The long awaited return of Nickel Creek

photo by Brantley Gutierrez

I interviewed Sara for her last solo album and saw her at Stagecoach Festival so I'm really looking forward to the reunion album/tour...

Nickel Creek— Chris Thile (mandolin/vocals), Sara Watkins (fiddle/vocals), and Sean Watkins (guitar/vocals)— officially reunites for the first time since 2007 with new album, A Dotted Line, on April 1.

The San Diego bluegrass trio then tours the US in support of the Eric Valentine–produced album this spring and summer. Tickets for the LA show -- May 21 at The Wiltern -- will go on sale to the general public on Feb. 21 at 10 AM and available at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com

 

Album track “A Dotted Line" is available to pre-order now at nickelcreek.com and nonesuch.com with an instant download of “Destination” and “Love of Mine.”

 

As Nickel Creek’s 25th anniversary approached, the band members decided they ought to mark it in some way, so they got together to write music in Chris Thile’s apartment last year. 

They ended up with six new co-written songs, which they eventually took to a Los Angeles studio, along with one tune by Thile, one by Sean Watkins, and two covers: Sam Phillips’ “Where Is Love Now” and Mother Mother’s “Hayloft.” There they worked with Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Smash Mouth), who had produced Nickel Creek’s previous album, Why Should the Fire Die?.

 

“We were excited every day to be there,” Sara Watkins says. “Having grown up singing together, there is something natural about our voices and it’s really fun to harmonize. Our voices have come to match each other’s really well. Sean and I are siblings, and Chris is about as close to a sibling as you could get.”

Sean Watkins continues: “It feels more natural and easy than it ever did, by far. Getting to spend time alone with our own musical personalities has helped us mature.” 

“There’s a joyful aspect to Nickel Creek no matter what we’re doing. Things just steer themselves into that sort of place,” concurs Thile. “We will go poke around in the dark corners but always with a heavy dose of optimism.”

 

Formed in 1989 when Thile and Sara Watkins were eight years old and Sean Watkins (Sara’s older brother) was eleven, Nickel Creek earned a loyal following playing the festival circuit for nearly a decade.

The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 2000 to commercial and critical acclaim: it sold nearly one million copies. Nickel Creek released two more records: 2002’s This Side, which won a Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy, and 2005’s Why Should the Fire Die?.

Beginning as bluegrass child prodigies, Nickel Creek grew into an acoustic band known for its breadth of musical influences—from Bach to Radiohead—and its surprisingly large sound on stage. The band members always explored their own solo work as well as collaborations, which they were able to pursue more fully during their hiatus, and will continue to do.

NICKEL CREEK ON TOUR

Apr 16 Alabama Theater Birmingham, AL
Apr 17 Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Asheville, NC
Apr 18-19 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN
Apr 21 Track 29 Chattanooga, TN
Apr 22 Johnny Mercer Theater Savannah, GA
Apr 24 North Charleston Performing Arts Center North Charleston, SC
Apr 25 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Apr 26 nTelos Wireless Pavilion Charlottesville, VA
Apr 27 Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN
Apr 29 Beacon Theatre New York, NY
May 1 House of Blues Boston, MA
May 3&4 9:30 Club Washington, DC
May 6 Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH
May 7 Murat Theatre Indianapolis, IN
May 9 Riviera Theater Chicago, IL
May 10 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
May 11 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
May 14 Kingsbury Hall, University of Utah Salt Lake city, UT
May 16 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
May 17 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
May 19 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
May 20 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
May 21 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
Jun 19–22 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride, CO

*All dates except festival with special guest The Secret Sisters