Sara Hickman at The Bugle Boy

Grammy-nominated Official Texas State Musician (2010) Sara Hickman is a gifted artist and songwriter whose music is uplifting, connective, and full of joy — qualities that were in evidence going all the way back to her earliest performances in high school and college and first captured on record with 1988’s Equal Scary People. Originally released independently, her debut was quickly picked up by a major label, introducing her to a national audience and leading to her first of two appearances on The Tonight Show. She has since released more than a dozen more albums, including a trilogy for young children and 2006’s aptly-titled Motherlode (a double album decidedly not for children), while also working tirelessly on behalf of a number of charities and advocacy groups both domestically and abroad. Most recently, she has written and hand-drawn two volumes of her Texas Musicians Coloring Book, each packed with fun and informative, delightfully illustrated bios of her heroes, peers, and friends.