Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Animal-loving singer and songwriter Sara Watson, who recently put people in a musical trance while helping to raise funds for the Bahrain Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) at their black-tie ball, has urged people to continue to support the shelter.
When Sara isn’t busy spending her days as a legal secretary and personal assistant at an international law firm, she moonlights as a performer at a beach hotel resort wielding her acoustic guitar to brighten people’s evenings with her soulful and jazzy sounds.
Being a proud rescue-mum, keeping the BSPCA alive is near and dear to her heart which is why she was more than thrilled to support the cause and hopes her performance uplifted and inspired others.
“The event was fantastic and for a great cause that is close to my heart,” said Sara who has a Husky pup named Inca and four rescued kitties named Max, Coco, one-eyed Soci and three-and-a-half-legged Peggy. “At one point, a group of ladies got up to dance while I was performing Wake Me Up by Aviici. It felt like a tribute to Aviici and it was fun, but they didn’t want me to stop and so I had to repeat the chorus a good few times!
“I’m grateful to the BSPCA and the Address Beach Resort Bahrain, where I also perform every Thursday and Friday from 8pm, for having me.”
The BSPCA was founded in 1979 and is Bahrain’s oldest animal rescue centre. Recently, it has suffered from a severe lack of donations, and although the response to its cry for help has been ‘substantial’, the charity still does not have a fully sustainable financial pathway.
“The BSPCA has many important programmes which is why we need to support the shelter,” she added. “Their catch and release programme to spay and neuter strays is a fantastic incentive for people who would like to help. Controlling breeding is imperative and the only way to do this is to encourage people to feed the strays in order to build their trust, so you can actively put them in a cat box as you would a domestic cat (grab by the back of the neck). Cage traps, I feel, cause unnecessary stress on people and animals.
“So please do what you can and you can always contact BSPCA fundraiser Rachel Gibson to lend a helping hand.”
Rachel and the event’s guests were mesmerised by Sara. “The guitarist was so talented,” said Rachel. “She was the perfect accompaniment to our exquisite dinner. She uplifted the audience.”
This is not the first time Sara has advocated for animals as she also participated, along with other talents in Bahrain, in a virtual Music to the Rescue festival for the Bahrain Animal Rescue Centre in May 2020 during the pandemic. She was part of a line-up of acts including Jason and Lydia Carter, Deborah Jones as well as a couple of artists from around the globe.
It’s no surprise that she adores animals as she grew up surrounded by them while discovering her passion for singing.
“I grew up like a typical Disney character in Northern Ireland, mostly surrounded by fields and my own thoughts,” said Sara, who completed a three-year online Bachelor of Laws with International Business while working full-time.
“The neighbouring sheep and cows tended to congregate while I sang and fed them grass; so it started from a young age.
“A Playskool Cassette Tape Player Recorder, like in Toy Story, with the mic was my early start and I have tapes of me blasting the full Lion King album.”
She loved belting Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson’s songs growing up as well.
“I recall singing Mariah’s Without You with headphones on while sitting on a bean bag thinking that I was brilliant until my mum ran to get my dad because it was apparently hilariously out of tune,” she giggled. “I learnt that with headphones, unless plugged in to hear myself, it’s not a sufficient way of hearing oneself!
“I took practice very seriously from a young age and self-taught to help develop my breathing and vocal ability. When at school, I learnt classical for grades, but as it’s a different discipline a teacher thankfully brought me aside and informed me I have a strong popular music voice and I must keep nurturing that so as not to confuse the disciplines.
“It became clear I was a Grade 8 singer from a young age due to my tackling of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey songs with ease.”
Sara started singing professionally at the age of 16 and has even entertained at private events for VIPs and celebrities.
After years of singing experience under her belt, she is also passing on her passion for singing and drama to youngsters of all ages and abilities.
“I love teaching students various genres and disciplines that interest them,” said the creative who enjoys rhythm and blues, contemporary, jazz and other genres to mix things up. “Music is so diverse and it’s also great to help students find their unique voices.”
As for her live sets, she sings and perform covers on acoustic guitar with songs by the likes of Adele, Sam Smith, Rihanna, Coldplay and Beyoncé as examples.
For details, follow @growing.genius on Instagram.
