Watch, sing-along as San Diego’s Sara Petite hosts ‘Bringin’ Down the Neighborhood Party’

When music artist Sara Petite takes the stage at the Kensington Club this weekend, she’ll do so in a new, yet now familiar role – that of a newlywed.

The singer-musician, whose three-hour Americana Roundup concert kicks off at 8 p.m. Saturday, recently married another San Diego musician, rocker Jonny Wagon. The couple had been an item for about seven years before officially tying the knot April 5.

The show, which Petite headlines, is the third annual “Bringin’ Down The Neighborhood Party,” a rollicking night of outlaw country music. Among the scheduled performers are David Serby, Chloe Lou, Shawn Rohlf, Ryan Blue and Jenny Petite.

“It’s a variety show, I came up with it,” Petite told Times of San Diego during a recent joint interview with her husband. “I wanted to do kind of a variety show with a little bit of goofiness, but also showcasing different people.

“And then all my friends get up and sing and it’s kind of like a community event,” she continued. “We have sing-a-longs at the end; whoever wants to come up and sing with the band can get onstage. You never know what’s going to happen.”

And yes, Wagon is expected to perform, but his appearance is likely to be brief, as he has a gig of his own with his current band, the Jonny Wagon Trio, scheduled for the same night.

“I will be doing a song (at the Americana Roundup), but I have a show at the Black Cat (Bar) later that night, so I’m gonna sing a song early and then I have to go to the Black Cat,” he explained of the Teralta West venue.

Also part of the Americana Roundup festivities will be a mullet contest. It’s open to all: young and old, male and female and with real or fake hair. The contest, now in its second year, has a connection to one of Petite’s songs.

“Three years ago, we did a song called ‘Bringin’ Down the Neighborhood’ – it’s about dysfunctional families – and so we did a video and people wore mullets,” she explained. “So then we did a second annual ‘Bringin’ Down the Neighborhood Party’ last year at the Americana Roundup.

“It’s for fun,” she said of the contest. “Probably, the most flamboyant mullet out there’s gonna win.”

And as if a new marriage and a music showcase weren’t enough, Petite just released a new single, “Jealous Heart,” in July.

Despite what the title implies, the song is an upbeat country-rock jam, packed with catchy melodies and an earworm of a chorus. Petite said the song is the first single from her upcoming eighth studio album, which will be her first since 2023’s The Empress.

“We have enough (songs) for an album; it’s probably going to be in 2026 that I release it, but (“Jealous Heart”) is a new single,” she said. “We’re probably going to put another (single) out, I think, in November, and put out the album in January, February, something like that.”

Wagon himself also has new music headed to the masses. It comes via his previous band, Jonny Wagon & the Tennessee Sons. Their latest album, It Feels Good to Be Alive, was released in 2018.

“Even though the band is no longer together, the Tennessee Sons’ final record will be coming out within the next month,” he revealed. “The band has been broken up for almost three years, and the record got shelved,” Wagon explained. “But I finally finished it and it’s ready to go, just waiting on a few technical things before it can be released.

“There a couple of covers on there that I’ve got to register and pay for to release to the public. But it’s mastered and ready to go,” he said. “It’s been over two years in the making.”