Guitarist

Nickel Creek—the platinum-selling, internationally renowned trio of Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Sean Watkins—ushered in a new era of bluegrass infused with jazz, classical, pop, and rock for a sound all their own. As multi-Grammy-winning artists, the band has brought their progressive blend of acoustic roots, folk, and “newgrass” to a broad audience, greatly influencing the sound and trajectory of all three genres in the process. As part of their long-awaited reunion tour, the Watkins siblings and Thile—whose blistering mandolin was last heard at Spoleto with the Punch Brothers in 2019—fill the Cistern Yard for two unforgettable nights.

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Nickel Creek

College of Charleston

Nickel Creek is mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins. Together, a sum of more than their staggering parts, the trio revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. After a nine-year absence, the Platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning trio returned in 2023 with the highly-anticipated album Celebrants—a bounty of 18 disparate but loosely connected songs written collectively during a creative retreat in Santa Barbara in early 2021. The result is
perhaps the most audacious yet accessible release of the Grammy-winning trio’s 34-year career. The entire enterprise is, naturally, shot through with the trio’s virtuosic picking and shiver-inducing harmonies. The lyrics—addressing love, friendship, time, and the universal travails of travel—combine the poetic and plain-spoken, hitting a sweet spot of ethereal and relatable as bridges are built, crossed, burned, and rebuilt. In celebration of the release, the trio will return to the road, including three sold-out shows at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, with more dates to be announced soon.

Florida Theatre

Nickel Creek is mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins. Together a sum of more than their staggering parts, the trio revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. After a nine year absence, the Platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning trio returned in 2023 with the highly-anticipated album, Celebrants—a bounty of 18 disparate but loosely connected songs written collectively during a creative retreat in Santa Barbara in early 2021. The result is perhaps the most audacious yet accessible release of the Grammy-winning trio’s 34-year career. The entire enterprise is, naturally, shot through with the trio’s virtuosic picking and shiver-inducing harmonies. The lyrics—addressing love, friendship, time, and the universal travails of travel—combine the poetic and plain-spoken, hitting a sweet spot of ethereal and relatable as bridges are built, crossed, burned, and rebuilt. In celebration of the release, the trio will return to the road including three sold-out shows at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium with more dates to be announced soon.

Peoria Civic Center Theater

“My God it’s good to see you…”

That first line from Nickel Creek’s seventh album Celebrants likely prophesies the warm response awaiting the Americana-bluegrass group’s first all-new release in nine years.

While the Grammy-winning trio of singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalists Sara Watkins (fiddle), Sean Watkins (guitar), and Chris Thile (mandolin) had sporadically collaborated since 2014’s A Dotted Line, a 2020 interview pegged to the twentieth anniversary of Nickel Creek’s debut album ignited a spark. “It was fun to have a reason to wax nostalgic about some stuff that we'd done,” says Thile. “And then when we got together, it was just so clear, ‘Oh, yeah, we've got some new music to make.’"

Sean Watkins

Guitarist

Events

Past events

May 31 - Jun 1, 2024

Nickel Creek · Spoleto Festival USA

Feb 21, 2024

Nickel Creek · Florida Theatre

About

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