WPA (Works Progress Administration)

Contemporary folk, Americana

Folks interested in the music of Toad and the Wet Sprocket, Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, Nickel Creek, and Buddy Miller will likely appreciate the music of WPA, as its members have been pulled from these and other groups.

WPA is a supergroup of sorts which, depending on the time and date, may include any or all of the following members:
Glen Phillips – vocals, guitar
Sean Watkins – guitar, vocals
Luke Bulla – fiddle, vocals, guitar
Sara Watkins – fiddle, vocals
Benmont Tench – piano, organ
Greg Leisz – pedal steel
Pete Thomas – drums
Davey Faragher – bass

"Remember Well"
"End This Now"
"Not Sure"

Blister (MRI, 2009) Compare Prices

Works Progress Administration grew out of a community of musicians and songwriters who frequented the Los Angeles nightclub Largo. There, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins hold a weekly "Watkins Family Hour," where guests appear to sit in with the siblings. Many of the members of what became the music collective WPA have appeared with the Watkins Family hour. They're all artists who have known each other and played together for years.

According to their official biography posted on the WPA website:

After a chance meeting between Sean and Grammy winning recording engineer Jim Scott, the group found themselves in Scott’s studio, Plyrz, recording 17 songs live in five days. With an album mixed and mastered, the band hadn’t even chosen a name or secured management. In an era where the expectation is that a group of this experience and caliber would be something conceived by business executives, WPA came out of an authentic and vibrant musical community, and the album is a beautiful reflection of its origins.

WPA has become a favorite at festivals throughout 2009 and 2010, and are booked for a full schedule of festivals for the summer of '10. For a full list of tour dates and other information, visit wpamusic.com