Chris Thile
Christopher Scott Thile (/ˈθiːli/;[3] born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow.[4] From 2016 to its cancellation in 2020, he hosted the radio variety show Live from Here.[5][6][7]
Chris Thile
Christopher Scott Thile
February 20, 1981
Oceanside, California, U.S.[1][2]
Musician, singer-songwriter, radio show host
1989–present
-
Jesse Meighan(m. 2003; div. 2004)
History[edit]
1981–2000: Early life and career[edit]
Thile was born in Oceanside, California, in 1981. His earliest memories of music are listening to Stan Getz's recording of "The Girl from Ipanema" before he even turned one year old. When he was two, his family started going to That Pizza Place, where he listened to John Moore's band Bluegrass Etc. When Thile was four, his family moved to Idyllwild, California.
Thile began playing the mandolin at the age of five, taking occasional lessons from John Moore. At age eight, Thile's family and the Watkins family formed Nickel Creek. The band performed at many California bluegrass festivals, and as a result Chris had to be home-schooled. At age twelve, he won the mandolin championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.
That same year, 1993, Thile made a demo tape and sent it to the Sugar Hill and Rounder record labels. Both labels showed interest, but the Thiles went with Sugar Hill.[16] The next year, Chris Thile released his first solo album, Leading Off, featuring mostly original compositions.
In 1995, the Thile family moved to Murray, Kentucky, where Chris' father Scott Thile accepted a position at Murray State University as a musical instrument technician.[17][18] In 1997, Chris released Stealing Second and Nickel Creek released Here to There. Chris went on to attend Murray State University for a few semesters, where he was a music major.[1] In 2000, he went to Nashville to play mandolin on Dolly Parton's bluegrass/Appalachian folk album Little Sparrow.