bluegrass. the music for my soul.

so a lot of you aren't familiar with bluegrass and let me tell you that there is a lot of stereotypical "twang" bluegrass but this band I am going to introduce has completely changed my life in how I listen, choose and respect music.

Nickel Creek. my favorite band of all time. (Concert Count: 9)

Nickel Creek started off as a traditional bluegrass band with Chris Thile on Mandolin, Sean Watkins on Guitar and Sara Watkins of the violin (and all three on vocals as well). These three muscial Gods (well i think they are) are musicians that really tap into the art of music for music sake and know how to throw all their ideas together to create something that only a person hearing their music could understand. The result of all this music talent is an incisive collection of traditional bluegrass, indie/folk and alt-country rock that come from places of both intimate and removed.

Nickel Creek as a band is impressive in almost every way. The musicianship is stellar, but without fancy picking for its own sake. The original material is rather sophisticated, including instrumentals with complex meter changes, and songs with interesting lyrics. Both Chris Thile and Sara Watkins are very appealing as vocalists, with a style that is more like the introspective singer-songwriter than the typical high-lonesome tenor of bluegrass. Sean Watkins also proves to be a vocal force, but his main drive comes from his guitar skills that really embody the style of bluegrass as well as his own. The absence of a banjo and the almost classical style of Ms. Watkins' fiddle give Nickel Creek a decidedly more mellow, sophisticated sound than traditional bluegrass, which is further enhanced by their often subtle arrangements. Nickel Creek may be a bluegrass group in instrumentation, but their music is likely to have wide appeal to fans of good singer-songwriters and just about anyone who enjoys sophisticated, melodic music.

Sadly Nickel Creek announced that they were going their seperate ways in 2007 with the farewell (maybe) tour, and hopefully one day they do come back to put on amazing concerts and put out mindblowing songs.

"Good music is music that won't go out of stlye." Sean Watkins.
And that is exactly what Nickel Creek is.

but wait theres more...although nickel creek has gone their seperate ways they still perform in their own projects, so you should still check out all their solo and side projects as well as this

Fiction Family.
Sean Watkins & Jon Foreman.
(you serioulsy need to hear them!)