Nickel Creek
This amazing group of youngsters (Chris Thile and siblings Sean and Sara Watkins) began performing together in their pre-teens, in 1989, touring the regular bluegrass festivals until they came to the attention of Alison Krauss, who helped them land a record deal with Sugar Hill. In 2000 their ]self-titled first disc was released to first genre acclaim, and then crossed to the country charts with slow, but steady growth, earning a "Best Bluegrass Album" Grammy in 2002. In the meantime, both Sean and Chris released solo discs, and then the group re-joined to record their sophomore effort, This Side (produced by Alison Krauss), which netted them another crossover success.
In 2005, the group worked with producers Tony Berg and Eric Valentine (who has worked with Smash Mouth) on the release Why Should the Fire Die? a surprising step away from their bluegrass roots toward something new, garnering another Grammy nomination for the instrumental "Scotch & Chocolate."
Previous Grammy Wins:
- Best Contemporary Folk Album - This Side - 2002
Current Grammy Nominations:
- Best Country Instrumental Performance - "Scotch and Chocolate"
(Bio courtesy of Kathy Coleman)
