Sara Milonovich

Biography

Fiddler/violinist/singer/songwriter Sara Milonovich cut her teeth as a sought-after instrumentalist and vocalist in the bluegrass, folk, rock, Americana, and Celtic music scenes, and has performed and recorded throughout North and South America, Europe and beyond. A 2023 winner of the Bluebird Golden Pick Contest for songwriting, Sara was also named 2022 Americana Artist of the Year by the Capital District Thomas Edison Music Awards. She performs, records, and tours regularly with her alt-country band, Sara Milonovich & Daisycutter, while also maintaining an active career as an accompanist and session musician.
Growing up on a working farm in rural upstate New York, she began studying violin and fiddle at the age of four and was among the last generations to learn the traditional music of the region as it was passed down firsthand, from the grange halls and lumber camps of the North Country to the pubs of NYC. After a collection of awards for fiddling, singing, and composing, she left school at sixteen to hit the road with bluegrass band The McKrells. A diverse trajectory led her from there through a busy career as an accompanist and collaborator with such artists as Richard Shindell, Pete Seeger (including on his Grammy-winning At 89 album), Eliza Gilkyson, and Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, among others. In 2011, Sara toured Kosovo, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Turkey as part of American Music Abroad, a cultural diplomatic program administered by Jazz At Lincoln Center and the US State Department. She was a regular designated sub for the violin chair of both the Broadway and national touring companies of “Come From Away.”