Musician of the Month: Chris Thile
Chris Thile already has an impressive resumé as a mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality. Despite the fact that he’s under the age of 40, he’s already well known in the musical genres of acoustic folk and progressive bluegrass. Breaking onto the public stage at the young age of 8, Thile already had a remarkable career with both solo and collaborative albums before he could even drive himself to his gigs. It’s no wonder this Grammy-award-winning Californian is our pick for July’s Musician of the Month.
Chris Thile and Nickel Creek
Best known for his musical contributions as part of the progressive acoustic trio, Nickel Creek, Chris Thile seemed to have music embedded into his mind from birth. He reports his earliest musical memories were of listening to a Stan Getz recording of The Girl from Ipanema at the young age of one. A year later, his family would start going to That Pizza Place, a local joint in Carlsbad, California that would host weekly bluegrass shows regularly. It was here that Thile and his parents met the Watkins family.
At the age of 5, Thile began mandolin lessons with occasional instructions from John Moore. By the time he was 8, Thile joined with Sara and Sean Watkins to form the trio Nickel Creek. They had their start performing at several California bluegrass festivals and quickly gained popularity. Their first album, Little Cupcake, was released on December 31st, 1993, followed by albums Nickel Creek and This Side. Nickel Creek’s album This Side would go platinum in 2002 and land the trio their first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
In 2005, Nickel Creek released their third major album, Why Should The Fire Die?, which became critically acclaimed and sold over 250,000 units. The following year, while on tour in August of 2006, Nickel Creek announced that they would no longer be working as a group. The group finished their tour schedule through 2007 and went their separate ways. They would eventually reunite in 2014 and release an album titled, A Dotted Line, in celebration of their 25th anniversary. This would be the start of a national tour titled NC25.
The Solo Career of Chris Thile
From the minute he picked up a mandolin at the age of 5, Thile was in constant musical motion. As he was regularly performing and recording with Nickel Creek, Thile was simultaneously releasing his own solo works and collaborating with other well-known musicians. In 1993, at the age of 12, Thile signed with Sugar Hill record label to release his 1st solo album the following year titled, Leading Off. The next year he would move to Murray, Kentucky with his family when his father accepted a position as a musical instrument technician at Murray State University. Thile continued to grow in his pursuit of a solid musical career, even enrolling at Murray State University as a music major.
In 2001, Thile released a solo album titled, Not All Who Wander Are Lost. The album featured guest appearances by popular musicians such as:
Stuart Duncan
Béla Fleck
Edgar Meyer
Jerry Douglas
Bryan Sutton
Two years later, in 2003, he teamed up with mandolinist Mike Marshall for a duet album titled, Into the Cauldron. He also joined Mark O’Connor that year for a double CD set, titled Thirty Year Retrospective, which would be nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 2004, Thile released an album titled Deceiver, what might be known as his most creative work. In this experimental record, Thile wrote, composed, sang, played, and recorded every track himself.
Punch Brothers: A New Band Venture
While solo works and small collaborations continued, Thile had the desire to get back on the music scene with a crew. In 2006, he formed How to Grow a Band with:
Chris Thile on mandolin
Gabe Witcher on fiddle/violin
Chris Eldridge on guitar
Greg Garrison on bass
Noam Pikelny on bango
The group released their first album, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, under How to Grow a Band before they officially changed their name to Punch Brothers. In March, 2007, the band debuted Thile’s The Blind Leaving the Blind, a 40-minute suite in 4 movements, at Carnegie Hall. Under this new name, they released their 1st album, Punch, in February 2008. This started another year-long tour with an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The group’s latest album, The Phosphorescent Blues, was released in January 2015.
Fun Facts About Chris Thile
With such an astonishing career already, it’s no wonder Chris Thile has some great stories under his belt. Some fun facts about the musician include:
Thile won the mandolin championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas at the age of 12.
Nickel Creek recorded a documentary called Bluegrass Journey.
In 2009, Thile released a mandolin concerto, titled Ad astra per alas porci. It was commissioned by:
o The Colorado Symphony Orchestra
o The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
o The Oregon Symphony
o The Alabama Symphony Orchestra
o The Winston-Salem Symphony
o The Delaware Symphony Orchestra
o The Portland Symphony Orchestra
o The Interlochen Center for the Arts
In 2011, Thile recorded The Goat Rodeo Sessions with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer, and fiddle player Stuart Duncan. The group would win a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for this collaboration in 2013.
Thile had his first appearance on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, in 1996 at the age of 15. After returning several times with Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, Thile became a guest host. Eventually, he would become a permanent host of the show, and rename it to Live From Here.
Thile received the MacArthur Fellowship $500,000 Genius Grant in 2012.
His career awards to date include:
o 1997 IBMA Award for Album of the Year for True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe
o 2001 IBMA Award for Mandolinist of the Year
o 2007 BBC’s Folk Musician of the Year
o 2014 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Bass and Mandolin with Edgar Meyer
o 2019 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for All Ashore with the Punch Brothers
In 2013, Thile married actress Claire Coffee. The two welcomed a son, Calvin, on May 15th, 2015.
In 2015, Thile received an Honorary Doctorate at The New School.
In 2010, the Punch Brothers performed Rye Whiskey on the Late Show with David Letterman with actor Steve Martin as guest banjoist.
If all of these accomplishments before the age of 40 doesn’t calculate an already impressive career, we don’t know what would. Sure, Chris Thile has had his share of success. He’s made a profound mark on the folk and bluegrass genres. But there’s no doubt that he’s only just begun and we can be sure to see more highlights from this musical genius from California as the years go on.
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