Country Music Blog: Chris Thile

One reason I like bluegrass music so much is because I can always pick out the melody. Sometimes in modern music, the production value is so heavy that you can't really hear much besides a screaming guitar and obnoxious drumming. That's definitely not the case when it comes to Ricky Skaggs, or with The Punch Brothers, led by Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek). Also, check out the very cool banjo riffs in k.d. lang's "Coming Home." Reminds me of "Gentle on My Mind." And yes, I know that Panic! At the Disco is not a country band, but I really like this tune. It starts out with a blast of that thick production that I mentioned earlier, but in this case, I think it's folkin' great.

Ricky Skaggs - "Why Did You Wander"

Kathy Mattea - "Coming of the Roads"

Van Morrison - "Keep It Simple"

Hayes Carll - "Knockin' Over Whiskeys"

k.d. lang - "Coming Home"

Gibson Brothers - "Long Way Down"

Longview - "Baptism of Jesse Taylor"

Punch Brothers - "Sometimes"

Justin Townes Earle - "Who Am I to Say"

Garrison Starr - "Unchangeable"

Panic! At the Disco - "Folkin' Around"

Dierks Bentley, John Rich and Gretchen Wilson remember the Station nightclub fire, which occurred five years ago, with an acoustic concert in Rhode Island.

Did you bite into something crunchy at Country Radio Seminar? The health scores for the Nashville Convention Center might explain why the lights were so dim.

Speaking of country radio, is your favorite station among the off-camera nominations for the Academy of Country Music Awards?

Sam Bush, Natalie McMaster and Chris Thile will be playing RockyGrass this summer in Telluride, Colo., and the single-day lineups have been announced.

This rock star produced Loretta Lynn's Grammy-winning album and lives in Nashville. Now, Jack White is rush-releasing a CD by his new band, The Raconteurs.

This might be the year I finally go to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. It's been on my mind for a long time, because the lineup always looks incredible, and you just can't beat listening to music in the mountains. This year, I'm most excited to see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova -- who just won the Oscar for Once -- because those songs ... I don't know how to explain it, but they somehow still affect me, months later. Hansard's other band, The Frames, is one of the most dynamic bands I've ever seen in concert. I'm also a big fan of Ryan Adams and Tift Merritt, who are making their first appearances at the festival as well.

On my flight to Austin tomorrow for SXSW, I plan on reading the cover story in the latest (and second-to-last) issue of No Depression, about neo-traditionalist acoustic bands. A good number of them are going to be at Telluride, including Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, The Duhks, Uncle Earl and Steep Canyon Rangers. It promises to be one of those cool events where you can see a classic soul singer like Solomon Burke, and then Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby. And I'll try to catch Sam Bush (a.k.a. The King of Telluride) just as often as I can.

I could feel the excitement in the air as I walked toward the Ryman for the last show of Nickel Creek’s Farewell (For Now) Tour. As the lights faded, the crowd erupted with an eager anticipation that announced this was going to be a very special evening.

I’ve seen this band play before many times, but this was without a doubt, the most relaxed and self-assured I have ever seen them. They began with their trademark instrumental, “Ode to a Butterfly,” and seamlessly moved to the awesome single, “When in Rome.” The set list wasn’t chosen in order to promote one particular record, but instead seemed to provide an all-around view of the band’s history and the music they have recorded beginning with their 2000 self-titled debut (produced by Alison Krauss). Sean Watkins has commented that this leads to “no expectations” – and there certainly seemed to be a wonderful freedom in the way the band performed. They soon launched into a fantastic version of “House Carpenter” that gave Chris Thile his first real attempt to redefine mandolin playing – and he did so with a cracking solo that led the whole audience to react.

The performances in general were excellent and Chris, Sean and Sara have come an awful long way since the early days of traditional bluegrass. Nowadays, the band prefers to be known as “progressive acoustic,” and most of the set fell into that category. They brought up Benmont Tench, Fleck, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, who all visibly loved the experience. It was more than poetic that they finished their second encore with “I’ll Fly Away,” after all their statements on being progressive. The band plus special guests Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Fleck and Tim O’Brien ended the final show of Nickel Creek (for now…) with a mass chorus coming from the audience.

As they took their final bow after their third encore, it was touching to see Chris, Sean and Sara simply looking around the theatre and take it all in. This band changed the face of acoustic music and set new levels for the rest of us to aspire to. Congratulations are in order for everyone involved in this outfit, and let us all tip our hat as Chris strikes up the opening chords for “The Fox”! As one door closes, so others will open. Here’s to the past, and here’s to the future.