Out now: Folk sister duo Sarah Julia release debut album "The Fear That This Is Real", via Nettwerk

Today, Sarah Julia release their highly anticipated debut album, "The Fear That is Real". Having already secured support from NME, Songlines, The Forty-Five, The Independent, The Line of Best Fit, Clash, BBC Radio 1 and notable support from 6Music, "The Fear That This is Real" lands at a really exciting time for the duo as they wrap up a lengthy US tour supporting Mon Rovia, which is swiftly followed by their first UK/EU headline tour.

The album release is accompanied by the final single ‘Touchdown’, an unfurling, intimate rumination on growth and yearning for normality with delicate guitar and fiddle embellishment and typically captivating vocal harmonies.

The sisters add: "Touchdown lives in a state of feeling foggy and detached from yourself, a state you’ve grown used to. It’s about longing for a more grounded, more present version of yourself, even if you’re not quite sure how to get there just yet."

Sarah Julia’s debut album explores heartbreak, longing, hope, and pain through intimate songwriting and luminous harmonies rooted in classic folk traditions. Over six days in the fall of 2025, the sisters tracked the record live with a small group of musicians and producer Philip Weinrobe (Big Thief, Adrienne Lenker, Florist, Sam Evian) at his studio in Woodstock, NY. Drawing inspiration from the town's rich musical history, even capturing album visuals at the famed Big Pink House that immortalized Bob Dylan and The Band, the sessions often stretched late into the night by candlelight. Weinrobe's communal, headphones-off approach pushed the duo to abandon fear and channel emotional honesty directly from the gut, resulting in a self-aware, highly vulnerable record of magnetic intensity.

SARAH JULIA

Bound by sisterhood and defined by striking vulnerability, Sarah Julia crafts harmonious indie folk that transforms love, loss, and longing into something quietly luminous. The Dutch group has shared stages with Faye Webster, Mumford & Sons, Jacob Alon and Neil Young, supported Paris Paloma across the US and Europe, and headlined shows in Los Angeles, New York and London.

Their rise has been both swift and undeniable. Following the release of their EPs “How Do We Go Back To Being Normal?” (2024) and “Only Making It Worse” (2025), both produced by Grammy-winner Catherine Marks, Sarah Julia established themselves as a band unafraid to sit with discomfort and turn it into something deeply resonant. Their work has earned them a place as a Spotify RADAR Artist and a spot on YouTube’s 100 Artists To Watch list in 2026, alongside recognition as a Spotify EQUAL Ambassador, highlighting their role in a new generation of globally emerging female artists.

Industry acclaim quickly followed. The band took home the Music Moves Europe Award in 2026 and were named a Gibson Spotlight Artist in 2025, underlining their growing reputation as compelling songwriters with a distinct emotional voice. Their live presence has brought them to key stages across Europe, including Eurosonic (2026), Noorderslag (2024), and Reeperbahn Festival (2024), while sharing bills with artists such as SYML, Mon Rovia and Samia.

Today, Sarah Julia will release their debut album “The Fear That This Is Real”, recorded in Woodstock with producer Philip Weinrobe (Big Thief, Billie Marten, Cass McCombs), a record that promises to deepen their sonic world while staying true to the intimacy that defines their sound.

LIVE

• 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 - Whatever It Takes (Break Your Heart) (official video)

ALBUM SYNOPSIS

“The Fear That This Is Real”, the debut album from Dutch sister folk duo Sarah Julia, inhabits the suspended moment before change: when standing still is no longer possible, but stepping into the unknown still feels frightening. “The album lives in that moment when your hand is on the door handle, pressing it down but not opening the door yet,” the sisters explain. Across its twelve songs, they explore heartbreak, resignation, hope and the unsettling recognition that some feelings are too large to fully understand.

Recorded live over six days in Woodstock, New York, with producer Philip Weinrobe (known from his work with Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief, Billie Marten), the album captures Sarah Julia at their most instinctive. Playing in a circle with a newly assembled band, sometimes late at night by candlelight, they traded perfection for immediacy. Spacious arrangements, meditative guitars and their luminous close harmonies give individual experiences room to emerge, while the sisters continue to meet each other with the honesty and trust at the heart of their music. The result is an intimate but clear-eyed record about learning to trust motion without pretending the fear has disappeared.

The album arrives as Sarah Julia move decisively onto the international stage. Winners of the 2026 Music Moves Europe Award, they have earned support from John Mayer, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music, and toured with artists including Mumford & Sons, Paris Paloma, SYML, Samia, Alanis Morissette and Neil Young. Following a major European festival run, the duo will embark on headline shows across the EU and UK, alongside a 16-show US support tour with Mon Rovîa. “The Fear That This Is Real” turns that momentum into a defining artistic statement.