Sara Petite is back for Spring tour dates ahead of new album

Americana UK

April 8, 2026    Richard Parkinson

San Diego’s own americana queen, Sara Petite, is returning to the UK this spring with a nine-show tour promising more of the heartfelt, fearless storytelling that forms the base of her sets, coupled with the powerful performance and irrepressible joie de vivre that round out her act.

In addition to selections from her impressive back catalogue, fans will also get an exclusive first taste of songs from her upcoming eighth studio album, including new singles Jealous Heart and Honky Tonk Angel. These new tracks showcase Petite at full throttle, steeped in the spirit of classic American songwriting while pushing boldly into new territory. You can see the video for Jealous Heart at the foot of this news piece.

Readers of these pages will be no strangers to reviews of Petite’s live shows. Describing last year’s show at Milton Keynes’ Stables 2, a concert which featured a couple of new songs, we wrote: “It’s been a fine show; catching Sara Petite live will never disappoint any music lover”.

It has been said that “Petite doesn’t just perform songs, she inhabits them, turning every stage into a honky-tonk confessional where heartbreak, redemption, and rebellion collide”. Certainly, the range of her songs is broad, from head-down rock & roll to pure country heartbreak. Family and growing up in Washington state, personal tragedy, and the music scene in and around San Diego provide the background to a lot of Petite’s songs and her ability to take the listener there is well-honed. She is also an astute social commentator.

Petite’s return to the UK will be a delight for fans, as well as providing an opportunity to make new ones as the tour takes her to some places for the first time. All but one of the tour dates will feature her UK band, while the opening show at London’s legendary Betsey Trotwood will be a stripped-back solo set.

Sara Petite UK Tour Dates 2026:
April 29th, Betsey Trotwood – London (solo show)
May 1st, Otley Courthouse – Otley
May 2nd, Filey Evron Centre – Filey
May 5th, Montrose Folk Club – Montrose
May 6th, Kinross (Backstage at the Green) – Kinross
May 8th, The Strines Nightingale – Stockport
May 9th, The Forge – Basingstoke, Hampshire
May 10th, The Jenny Lind – Hastings
May 12th, Beer No Evil – Worthing

Sara Petite Nominated for 2026 San Diego Music Award

San Diego, CA — Acclaimed Americana artist Sara Petite has been nominated for a 2026 San Diego Music Award in the category of Best Country or Americana Song for her track “Jealous Heart,” further cementing her status as one of the region’s most decorated and enduring roots music voices.

The nomination comes as part of the 35th annual San Diego Music Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement across the region’s diverse music community. The 2026 ceremony will take place May 6 at Humphreys by the Bay.

Petite is no stranger to the San Diego Music Awards stage. Over the course of her career, she has earned multiple SDMA wins, including recent victories in 2024 for Best Country or Americana Artist and Best Country or Americana Album for The Empress . She has also been recognized as a multi-award winner in previous years, with reports noting she has scored multiple wins in a single ceremony and accumulated more than a half-dozen SDMA trophies overall .

Beyond San Diego, Petite’s songwriting has earned national recognition. She is a five-time finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, a winner of the San Diego Songwriting Contest, and has taken top honors at Portland’s Songwriting Contest, along with placing in the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest .

Local media have consistently praised the vitality of the San Diego music scene that artists like Petite help define. As KPBS notes, the awards “celebrate…local musicians” who continue to energize the region with their creative output. Her work, often highlighted in local coverage, reflects a signature blend of classic country storytelling and modern Americana grit.

The San Diego Music Awards not only celebrate musical excellence but also support music education through the San Diego Music Foundation’s Guitars for Schools program, which has provided instruments and lessons to tens of thousands of local students.

With this latest nomination, Sara Petite continues a trajectory that has made her one of San Diego’s most respected Americana artists—earning accolades from critics, peers, and fans alike while building a legacy rooted in authenticity and craft.

