Ephemeral moments: Sarah Jarosz captures pieces of life on 'Polaroid Lovers;' set to perform at Lensic

May 23—Sarah Jarosz is in Homer, New York.

She has a moment to reflect during the stop on her tour in support of her recent album, "Polaroid Lovers."

"It's been so special and fun getting to play the new songs live," Jarosz says. People seem to be having a good time."

Jarosz's tour will make a stop on Tuesday, May 28, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe.

The days of anxiety and pressure are somewhat behind her as she's traveling the country.

"I've gone through so much with this album," he says. "I want the music to be great and I put in the hard work it needed. Now the performance part is the celebration of the entire process."

"Polaroid Lovers" is the seventh full-length album from the Grammy winner.

Jarosz says its filled with songs dedicated to those strangely ephemeral moments that shape our lives.

"What I love about a Polaroid is that it's capturing something so fleeting, but at the same time it makes that moment last forever," Jarosz says. "It made sense as a title for a record where all the songs are snapshots of different love stories, and there's a feeling of time being expansive despite that impermanence."

The follow-up to 2020's studio album "World on the Ground" — which picked up a Grammy for Best Americana Album — and 2021's song cycle "Blue Heron Suite," Jarosz says "Polaroid Lovers" embodies a bold new vitality in her writing process.

"Historically I've been somewhat closed off to co-writing, but in the past couple of years I've felt curious to get out of my comfort zone," she says. "For a long time it was important to me to write for myself, so that I wouldn't get lost in those rooms full of amazing writers. But now that I'm more confident in my musical identity, I know I can collaborate but still stay true to my own voice."

In one of her first co-writing sessions for "Polaroid Lovers," Jarosz joined forces with Daniel Tashian and immediately felt an undeniable creative connection.

"Daniel and I were both so excited by the idea of creating a new sound together, and he pushed me in ways I felt completely ready for and open to," she says. "It felt really good to allow myself that freedom, and to take that leap into something new."

The album is produced by Tashian at the legendary Sound Emporium. Jarosz worked with guitarist Rob McNelley, Tom Bukovac on guitar and organ, her husband bassist Jeff Picker, and drummer Fred Eltringham.

Jarosz says there were 13 tracks recorded and 11 made the cut.

"I'm hoping to release the other two songs in some form," she says. "I still think of albums as a whole experience. I really thought that 13 was the best number, but I found myself after the 11th song, my attention would wane. If I was having that issue, then other people would have that issue. We pared it down to 11."

The 32-year-old singer-songwriter has grown into her own over the years.

She says during her early 20s, she felt pressure to make an impact and felt like she kept having to push herself.

She found a new perspective for performance and music after the pandemic.

"Not getting to perform for almost two years was a hard reset in terms of my association with performing," she explains. "I didn't take it for granted. It's not lost on me that people are choosing to spend money on music. It's my job to feel more present during the whole process. The energy is so palpable."