If you’re Chris Thile, your path to bluegrass infamy goes like this:
Step 1: Pick up the mandolin at five years old; win the national mandolin championships seven years later, all while playing in the band Nickel Creek.
Step 2: Get nominated for five Grammys with said band and win one.
Step 3: Get divorced and form the The Tensions Mountain Boys – a bluegrass supergroup that pushes the boundaries of the genre.
On June 15th, Thile and company are set to add another wrinkle to the story as Punch Brothers when they release their third LP, Antifogmatic, on Nonesuch Records. Unlike 2008’s Punch, which was built around Thile’s four-movement opus, The Blind Leaving the Blind, the group leaves behind the 40-minute long-form folk-music exploration in lieu of straight-ahead, foot-stomping, bluegrass for the masses.
Ãœber-fans can rejoice since the band is simultaneously releasing the deluxe edition of Antifogmatic on the very same day. (It sure beats buying the same album twice. See: Passion Pit.) It will include a signed cocktail recipe book (huh?), a four-song instrumental EP, and a seven-song DVD, which captures the band’s residency at The Living Room in New York City, but if three discs of Punch Brothers isn’t enough, you can still catch the band on tour.
Punch Brothers are currently creating a ruckus on the road and have stops scheduled for Bonnaroo and the Newport Folk Festival. Tickets for select dates are available at Ticketmaster.com.
Punch Brothers 2010 Tour Dates:
04/20 – Redding, CA @ Cascade Theatre
04/21 – Arcata, CA @ Humboldt State University
04/23 – Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door
04/29 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Manship Theatre
04/30 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Manship Theatre
05/21 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre *
05/22 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
05/24 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
06/11 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
06/17 – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Bluegrass Festival
06/23 – New York, NY @ The Town Hall
07/03 – Katonah, NY @ Caramoor Festival
07/23 – Alyeska, AK @ Alyeska Resort
07/24 – Alyeska, AK @ Alyeska Resort
07/30 – Cleveland, OH @ Cain Park – Evans Amphitheater
08/01 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
08/09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
08/12 – Helena, MT @ The Myrna Loy Center
08/13 – Alta, WY @ Targhee Bluegrass Festival
08/15 – Commerce City, CO @ Mile High Music Festival
09/24 – Lexington, VA @ The Theatre at Lime Kiln
09/25 – Berryville, VA @ Watermelon Park Festival
* = w/ Josh Ritter