Nightfall starts this week, and in my opinion the first act is easily the best. mandolin demigod Chris Thile and his new bluegrass/newgrass band are playing (for free!) here downtown on Friday evening. in case you didnt know, Thile is/was part of Nickel Creek, but they’ll be going on “indefinite hiatus” soon, so this new band is his latest thing. Nickel Creek started in bluegrass but moved to something like progressive acoustic more recently. with the new band, he’s returned to more bluegrassy roots, but there’s also willingness to do more creative and interesting stuff than your average bluegrass band (like doing covers of The White Stripes and Pavement, for example).
to say that he’s an amazing mandolin player is putting it lightly, and he’s got some really great players in his new band including Bryan Sutton on guitar. Nickel Creek generally and Chris specifically has been a huge inspiration for me as I’ve progressed in my own mandolin playing, so I’m sure it’ll be a good show, and we’re looking forward to taking the entire family.
