Watkins Family Hour Take on Disney Tune, ‘Not in Nottingham’ [LISTEN]

Sibling duo Sara and Sean Watkins have released a new track off of their upcoming Watkins Family Hour album.

The siblings' new band, named for their monthly residence at Largo in Los Angeles, have shared their version of Roger Miller’s “Not in Nottingham,” from Disney's 1973 animated film Robin Hood. Sean Watkins takes the lead on the song, which he first heard in the movie when he was young.

“I didn’t know about Roger Miller at the time, but I remembering thinking the music was pretty cool,” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “And later on, when we were looking for covers to do at Largo, I kind of re-stumbled upon it somehow. And it works in a cartoon environment, but it’s also just a good song.”

The Watkins siblings will kick off a tour supporting their new album on July 24 at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. They will be joined by different guests at each stop throughout the tour. See a list of upcoming dates at WatkinsFamilyHour.com.

“It feels more like we’re celebrating it, just bringing these songs to these towns and celebrating these songs with audiences,” Sara Watkins says.

The album and tour are extra special because of the involvement of collaborators such as Fiona Apple, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, bassist Sebastian Steinberg and others.

“Taking Fiona out with us, there’s a side of her musicianship that people don’t often get to see,” Sean Watkins says. “She sings these old country songs in a way that you would never expect — it’s just kind of captivating. I’m excited for people to see that side of her.”

Adds Sara Watkins in a press release, "Taking the Watkins Family Hour on tour and releasing this record feels like the right next step. The show is about a community of players, and that community stretches across the country. If we can’t get everyone to LA to do our show, we’ll come to them. We are coming to towns where we have friends and we can have those moments, even if it’s not our home club.

"It’s the people on stage who make that happen; it’s just a matter of getting the right group of people together," she adds. "We are being thoughtful about where we are going so we can have that sort of flexibility. It will be a very different show in every town.”

Watkins Family Hour is set for release on July 24 via Family Hour Records and Thirty Tigers. The album also features a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Steal Your Heart Away." See the full track listing here.

Listen to the Watkins Family Hour, "Not in Nottingham":