Nickel Creek are a contemporary acoustic band, originating in the southern parts of California. They have often been called bluegrass pioneers, and the press coined the term 'newgrass' to put them in a genre. Taking the traditional bluegrass instruments - a mandolin, an acoustic guitar, and a fiddle - they create a whole new, fresh sound, with obvious jazz, pop, and classical influences, and they are a true example of vision and talent.

The Beginning

They began as young children, reportedly in 1990, out of friendship and a mutual interest in music. Mandolinist Chris Thile was nine, guitarist Sean Watkins was 13, and Sara Watkins, fiddler and Sean's sister, was eight. At this time they released their first album together on Choo Choo Records, a minor children's label, titled Little Cowpoke because it consisted of songs like 'I Wanna Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart' and 'Home On The Range'. They later released Here To There on Tricopolis Records, and this album was a large step forward for them, for many of the songs were originals written and performed by them.

Enter Sugar Hill

For a while they discontinued making music in recording studios and hit the festivals, but in 2000 they came back on the well-known country record label Sugar Hill, known for bearing names like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. Their self-titled 'debut' album introduced them to the country music scene. The leading man Chris Thile had released two solo albums on Sugar Hill previously, one at 13 and one at 16, but now, with Mr Thile at 20, Mr Watkins at 22, and Miss Watkins at 19, their group album achieved much more critical acclaim. USA Today called them 'one of the hottest young country bands around' and Billboard said that Nickel Creek 'injects its bluegrass with an exhilarating blend of musical versatility, ambitious melodies, and virtuosity that is at times jaw-dropping'. Their record reached gold in record sales, selling over 650,000 copies. The IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) dubbed them Instrumentalist Group of 2001 and named Chris Thile Instrumentalist of the same year.

This Side

In August 2002, they released their second album on Sugar Hill titled This Side, named for a song Sean wrote. This Side, unlike their previous album, has more vocal songs, while the other has almost as many instrumental songs as songs with vocal leads. The first track of This Side, the inappropriately titled 'Smoothie Song', was written by Chris Thile after meeting the woman who he is set to marry in July 2003.