Musician growing into her own at Caffé Lena

Mohawk Valley musician Sara Milonovich’s reflections on the ‘Northeast’

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Music has been a part of Sara Milonovich’s life since childhood. When the Mohawk Valley singer, songwriter, and fiddler takes the stage at Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m., she plans to share her personal connection to music and Caffè Lena itself with her audience.

“Caffè Lena and I have a really long relationship,” Milonovich said. “I have been playing there since the mid-’90s. Anybody who has seen me at the Caffè over that span has definitely witnessed an evolution in my art and craft.”

At the show, Milonovich will perform with a trio lineup of her band, Sara Milonovich & Daisycutter, alongside longtime producer and collaborator Greg Anderson on guitar and multi-instrumentalist Boo Reiners.

“What we’re most excited about is not only the chance to come back to a place we’ve played and have a very meaningful history with, but also to have it be one of the first places we’re previewing new music,” she added.

Milonovich will preview songs she has worked on over the past year. After working in the solitude of the studio, she is eager to see how the songs will evolve in a live setting. The concert will also include material from her previous albums and deeper cuts.

“We’re focusing on pulling out a few new pieces that haven’t seen the light of day much before,” she said. “That’s what keeps it fresh and exciting for us.”

Her connection with her audience is at the core of her work, and they have eagerly responded to her personal touch. Since she began her career as a fiddler, performing primarily covers of artists such as Josh Ritter, Karine Polwart, Joe Strummer, and Led Zeppelin, she has woven personal experiences into her music.

The evolution from those early days to now is evident in her latest album, Northeast.

“The progression that has come through the last couple of albums, beginning with Waiting for the Stars, has been more about me figuring out how to tell these stories in my own songs,” she said.

Northeast wasn’t intended as a concept album, but it was heavily inspired by the area, particularly an old factory loading dock in Amsterdam, N.Y., that she passed by. Milonovich calls it her most focused album yet, reflecting influences from folk and country artists who were similarly rooted in a sense of place, akin to the Bakersfield Sound of California.

“I was reflecting on that when I drove past that loading dock in Amsterdam and thought, ‘We have a lot of the same human threads running through the stories of the people up here in the Northeast. It just happens to be a lot colder,’” she joked. “It always means a lot to play those songs close to home, because it’s meaningful to see them resonate with people in that setting.”

Milonovich grew up on a farm, a background that has shaped her identity as much as music has.

“I’m a country girl,” she said. “That’s in your DNA, just like being a musician from a young age. Music and farming are very similar in that regard.”

She began playing violin at age four and hasn’t stopped since.

“It was my vision before I could even spell the word ‘vision.’ It’s always been a throughline in what I do and continues to be so,” she said.

Milonovich developed a regional reputation as a fiddler and, at 16, music became the guiding force

in her life. Her influences span across genres—Stuart Duncan, Jeff Beck, John Coltrane, and Aimee Mann—from jazz to rock to singer-songwriter.

Despite her wide-ranging influences, Milonovich’s heart remains in folk and Americana. She joined the legendary Celtic bluegrass group The McKrells and even performed on Broadway, continually expanding as a more “complex and nuanced artist.”

In 2009, she released Daisycutter and toured Europe in 2011 as part of the U.S. State Department’s “Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad” tour. Her 2015 record, Waiting for the Stars, earned her comparisons to Shawn Colvin and Sheryl Crow.

For her upcoming album, Milonovich plans to explore new themes. While Northeast focuses on rural Americana, the new record will reflect on life in cities within the Capital Region, like Saratoga, as well as her experiences on the road.

The foundation of her new work ties back to the original cassette tapes where she recorded songs that captured her thoughts, hopes, and musings as a young girl in her hometown.

“That piece is still there,” she said. “All of these things become this wide-ranging tapestry, which, as an artist, you hope gives you more of a palette to work from.”

Milonovich describes the Caffè Lena show as a “rare treat,” offering a sneak preview of her upcoming album.

“There will be very few dates where we’ll bring out these songs ahead of the release, and that exclusivity is special for Caffè Lena, a place that has been a steadfast backdrop for my shows for decades,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing these songs connect with people.”

For more information about Sara Milonovich’s upcoming music and shows, visit saramilonovich.com.

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