Sara K.

From the moment she stepped onstage at age 17, singer/songwriter Sara K. recognized that music would define her path. She held fast to that vision even as opportunities for acoustic solo acts dwindled toward the close of the 1970s. In Dallas, TX, she sustained herself through varied work—leading her own group, taking on studio sessions, supporting country acts, and recording local jingles. Music had surrounded her since childhood; her mother sang in a church choir and her father performed bass in a barbershop quartet. At 15 she began playing guitar, though she chose an unconventional instrument: a standard flamenco model fitted with four additional bass strings. The hybrid produced tones lower than a conventional guitar yet not as deep as a true bass.

Once her early Texas period ended, she relocated with her band, Sara K. and the Boys Without Sleep, first to Los Angeles and then New Mexico. Beginning in 1973 she fronted the group for roughly a decade, after which she spent more than two years on the road with country singer Gary Nunn. Enjoyable as the touring proved, she yearned to shape and deliver her own material. She made Santa Fe her base, assembled songs into an album titled Gypsy Alley, and saw it issued by Mesa/Bluemoon Records in 1982; the New Mexico Music Industry Coalition later named it Best Album. Chesky Records then signed her, resulting in four albums—Hobo, Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin', Play on Words, and Closer Than They Appear. In 1997 she toured Germany alongside arranger and guitarist Hui Cox and contributed to the soundtrack for The Postman. Two years afterward the live recording No Cover appeared, with Chuck Mangione guesting on one track; captured inside St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in New York City, the album capitalized on the sanctuary’s resonant acoustics. What Matters followed in 2001.