Chris Thile in Minneapolis

Chris Thile is an American mandolinist, singer and composer, born in Oceanside, California, in 1981. He began performing as a child in Nickel Creek and later formed Punch Brothers, making progressive bluegrass and acoustic music central to his career. His recordings include Punch Brothers’ The Phosphorescent Blues and the solo collection Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1. Nickel Creek reunited in 2014 for a theatre and festival tour behind A Dotted Line. Beginning in 2016, he hosted A Prairie Home Companion and its successor Live from Here, leading live broadcasts at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul and Town Hall in New York. Concerts with pianist Brad Mehldau followed their self-titled duo album, while the Celebrants tour later put him back onstage with Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins.