Sarah Jarosz – “Song Up In Her Head”

At 18-years-old, Sarah Jarosz has been playing mandolin since she was ten and singing even longer.

Her first album, Song Up In Her Head, reflects the skills she’s been learning through attending the RockyGrass Academy, playing festivals like Old Settler’s and Telluride Bluegrass, and playing at the weekly bluegrass jams in her hometown of Wimberley, Texas.

The 11 originals range from the Gillian Welch-inspired title track to the instrumentals Mansinneedof and Fischer Store Road, featuring Jerry Douglas.

Tunes like Can’t Hide and Long Journey, showcase Sarah’s skills on the clawhammer banjo and piano as well. On Little Song, the album’s delicate closing track, she hands mandolin duties off to Chris Thile, who also sings the harmony.

There are also two well-chosen covers, a lighter version of The Decemberists’ Shankhill Butchers and the funky take on Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan’s Come On Up to the House.

Sarah will continue touring this summer (including her first main-stage performance at Lyon’s RockyGrass Festival) before starting college at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music this fall.

Check out Sarah Jarosz.com and Sarah’s Myspace page for more info and download Song Up In Her Head on