Nickel Creek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nickel Creek
Sara Watkins, Chris Thile, and Sean Watkins in 2003
Background information
Origin	Southern California, United States
Genres	Progressive acoustic
Years active	1989–2007
Labels	Sugar Hill Records
Members	Chris Thile Sara Watkins Sean Watkins

Nickel Creek was an American music group that played acoustic instruments. Their music started with bluegrass, but they later called their style "progressive acoustic". This means they mixed bluegrass with other types of music.

The band had three main members: Chris Thile (who played the mandolin), Sean Watkins (on guitar), and Sara Watkins (on violin). They also had a bass player. Different people played bass with them over the years, including Chris Thile's father, Scott Thile. Mark Schatz joined as their bass player in 2003. Nickel Creek was known for playing their own songs. But they also covered songs by other artists like Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan, and even "Toxic" by Britney Spears!

History of Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek started in California in 1989. Chris Thile's father, Scott Thile, played the double bass with them at first. Sean Watkins, the oldest of the three main members, was only twelve years old when the band began. In their early years, Nickel Creek released two albums: Little Cowpoke in 1993 and Here to There in 1997.

Nickel Creek: Their First Big Album (2000–2001)

In 2000, Nickel Creek released an album simply called Nickel Creek. Famous musician Alison Krauss helped produce it. This album became very popular and was given a gold certification in 2002. This means it sold over 500,000 copies!

The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Instrumental for their song "Ode to a Butterfly". They also released three songs from the album as singles: "When You Come Back Down", "The Lighthouse's Tale", and "Reasons Why". The first two songs even appeared on the US Country music charts. The album itself reached number 125 on the Billboard 200 chart.

To help promote the album, Nickel Creek went on tour with many well-known artists. These included Lyle Lovett, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, and Amy Grant.

This Side: Exploring New Sounds (2002–2004)

Sara Watkins, Mark Schatz, and Chris Thile in 2003

In 2002, Nickel Creek released their next album, This Side. Alison Krauss also produced this album. It was very successful, reaching number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart and also earning a gold certification.

This Side was different from their first album. It added more pop and rock sounds to their music. Chris Thile explained in 2002 that the band was always growing and changing. He said that because they were young, three years felt like a long time, and they were always trying new things with their music.

During the This Side tour in 2002 and 2003, Nickel Creek mostly played their own shows. They also opened for John Mayer for five shows in November 2002. In 2003, the band appeared on Béla Fleck's album Little Worlds.

Nickel Creek released three singles from This Side: "This Side", "Speak", and "Smoothie Song". "This Side" appeared on the US Country chart. "Smoothie Song" was very popular on the AAA Contemporary chart, staying at number one for three weeks.

Why Should the Fire Die?: More Rock and Pop (2005)

Nickel Creek released Why Should the Fire Die? in August 2005. This album continued to bring more rock and pop sounds into their music, just like This Side did.

Chris Thile talked about the band's style in an interview in 2005. He said they felt they were more than just a bluegrass band that stretched out. He explained that they were a band that used bluegrass in their music, but they played "whatever the hell kind of music they play." Sean Watkins also said that this album sounded more like the band truly was. He felt it had more rock elements than their first two albums.

Farewell (For Now): A Break from Music (2006–2007)

Sara Watkins and Chris Thile on the Farewell (For Now) Tour in April 2007

On August 28, 2006, Nickel Creek announced on their website that they would be taking a break. They had been touring for seven years and had been a band for seventeen years. They decided to take an "indefinite length" break at the end of 2007. This was to allow them to pursue other interests and keep their creative energy strong. They thanked their fans for their support.

After this announcement, they planned a special tour called the Farewell (For Now) Tour. They named it this way because they weren't sure if they would ever get back together. The tour began in April 2007 and ended in November 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee. Many guest musicians joined them on this tour, including Fiona Apple, Glen Phillips, and Béla Fleck.

Sara Watkins spoke about their last tour before the break. She said that everything felt special because they knew it wouldn't last forever. She added that nothing else could be like Nickel Creek, and she wasn't looking for anything to replace it.

Awards and Nominations

Nickel Creek won several awards and was nominated for many others during their career.

Wins

• 2000: International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Emerging Artist of the Year
• 2001: IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year
• 2003: Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album (This Side)
• 2006: Country Music Television (CMT) Top 10 Country Compilations of 2006 (Reasons Why: The Very Best)

Nominations

• 2001: Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album (Nickel Creek)
• 2001: Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Ode to a Butterfly")
• 2001: Country Music Association (CMA) Award for Best Vocal Group
• 2001: CMA Horizon Award
• 2005: Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album (Why Should the Fire Die?)
• 2005: Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Scotch & Chocolate")

Discography

Here are the albums and singles released by Nickel Creek.

Albums

Singles

See also

In Spanish: Nickel Creek para niños