portland Songwriting Contest. On stage, Petite has opened for such major headliners as Josh Turner, Shooter Jennings, Trent Thomlinson, Richie McDonald, John Eddie, Todd Snider, Ralph Stanley, Steve Poltz, Lance Miller and Bert Jansch. Sara learned to sing by studying the best. Raised where wild huckleberries grow in Summer, Washington tulip-farming town southeast of Seattle she listened to Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. When Petite was 6, she and her twin sister fell in love with Loretta Lynn when they saw Coal Miner's Daughter. Her mother would get her albums like Bruce Springsteen, Emmy Lou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Steve Earle, from the library, and when people came over to visit, she and her sister would sing the songs together, standing on top of the coffee table, using a jump rope as a microphone. Being called everything from Outlaw country to AAA singer-songwriter, Petite s songs revive fond memories of history, home and travels. From the stage, Sara tells the story of visiting with family, where she and her twin sister were surprised to find an indoor outhouse. Inspiration for her songs comes from broken hearts and those full of hope. She speaks with obvious relish when relating stories of such colorful characters as her grandfather, who as a pioneering representative of the aviation industry, sold a plane to Elvis Presley. Another tale is about her Uncle Irving, a nature writer who once lived with a bear, chickens and goats on Tiger Mountain in Washington state, which became the family's emotional home base. Riding the wave of a well-received new CD, Petite looks forward to spreading her music as far as the road takes her in 2010.