About Sara Petite

Sara Petite is an award-winning Americana singer-songwriter known for her raw, heartfelt lyrics and high-energy performances. A staple of the San Diego music scene, she has earned numerous San Diego Music Awards and national songwriting honors while building a devoted following across the U.S. and internationally.

About the San Diego Music Awards

The San Diego Music Awards is an annual event dedicated to recognizing outstanding musical talent in San Diego County while raising funds for music education programs benefiting local schools.

by Peter Blackstock • Special to Times of San Diego March 1, 2026

Since her debut album Tiger Mountain 20 years ago, singer-songwriter Sara Petite has gradually risen to the fore of San Diego music. Her most recent albums, 2021’s Rare Bird and 2023’s The Empress, both won Best Country or Americana Album at the San Diego Music Awards.

She’s also become a linchpin of the local roots-music community through her “Americana Roundup” series, which brings together like-minded artists for collaborative theme-oriented shows such as “Sara Petite’s Honky Tonk Angels” at venues such as The Ken and Grand Ole BBQ.

Now she’s gearing up for a new album, tentatively titled Snakes, Jealous Hearts and Honky Tonk Angels after three of the record’s most prominent songs. Working with producer Josquin Des Pres at La Mesa’s Track Star Studios, Petite recorded with ace studio players including longtime John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff and Desert Rose Band multi-instrumentalist John Jorgenson.

An early single, “Jealous Heart,” came out last summer; the full album is due in the spring. She has multiple local shows coming up in March, including a March 8 slot at the Belly Up.

We talked with Petite by Zoom for the latest installment of our “Five Questions” series.

1. What can you tell us about the new album?

I’ve had it done for a little while; I just haven’t put it out yet. We put out “Jealous
Heart” in the summer, and we’re going to put “Honky Tonk Angels” out next, and
then the album in June. It’s nine songs, and it’s all over the map writing-wise.

“Jealous Heart” is a pop song about jealousy. I rescue dogs, and my dog bites —
he’s jealous, so I kind of did that song for him, but it’s really a song about jealousy.
“Honky Tonk Angels” is about me and a lot of my girlfriends who are singers. And
then I have a song called “I Hate Snakes” — it’s about the story about Eve, but my
version. I have a protest song called “Wasted” — it’s love and alcohol and politics
all rolled into one. “Cold Heart” is probably about my father, but it’s a relationship
song.

So it’s a pretty big range of everything. One of my favorite songs is called “She
Runs With the Wolves.” I write about women a lot. One of the things I study is
women’s stories. I really enjoy stories about women, because I like to be
empowered and to empower people. “She Runs With the Wolves” is basically about
how feminine energy has a lot more high intuition.

2. Can you tell me a little more about Josquin des Pres, who produced the album?

He’s done a bunch of different stuff. I know he’s worked with Jason Mraz, and he
and Bernie Taupin used to write together. One of the songs on the album is a cover
of a Bernie Taupin/Josquin Des Pres song called “In the Name of Dark Angels.”
Josquin asked me if I wanted to do it. It’s really beautiful.He’s had a bunch of different TV and film cuts. He’s just a great producer. I didn’t
want to make another album, but my friend Bobby Furgo, who played piano and
fiddle for me said, ‘I think you should meet this guy.’ And I did, and somehow I
ended up making another album. And I just love it. I loved working with him. The
album came out really, really great. Kenny Aronoff from John Mellencamp’s band
played some of the drum tracks, and it was amazing. John Jorgensen did a lot of
the instrumental stuff, like the guitar and mandolin. It was amazing that I got to be
in the studio with him. He was a very kind, humble guy.

3. I know you’ve been in San Diego a pretty long time, but I understand you’re originally from Washington State. When did you move down here?

About 30 years ago. I had an aunt down here, and she let me stay with her. I’m
from a very woodsy type area in Washington; we grew up in the in the forest. I
grew up kind of earthy and humble. I worked a lot, and I put myself through
school (Petite went to San Diego’s former United States International University),
and I started working corporate, and it drove me nuts. I was doing music, and one
day, I just became a musician. I didn’t start until I was 30. Had I done this really
young, it would have been different; I probably would’ve had more confidence. But
I see myself as a writer, a a singer, storyteller and a performer.

