Nickel Creek (Sugar Hill SUG-CD 3909, 2000) introduced Chris Thile (mandolin), Sara Watkins (fiddle), and Sean Watkins (guitar) to a national audience on their first major-label release, produced by Alison Krauss and engineered by Gary Paczosa. Scott Thile, the siblings' father, contributes guitar. The album blends bluegrass framework with rock, jazz, and classical textures, drawing on both traditional material and original compositions; it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album and was eventually certified platinum — a rare commercial achievement for acoustic string music. It established Nickel Creek as the defining progressive-bluegrass act of their generation and opened mainstream country audiences to a new acoustic sensibility rooted in virtuosity and adventurous songwriting.
Tracklist
- 1 Ode To A Butterfly 4:09
- 2 The Lighthouse's Tale 5:02
- 3 Out of the Woods alt version 2:52
- 4 In The House Of Tom Bombadil 3:46
- 5 Reasons Why 4:09
- 6 When You Come Back Down 3:50
- 7 Sweet Afton 5:38
- 8 Cuckoo’s Nest alt version 3:30
- 9 The Hand Song 4:27
- 10 Robin And Marian 4:34
- 11 The Fox Source Recording 2:30
- 12 Pastures New 3:53
