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Chris Thile

Musician · b. 1981 · Oceanside, California · christhile.com · Also a recording artist
Best known for Mandolin

Chris Thile is the most influential mandolin player of the post-Monroe generation, a virtuoso whose work spans the bluegrass canon, chamber music, and singer-songwriter idioms through his bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers and a long string of crossover collaborations.

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  • Born Christopher Scott Thile on February 20, 1981 in Oceanside, California; began performing as a child with his future bandmates, siblings Sean and Sara Watkins.
  • Co-founded Nickel Creek in 1989; after two self-released albums the trio's Sugar Hill debut Nickel Creek (2000) went platinum, followed by This Side (2002, Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album), Why Should the Fire Die? (2005), A Dotted Line (2014), and Celebrants (2023).
  • Founded Punch Brothers in 2007; the quintet's six Nonesuch albums beginning with Punch (2008) push acoustic stringband instrumentation into through-composed long-form territory.
  • Awarded a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" Fellowship in 2012.
  • Five-time Grammy winner across folk, bluegrass, and contemporary folk categories and The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Stuart Duncan (2013, Best Folk Album).
  • Hosted A Prairie Home Companion as Garrison Keillor's successor from October 2016, rebranded as Live from Here with Chris Thile in 2017 and ended in 2020.
  • Recurring duo and chamber collaborations with Brad Mehldau, Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, and Yo-Yo Ma; named BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year in 2007.

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