4. How did you get started doing these Americana Roundup shows a few
years ago?I 

had this band called Bad News Bears with Shawn Rohlf, and we would just play
covers. It was a night to drink some beers and play music with friends at a bar and
get paid. And I kind of wanted to do this ‘Americana Roundup’ — a little bit of a
variety show, where I host it and I do a few songs. But I love singing with other
people and I love working with other musicians. It was kind of just to bring
community together. I think it’s really important, and I think musicians really
thrive in that way. We did a Bruce Springsteen one at Christmas time (in 2025),
and it was just beautiful. It was really wonderful.It’s a lot of work. We have one in April for the San Diego Music Awards, although
I’m not going to be at the awards this year because I’m going to be touring in
Scotland. We’ve had “Honky Tonk Angels” shows at Grand Ole BBQ with Chloe Lou
and Lauren Lee and Ash Easton. The next one (set for March 21), I’m not sure who
it’s going to be, but it’s really fun, We sing on each other’s songs and stuff like that.
So it’s just kind of a way for everybody to come together.

5. The Mojo Nixon documentary The Mojo Manifesto came out just a couple of years before Mojo died on the 2024 Outlaw Country Cruise. At the San Diego Music Awards that year, you dedicated an award to Mojo, who apparently helped to jumpstart your career by playing your 2010 song “Bootleggers” on his SiriusXM Outlaw Country radio show. How did that come about?

I think Joey Harris had heard “Bootleggers” and told Mojo about it. We ran into
Mojo at Americanafest (in Nashville) and Mojo was like, “Hey, I heard you got
some song, send it to me when you’re done.” I was like, OK, and I did. And he
played me. Basically, if Outlaw Country played you, it gave people permission to
open your envelope. When I would have an album come out, he would play it. That
helped get it out there, and basically gave other people reason to listen to it, to see
if they liked it. It really helped.

Sara Petite Returning to the U.K, April 2024

Sara Petite is returning to the U.K. April 1^st, shows beginning April 3^rd through the 15^th.  Her tour dates are:

April 3^rd, What’s Cookin’ -  London

April 4^th, The Jenny Lind – Hastings

April 5^th, Oxted-Hurst Green Community Center - Oxted

April 6^th, Rambling Roots Festival – High Wycombe

April 9^th, Saint Lawrence Parish – Stoke on Trent

April 10^th, The Sun Inn - Beverly

April 11^th, Filey Evron Centre - Filey

April 12^th, Town Hall – Kirton in Lindsey

April 13^th , Little Rabbit Barn - Colchester

April 14^th,  The Live Room at Saltaire - Shipley

April 15^th, The Angel Microbrewery – Nottingham

Sara is touring with her band and will be promoting her latest album of seven, The Empress.   She will also be performing songs from her older albums as well.  Expect a full-fledged Outlaw Country Hootenannny goodtime, tinged with songwriteresque tender moments.  

About Sara

Described as ‘the benchmark for what Americana music should be about in the 21st century’, Sara’s career is most definitely on the up.   She's an outlaw country headliner whose music reaches far beyond the genre's borders, Sara Petite has built an award-winning career with songs that owe as much to the rock & roll roadhouse as they do the honky-tonk.

For more information contact, Rob Cribbbett, sarapetitebooking@gmail.com or go to her website: www.sarapetite.com/tour

Gig Review: Sara Petite - Kitchen Garden, Kings Heath, Birmingham. Thursday 13th July 2023

The signs are looking good that Sara Petite's intermittent love affair with taking her music overseas will transcend into something more regular. This San Diego-based artist has many recording years behind her and flirted with fans in the UK for close on a decade. Now we are entering a phase where there has been two tours in just over eighteen months and plans afoot to return to our shores within the next year. This is good news to those well acquainted with her music and for the heaps of dormant fans who will no doubt be smitten once the stars of connection align. Previous solo trips now seem consigned to the past as evidenced by hooking up with three established, adaptable and rather excellent musicians who added an essential dynamic to the Sara Petite Band. The prime conduit for re-acquainting herself with the UK in recent times has been multiple bookings at the Maverick Festival where her several sets went down a storm. There is even an adage here that the Friday night Peacock performance at this year's staging was the best set witnessed in thirteen straight visits to the event. However let's bring things up to date with a reflection on her return to the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham. 

