NEW ALBUM
LAYSONGS
AVAILABLE NOW

TOUR DATES

Apr 11, 2025
Minetta Lane Theatre
New York, NY
The Energy Curfew Music Hour
Apr 23, 2025
Marian Anderson Hall
Philadelphia, PA
ATTENTION! with The Philadelphia Orchestra
May 10, 2025
Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville
Asheville, NC
ATTENTION! with The Asheville Symphony
Jun 19, 2025 - Jun 22, 2025
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride, CO
Jun 26, 2025
Orchestra Hall
Detroit, MI
ATTENTION! with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Jun 27, 2025 - Jul 1, 2025
Acousticamp
Pacific Grove, CA
Jul 11, 2025
Montecito Club
Santa Barbara, CA
Jul 20, 2025
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Katonah, NY
ATTENTION! with The Knights
Oct 15, 2025
Koerner Hall
Toronto, ON
Solo Show
Oct 16, 2025
Smith Opera House
Geneva, NY
Solo Show
Oct 17, 2025
The Music Center at Strathmore
North Bethesda, MD
Solo Show
Oct 19, 2025
The 92nd Street Y
New York, NY
Solo Show
Oct 23, 2025
St. Cecilia Music Center
Grand Rapids, MI
Solo Show
Oct 24, 2025
Chicago Symphony Center
Chicago, IL
Solo Show
Nov 7, 2025
Le Brassin
Schiltigheim, France
Solo Show
Nov 8, 2025
Casa del Jazz
Rome, Italy
Solo Show
Nov 9, 2025
La Triennale di Milano
Milan, Italy
Solo Show
Nov 12, 2025
Cite de la Musique
Paris, France
Solo Show
Nov 13, 2025
Espace des Arts
Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Solo Show
Nov 14, 2025
Theater of Montbeliard
Montbéliard, France
Solo Show
Nov 15, 2025
EFG London Jazz Festival
London, England
Nov 16, 2025
St George's
Bristol, UK
Solo Show
Nov 17, 2025
The Stoller Hall
Manchester, UK
Solo Show
Nov 19, 2025
National Concert Hall
Dublin, Ireland
Solo Show
Nov 22, 2025
Barcelona Jazz Fest
Barcelona, Spain
Solo Show
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BIOGRAPHY

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Chris Thile’s Laysongs is his first truly solo album: It’s just Thile, his voice, and his mandolin, on a set of nine new tracks, combining original songs with three wisely chosen covers that contextualize and banter with his ideas.

While Thile’s critically lauded interpretations of Bach on mandolin (2013’s Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1) also showcased him on his own, that was a kind of duet, a dialogue between Thile and his beloved J.S. Bach. Laysongs, on the other hand, is more of a soliloquy, and it’s very much a soul-searching one. Thile confronts, cajoles, and cozies up to his personal—and our shared—angels and demons, an effort made more poignant, dramatic, and universal by the enforced isolation of the pandemic.

At the heart of the album is a three-part piece, “Salt (in the Wounds) of the Earth,” that Thile premiered during a fall 2018 composer’s residency at Carnegie Hall. It was, he’s noted, “the first (and so far only) music I’ve made specifically to perform alone, which felt like an opportunity to sing some words that it wouldn’t necessarily be fair to put in a collaborator’s mouth.” Little did Thile know he was merely at the start of what would become a solitary adventure, professionally and, lord knows, philosophically.

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