A decade ago, Sarah Jarosz had a lot going for her. Having just graduated from the New England Conservatory for Music in Boston, she already had released three albums, with the recent precursor Build Me Up From Bones gaining a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.
That good fortune hasn’t changed. But Undercurrent, released 10 years ago, represented something deeper for Jarosz, which she will share during her first-ever stop at Golden State Theatre in Monterey on Oct. 22 for the Grammy-winning album’s anniversary tour.
“It was the first record I made without the responsibility of being in school,” Jarosz says, adding that it’s also one that fans consistently request songs from.
But for Jarosz, the album also meant that her music career was solidified. This is who she was now.
Since starting her singer-songwriter career at age 17, Jarosz had always had a deep hope to make it in the music industry. She wrote Undercurrent in 2016 while working with sound engineer Gary Paczosa. In it, she pairs a small sonic footprint with imagery of her new life in New York City.
Throughout the album is the sense of a future full of hope. Jarosz says that this anniversary tour is a way to look back, recognize the moment, and feel lucky about the way her career has progressed since then.
“I’m personally happier to do this slow and steady as opposed to massive commercial success,” she says. “I have a bit more lightness than I do now.”
This will be a duo with her husband, Jeff Picker. Jarosz appeared with her folk trio group I’m With Her at the Sunset Center in Carmel in June. Performing alongside her husband, a bass player, is a rarity.
Between recording sessions, Jarosz is almost always on the road, touring with the trio and making solo appearances. She recently wrapped up Farm Aid with the trio on Sept. 26, sharing the stage with legends like Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Margo Price.
But the work and travel doesn’t wear her out, and she says this Undercurrent anniversary tour really is just for fun and for her fans.
“I feel so lucky to do this,” Jarosz says.
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