Folk sister duo Sarah Julia release new single "Whatever It Takes (Break Your Heart)"

Earlier, Amsterdam-based folk sister duo Sarah Julia announced the release of their debut album "The Fear That This Is Real", set for release on October 9th, 2026 via Nettwerk. Recorded in Woodstock, New York with Grammy-nominated producer Philip Weinrobe (Big Thief, Adrienne Lenker, Sam Evian, Florist), the album marks their most honest and intentional work to date.

Bound by sisterhood and defined by striking vulnerability, Sarah Julia craft harmonious indie folk that transforms love, loss, and longing into something quietly luminous. Since their debut EP “How Do We Go Back To Being Normal?” (2024) and “Only Making It Worse” (2025), both produced by Grammy-winner Catherine Marks, they have established themselves as artists unafraid to sit with discomfort and turn it into something deeply resonant.

Their rise has been swift and undeniable. The duo has earned the Music Moves Europe Award (2026), was named a Spotify RADAR Artist, included in YouTube’s 100 Artists To Watch list (2026) and selected as a Spotify EQUAL Ambassador. In 2025, they were also recognized as a Gibson Spotlight Artist.

On stage, Sarah Julia have built a reputation for captivating live performances across Europe, the UK and beyond. They have appeared at festivals including Eurosonic (2026), Noorderslag (2024), Reeperbahn Festival (2024), The Great Escape and Pitchfork Paris shared bills with Faye Webster, Neil Young, SYML, Mon Rovia and Samia, supported Paris Paloma across the US and Europe and headlined shows in Los Angeles, New York and London.

With a summer of European festivals ahead, including Zermatt Unplugged, Bergen Fest, Motel Mozaique and State Fayre, Sarah Julia continue to carve out a space where vulnerability becomes a source of strength and where quiet songs leave a lasting echo.

CONVERSATION (TRACK PITCH)

“Whatever It Takes (Break Your Heart)” is the second track from Sarah Julia’s upcoming album “The Fear That This Is Real”. It’s a folk-pop song about about being with someone who can only meet you halfway. “Their fear of giving themselves keeps you from fully giving your love in return, leaving both of you stuck. You want them to realize what they’ll lose if nothing changes.”

The upcoming album “The Fear That This Is Real” is Sarah Julia’s most cohesive world yet: a harmony-first sister duo writing with blunt emotional clarity, recorded in Woodstock with Philip Weinrobe (Bigh Thief, Billie Marten, Cass McCombs) in a fast, communal, headphones-off setting that keeps everything human and close. The album lives in that suspended moment where you already know something has shifted, but naming it would make it irreversible. Warm, slightly haunted and cinematic, it’s built for repeat listening because the questions linger long after the first play.

LIVE FESTIVALS

• Apr 11 - Zermatt Unplugged, Zermatt, CH
• Apr 18 - Motel Mozaique, Rotterdam, NL
• May 30 - Dauwpop, Hellendoorn, NL
• May 31 - Vestrock, Hulst, NL
• Jun 09 - Bergen Fest, Bergen, NO
• Jun 11 - OddFest, Helsinki, FI
• Jun 27 - State Fayre Festival, Chelmsford, UK (supporting Alanis Morrisette )
• Jul 10 - Even Flow Festival, Cologne, DE
• Jul 17 - Colours of Ostrava, Ostrava, CZ

HEADLINE TOUR

• Nov 14 - SWG3 Poetry Club, Glasgow, UK
• Nov 15 - Grand Social, Dublin, IE
• Nov 17 - The Lodge, Manchester, UK
• Nov 18 - The Louisiana, Bristol, UK
• Nov 19 - Moth Club, London, UK
• Nov 21 - Pop Up, Paris, FR
• Nov 22 - Garagen, Cologne, DE
• Nov 23 - AB Club Room, Brussels, BE
• Nov 25 - Mikropol, Berlin, DE
• Nov 26 - Idea Bar @ VEGA, Copenhagen, DK
• Nov 27 - Molotow, Hamburg, DE
• Dec 03 - EKKO, Utrecht, NL
• Dec 04 - Rotown, Rotterdam, NL
• Dec 05 - Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, NL

Sarah Julia’s debut album, "The Fear That This Is Real", explores uncertainty, vulnerability, and emotional honesty through intimate songwriting and luminous harmonies rooted in classic folk traditions. The album includes the singles “Bigger Picture” and “Conversation", both released earlier this year, and new track "Whatever It Takes (Break Your Heart)".

At its core, "The Fear That This Is Real" explores the tension of indecision: the feeling of standing at a crossroads, aware that every choice carries lasting consequences. Inspired by ’70s songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Judee Still and shaped by the rich musical legacy of upstate New York, the record expands their sonic world while staying true to the intimacy and emotional directness that define Sarah Julia. Written from a place of shared experience and equality, the songs reflect both sisters’ perspectives. As Sarah explains: “That would mean that we would both feel it, and we want to make sure that we both feel equal in this project. Before writing the songs for this album, we knew it would be more of our own worlds.”

Over six days in the Fall of 2025, they tracked the record live with a small group of musicians, with producer Phil Weinrobe (Big Thief, Adrienne Lenker, Sam Evian, Florist) at the helm. They often played late into the night by candlelight. Weinrobes’ communal, headphones-off approach allowed the sisters to channel deeper feelings from the gut. It was different from anything the sisters had previously experienced. There was no time to mind any fear.

Surprisingly, music wasn’t their first artistic pursuit. Both sisters grew up in theater. “It took us quite a long time to figure out we should be making music together,” says Sarah. “We were used to having a script” “and telling other people’s stories,” agrees Julia, finishing her sister’s sentence, as they frequently do. Once they tried songwriting, it soon became a shared language. “It feels easy to be upfront when we write,” Sarah says, noting that Dutch people are known for their bluntness. “And then as sisters, we're able to say everything to each other, that’s our bond and our connection.”

Sarah and Julia both describe the process of recording "The Fear That This Is Real" as grounding, giving them a glimpse of life’s bigger picture. The result sounds like an unburdening, as if the ensemble and environment allowed this music to exhale, to indulge in contemplation. The arrangements unfurl into places both spacious and sparse, sonically and emotionally. Throughout the album, phrases recur like mantras. “Open up your eyes,” "Everything's temporary,” “What really matters?".

Sarah Julia - Daughters (Live from Malibu Creek State Park)