Sahara Smith

---

title: "Sahara Smith" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1988-births", "musicians-from-texas", "living-people", "people-from-wimberley,-texas"] description: "American singer-songwriter (born 1988)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_Smith" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American singer-songwriter (born 1988) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Sahara Smith
image	Sarah Smith - Ron Baker 2011.jpg
caption	Austin Music Awards (2011)
birth_date
origin	Austin, Texas, United States
genre	Folk rock, alternative
years_active	2006–2013
label	Playing In Traffic
website
::

| name = Sahara Smith | image = Sarah Smith - Ron Baker 2011.jpg | caption = Austin Music Awards (2011) | image_size = | birth_date = | origin = Austin, Texas, United States | genre = Folk rock, alternative | years_active = 2006–2013 | label = Playing In Traffic | website = Sahara Smith (born September 26, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter who released her debut album in 2010.

Early life

Sahara (her father hiccuped while suggesting "Sara," and both parties liked the mistake) Smith was born in Austin, Texas and spent her youth in Wimberley, Texas. She began writing poetry at age 3, with a poem published in the "Anthology of Poetry for Young Americans" while in the second grade, A studio recording of "Twilight Red" would be included on her debut album.

Career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Sahara_Smith_-_Ron_Baker_2010.jpg" caption="Smith on stage in 2010."] ::

Producer T-Bone Burnett noticed Smith and took her into the studio to record her debut album, Myth of the Heart, which was released in 2010 and described as a "hybrid of folk, Americana, country and bluegrass". Smith appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman in November 2010. Smith says her musical influences include Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits.

In 2006 an Austin Chronicle music reporter said: "Her musical sophistication and the uncanny maturity of her lyrics astonished me" and she is "the most gifted young performer I've seen in 26 years." A Seventeen article described her as a "striking, lanky redhead [who] exudes confidence and grace" and described her vocals as "a mixture of the soulful folk melodies of Jewel with the soothing vocals of Norah Jones”.

A Los Angeles Times music reviewer said "Smith creates Cinemascope-like wide-screen portraits of romantic passion, loneliness and unrequited love in her richly impressive, intensely soulful debut album." Other reviewers mention her "smoky voice, bluesy folk sound" that "invokes lazy summer nights and sweaty slow dancing".

In June 2013 she rebranded herself as "Girl Pilot" and is working on a new 10-song album. "The name Girl Pilot comes from a book of comics from the 1940s called "Smilin' Jack and the Daredevil Girl Pilot" that I've had since I was 13. I've carried that name around with me for years, and because my new album is so different from the last, and so indicative of who I am now, this feels like the perfect moment to use it. I've never been so excited to do what I do, or felt so eager to take control of my life and my career. Girl Pilot feels somehow correct."

Discography

Studio albums

::data[format=table] | Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | US | US Rock | US Heat | US Indie | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2010 | Myth Of The Heart | - | - | - | - | | | ::

Music videos

::data[format=table]

Year	Video	Director
2010	"The Real Thing"	Rosalyn Rosen
2010	"Thousand Secrets"	Rosalyn Rosen
::

References

References

1. "'Myth' becomes reality for Wimberley's Smith".
2. music at age twelve and at age fifteen took second place in [[A Prairie Home Companion]]'s 'Talent from 12-20' contest on May 8, 2004, performing "It Don't Rain Much" and "Twilight Red".(September 17, 2010)[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129934649 Sahara Smith in Concert], NPR Music, Retrieved Feb 27, 2012
3. (August 27, 2010) [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703632304575451841610799912 Sahara Smith; Oliver Twist in Atlanta] Wall Street Journal, Retrieved Feb 27 2012
4. "Talent Show Winner and Contestants Saturday, May 8, 2004".
5. Caldwell, Patrick. "'Myth' becomes reality for Wimberley's Smith". [[Austin American-Statesman]].
6. (June 7, 2011) [https://www.npr.org/2010/07/08/128385966/sahara-smith-on-mountain-stage Sahara Smith on Mountain Stage] NPR Music, Retrieved Feb 27 2012
7. (2010-08-27). "Sahara Smith Album Review". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
8. "IMDb".
9. Ventura, Michael. "Letters at 3AM". [[Austin Chronicle]].
10. Magazine, Seventeen. "new artist: sahara smith". [[Seventeen (American magazine).
11. Lewis, Randy. "Sahara Smith Album Review". [[Los Angeles Times]].
12. Baker, Whitney. "Best of What's Next: Sahara Smith". [[Paste (magazine).
13. "new artist: sahara smith". [[Glamour (magazine).
14. playingintraffic. (June 11, 2013}}{{Dead link). "Sahara Smith Becomes girl pilot".
15. "About girl pilot".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::