Chris Thile

Chris Thile is one of the few musicians of our time that seems to know no boundaries. Since he was a young boy, his hunger and appreciation for music has been something that the average person will never grasp. Classical, bluegrass, Celtic rock and Brazilian music are just a few of the genres that he’s been drawn to. There isn’t a musical question, challenge or quest that Thile would turn his back to. His impressive mandolin-playing talent was cultivated and honed by John Moore, Thile’s mandolin instructor when he was young boy (Moore is part of the band Bluegrass Etc…).

A Young Chris Thile…

Born in 1981 in Oceanside, California, Thile’s earliest musical influence came from “The Girl from Ipanema” by Stan Getz. At the age of four, he and his family relocated to Idyllwild, California. One year later he was introduced to the mandolin, with personal lessons from John Moore of the banc Bluegrass Etc…

At the age of 12, Chris Thile was already grabbing attention by the time he released his first solo album Leading Off… That was in 1994. The following year, at just 13-years-old, Thile competed in mandolin competition in Kansas and Arizona and received top honors each time. The International Bluegrass Music Association even recognized him by nominating him for player of the year. Talk about a hot start to an even hotter career that has followed him throughout the years.

Chris Thile and Nickel Creek

A brilliant mandolin player at heart, Thiles has enjoyed an array of awards and recognition both as a solo artist and as part of musical groups. Probably the group he’s most known for is Nickel Creek. Barely of legal age, Thiles joined Sara and Sean Watkins to form this very successful band that went on to receive Grammy nominations for its self-titled album in 2000. Their first actual Grammy Award came on the heels of their next release – This Side, which won Best Contemporary Folk Album.

They received nominations for the admirable CMA Vocal Group of the Year award, as well as the Horizon Award. But one of Chris’ shining moments was being honored with the Mandolin Player of the Year award in 2001 from the Instrumental Bluegrass Music Association.

Nickel Creek originally included a bass player by the name of Scott Thile… Thile’s dad himself, but following the release of their album he admirably stepped down and left the band.

Nickel Creek wasn’t the first band that Chris Thile thrived in. He was once part of the bluegrass band “California”, where he played alongside of Byron Berline and Dan Crary. Although he’s enjoyed plenty of time being part different bands, he never slowed his solo career.

In 2004, Thile explored a more progressive side of bluegrass music and released the album Deceiver. In 2006, he received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “How to Grow a Woman from the Ground”.

Joined with Gabe Witcher, Greg Garrison, Noam Pikelny and Chris Eldridge in the band “Punch Brothers”, Thile released the four movement/40-minute suite titled The Blind Leaving the Blind at the famous Carnegie Hall in 2008. During that same year, he released “Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile”.

In 2010, Antifogmatic was released followed by Sleep with One Eye Open in 2011. Below you can find the many awards and nominations that Thile has enjoyed throughout his musical career so far…

  • 1997 – The album True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
  • 1997 – The song “Scotland” from True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe was nominated from the Best Country Instrumental Performance Grammy Award.
  • 1997 – The album True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe received the IBMA Album of the Year Award.
  • 2001 – Won Mandolinist of the Year Award from IBMA.
  • 2002 – “This Side” won the Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy Award.
  • 2005 – Deceiver was nominated for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award.
  • 2006 – “The Eleventh Reel” was nominated for the Best Country Instrumental Performance Grammy Award.
  • 2007 – Won Folk Musician of the Year by BBC.
  • 2007 – Was nominated for Mandolinist of the Year from IBMA
  • 2008 – Was nominated for the American Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year

Chris Thile in 2012

Most recently, Thile joined the musical talents of Yo-Yo Ma (a cellist), Stuart Duncan (a fiddler) and Edgar Meyer (a double bassist) to create the Appalachian-style record called The Goat Rodeo Sessions. Odd name? Yes, but if you look in the Urban Dictionary you’d see that a Goat Rodeo is:

“the most polite term used by aviation people (and others in higher risk situations) to describe a scenario that requires about 100 things to go right at once if you intend to walk away from it”

Oddly enough, the distinct musical talents of these four people blend magically together. The record includes “Attaboy”, which has been described as translucent and enchanting, as well as ten other songs. While the bold sounds that each player brings to the group could have easily ended in utter disaster, they seamlessly fall together and create a sound that’s capturing the heart and souls of thousands.

Punch Brothers also has a new album set to be released on February 14th, 2012 called Who’s Feeling Young Now? A few of the features included are “Kid A” and “Flippen” They’ll be kicking off a US tour with wo back-to-back shows at the Somerville Theatre (Boston) on February 23rd and 24th. Thy’ll make appearances in Toronto, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

It appears that the many fans of Chris Thile won’t be left disappointed any time soon!