Lots of Americana-based artists call San Diego home these days, but only a handful have been able to take things to a national level. Such is the case with Sara Petite, one of the hottest rising stars over the last decade. Nominated for “Best Americana Artist” at this year’s San Diego Music Awards, Petite performs with her band, The Sugar Daddies, on Sept. 7, at Humphreys Backstage Lounge.
Petite has released four albums since her official debut in 2006. Her most recent effort, “Circus Comes to Town,” was released locally earlier this year. But it is getting a bigger national push, beginning this month.
Petite credits her grandmother for giving her the push to get her music career under way. Having taught herself guitar in college she wrote a batch of songs. “I wanted to make an album because my grandmother was getting older and she wanted me to collect all the songs I ‘d written onto one CD for her,” Petite said. Unfortunately, the week that she was to record the album, Petite’s grandmother passed away. “So, three months later, we recorded what became the first record, ‘Tiger Mountain.’ And it all started because of my grandmother.” While the venue has Petite and her crew listed as a “blues” act, in fact, that is only one component of her music. Petite and her band cover a lot of stylistic ground, “from old-time songs like the Carter Family to more rock ’n’ roll things like Bruce Springsteen, but in my style. And of course, I play my own songs,” she said. Indeed, Petite’s music is closer to the classic sounds of a Buck Owens hoedown than to modern-day country pop, a la Taylor Swift.
Petite said she is keeping busier than ever. Upcoming events for Petite include several showcase events surrounding this year’s Americana Music Awards in Nashville, a tour of the East Coast, demos for the next record and 2014 has a tour of Europe penciled in for March. While she said she is thrilled by the inroads she has made so far, she’s hoping to take things to the next level. Currently working a part-time day job to help make ends meet while pursuing music, she’s looking at the possibilities in different facets of the music industry. “I want to have other performers cover my songs,” she said. “Really, that’s the ultimate honor when it comes to being a songwriter. Right now, I tend bar a couple of days a week, and that’s great. It gives me the opportunity to do what I have to do and the people there are nice enough to give me time off when it’s needed. But either way, it would be nice to be able to make a living just with my music.”
It’s clear she loves her chosen path, for many reasons. “It’s hard to single out just one thing,” she said. “I love the high you get when you write a song, or just from playing and seeing different places. On our last tour, we were driving down the 101 Highway and realized that we are just so lucky to get to see such beautiful scenery. There are just so many different cultures across the United States, different ways people do things and it’s kind of neat to see that.”
She said meeting new people is an enjoyable perk of life on the road, but notes it’s also a lot of hard work keeping a music career going in 2013. “There is always so much to do and there is a lot of stressful things that can happen, but at the end of the day, it’s just so much fun to play in a band,” she said.
• Sara Petite and The Sugar Daddies: Saturday, Sept. 7 at Humphreys Backstage Live, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, 5 to 7 p.m. No cover. www.humphreysbackstagelive.com.