Sara Petite will always be hailed as one of the pioneering American touring artists who bravely stepped into the post-pandemic gig world in the Autumn of 2021. This was not just home shows but ones thousands of miles from her Californian base. That gratitude will never be forgotten at a time when we wondered whether the live music community would even survive. On that short September tour, Sara made her Birmingham debut in a trio format with Joe Coombs on lead guitar and Scott Warman playing bass. These two fine musicians are well known figures on the British country and Americana scene backing many artists both home-grown and touring. This time the band added a missing piece in drummer Jamie Dawson and the rocking festival set up was in place. 

Of course the Kitchen Garden is far from a rocking place, but quality musicians know how to play the acoustics to a tee and the trio backing Sara this evening polished the task into a smooth operation to give the songs an optimal sheen. Those songs spanned the entire length of her recording career with the fabulous title track from the 2006 album TIGER MOUNTAIN getting a regular airing on the current tour. This song hones in on her roots and is one of many songs getting a brief background introduction. The inter song chat is a mix between innate wit and a desire to expose what drives the music of Sara Petite. With that in mind if you strip away the instrumental layers, a succinctly gifted songwriter appears who isn't afraid of tackling wider issues. Alongside raucous family get togethers we were also left to contemplate the balance of masculine and feminine energy, more so re-addressing the imbalance. 

The title track from her latest album THE EMPRESS is the song mode for this writing dive and one of eight tracks shared from a record still fresh off the block. The barnstorming instantly hitting prime number from the new pile is the rousing 'Bringin' Down the Neighbourhood'. Three live listens so far have a steep upwards trajectory of appreciation. An old Sara Petite track from 2000s has been resurrected to bring the new album to a close. 'Lead the Parade' was one of the early songs played in a single set that spanned an hour and a half. This new incarnation of a previous album title track makes a welcome return. Now all we need is 'Doghouse Rose' to re-appear on the next tour to complete the album titles from the embryonic days of Sara Petite. 

The bar for this Birmingham show was placed exceedingly high from the start with the exceptional 'Feeling Like an Angel' kicking things off in sumptuous style. This track sends shivers especially in the chorus melody which melts upon every listen. This song opened 2021's RARE BIRD, an album sending several other numbers into the Birmingham air this evening. 'Scars' is raw and candid, 'Working on a Soul' never fails to get everybody singing or at least muttering its chorus, and 'The Misfits' embodies a fiery independent spirit. The latter closed the show in the encore spot preceded by the middle of this trio shining a bright light on an album's riches. 

Setlist songs start to thin out as we go further back. 'Good 2 B Me' represented ROAD LESS TRAVELED with its Tom Petty references. The title track appeared in the second Maverick set, but sadly was omitted this evening. So many songs, so little time. There was time for some more vintage Sara Petite as 'Little House' showed its longevity in surviving many years and fighting off hoards of other fine tracks to make the cut.  

It is recommended that you delve into her back catalogue. There are seven full length albums to check out. I discovered her music in 2010 with DOGHOUSE ROSE and immediately tracked back to LEAD THE PARADE and TIGER MOUNTAIN. 2013's CIRCUS CAME TO TOWN actually had some UK press and a review was posted in the early days of this site. There has been some evolution leading to the present, but a trademark sound retains including a voice that soaks rich into the entity of her music. 

