Nickel Creek | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | The Nickel Creek Band |
Origin | Vista, California, USA |
Genres | |
Years active | 1989–2007, 2014-present |
Labels | Sugar Hill Records, Nonesuch/Elektra Records |
Associated acts | Alison Krauss, Mutual Admiration Society, Dolly Parton, Glen Phillips, Punch Brothers, Switchfoot, Fiction Family |
Website | www.nickelcreek.com |
Members |
Chris Thile Sara Watkins Sean Watkins |
Nickel Creek (formerly known as The Nickel Creek Band) is an American country music group consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six albums between 1993 and 2006. The band broke out in 2000 with a platinum-selling self-titled album produced by Alison Krauss, earning a number of Grammy and CMA nominations.
Their fourth album won a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Following a fifth studio album and a compilation album, the band announced an indefinite hiatus at the conclusion of their 2007 Farewell (For Now) Tour. Following numerous solo projects from the band members, Nickel Creek reformed in 2014 with announcement of a new album and subsequent tour.
The two families, the Watkinses and the Thiles, met after Sean Watkins and Chris Thile had mandolin lessons with the same music instructor, John Moore. Sara Watkins studied with Moore's bandmate, Dennis Caplinger. The band name comes from a song by Byron Berline, who was Sara Watkins' fiddle instructor.
Nickel Creek's first performance was at That Pizza Place in Carlsbad, California in 1989 with Scott Thile, Chris's father, playing string bass. The oldest of the Watkins children, Sean was only twelve years old at the time. At the start of Nickel Creek's history, Chris Thile played guitar and Sean Watkins played mandolin but later they decided to switch instruments. The band played many bluegrass festivals throughout the 1990s, and the band members were home-schooled to accommodate their tour schedule. Nickel Creek's first two albums were Little Cowpoke (1993) and Here to There (1997).