Biography of Nickel Creek

At a time when acoustic music is again experiencing a resurgence of sorts, Nickel Creek, brings to the fray, a sense of taste and elegance seldom evidenced a new group. That is unless the new group in question has already been singing and playing together for a decade. Bluegrass, folk, gospel and country music have long fostered groups comprised of family members. the Everly Brothers, the Osborne Brothers, the Carter Family and the Stonemans, are obvious examples of this family tradition. Nickel Creek, twists the formula slightly by merging members of two separate families, father and son, Scott Thile and Chris Thile, along with brother and sister, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins.Only a bluegrass or folk group formed in Southern California would be more likely to have come together listening to a weekly concert at a pizza parlor, then on a front porch or a church picnic, but that is exactly how Nickel Creek came to meet and begin playing together. The three youngest members have won prestigious individual awards along the way, and the group itself took home a regional prize in a bluegrass competition sponsor by, naturally, a national pizza chain. Already concert favorites, bolstered by the popularity of earlier solo works by mandolinist Chris Thile, and siting influences as far ranging as Toad the Wet Sproket, Ella Fitzgeraldand Charlie Parker, Nickel Creek seems poised to add their touch to a storied tradition. ~ Bill Ashford