Labels hover around the music of Sara Petite without overwhelming her. She is country to the core minus the definition. Widening the touring band to include some pedal steel would shift more in that direction. She is wholeheartedly rock 'n' roll in moments of exaltation and a brash thrashing of honky tonk femininity in other quarters. Streaking through her veins is a songwriting passion. Americana embraces her. Ultimately she hits all the right spots for many. 

A surprise addition to this show was the invitation for Savannah Gardner to open things on the stroke of eight. This half hour set coupled with the 90-minute main fare rewarded a modest outlay with a ridiculous amount of return, especially for those with many years investment. She is also an American swallowed up in the country-Americana calling, but has lived in the UK for five years. An appearance at this year's Ramblin' Roots festival introduced her to me as a live act, although others recall her from Long Road. There is certainly plenty of raw talent to play the long game that would benefit from packaging some of the streamed singles into a longer record. More exposure on the live circuit and continuing to hook up with others will help. Sometimes you can get lost in festivals, so playing more intimate sets can work wonders. I look forward to checking more of her music in the future. 

Sara Petite rightly hails and praises the work of Joe Coombs, Scott Warman and Jamie Dawson in the role of re-inventing her UK presence. They are a band home-from-home and hopefully will remain close at hand as this love affair grows. These are now halcyon times for following the music of Sara Petite from afar. Good things comes to those who patiently wait. Sets like this in Birmingham both nail the here and now and frame a little part of the past when you found new artists by any means available. 

By Gary Schwind

June 2023

Sara Petite is a singer-songwriter from San Diego that has the roots of country music running through her. She can sound as feisty as Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson, and she is just as good at portraying heartache as Patsy Cline. It’s practically impossible to listen to her albums without feeling something. If you have that experience, you might be the only one.

Her new album is The Empress, and it shows not only her roots in country music but also in rock and roll. Of the title track, she said, “The Empress comes from the idea that our world is out of balance. Everything’s gone off-kilter, and we all need that mix of feminine and masculine energies in our bodies. The more that women are respected and held to the same level of importance as men, the better off we’re all going to be.”

The album kicks off with “God Save the Queen,” but it’s not a cover of the Sex Pistols song. Instead, it is a plea to save the earth. However, it carries plenty of punk sound in the guitar. It also carries a punk attitude, like when Petite sings “I am the queen. I am the witch. I am the ruler and the bitch.” On top of that, the instrumental break begins with three chords that sound very much like a punk band that is just getting started playing in someone’s garage. Whoever decided to make this the first track made a sound decision. It is a great way to hook the listener into what comes next.

“Forbidden Fruit” is another uptempo gem. The song is propelled by a piano part that makes it nearly impossible to remain still. That being said, it is a song that works just fine without a dance partner when you just want to shake it by yourself on the dance floor of a honky-tonk. “That Was You and Me” has an infectious boot-stomping beat and a tempo that makes this a perfect song for dancing. In fact, it is so catchy that you may not realize the lyrics tell the story of a relationship gone bad. Or maybe you will notice and that that will only add to your desire to dance to this one.  

On the flipside of those uptempo stompers, Petite shows that she is just as adept at slower songs that pull at your heartstrings. “Tread Softly” is a song that goes heavy on the pedal steel and tells the story of a woman in love who wants to be vulnerable to her partner’s touch. However, there is plenty of fear and fragility in her plea for love when she implores, “Tread softly on this heart of mine.” 

Another song in the emotional vein is “The Mistress”. In it, the narrator likens a loved one’s battle with alcoholism to a mistress.  Of brandy, she says, “She’s gonna be the death of you and me.” It is a profound and impactful song similar to “Joey” by Concrete Blonde. Both tell the story of someone who is self-destructive and both are told from the point of view of a person who would love to end the downward spiral they are witnessing, but ultimately feel helpless. On the one hand, it is a good song for slow dancing. On the other hand, it is sad enough to break your heart.

The Empress by Sara Petite is the sort of album that gets better with every listen. Petite creates strong characters and tells stories that are sure to make you feel something. She can get you to dance while delivering lyrics that reach right into your soul.