Punch Brothers are a bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Paul Kowert (bass). Bryan Sutton has also filled in on guitar when necessary. Their style has been described as introducing "bluegrass instrumentation and spontaneity in the strictures of modern classical." [1]
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PUNCH BROTHERS TICKETS
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History
2006-2007: Beginnings and Grow
Thile formed the band in 2006 to record the album
How to Grow a Woman from the Ground
. In an interview with the
Nashville City Paper
, Thile described the formation of the band:
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Initially the band was known as "The How to Grow a Band." In 2007, the band officially changed its name first to "The Tensions Mountain Boys" and then settled on "Punch Brothers."
2007-Present: Name changes and Nonesuch
On March 17, 2007, this group debuted Chris Thile's most ambitious work to date at Carnegie Hall: "The Blind Leaving the Blind", a forty minute suite in four movements. Thile says the piece was written in part to deal with his divorce of 2004.
On February 13, 2008, the band set off on their first countrywide tour as Punch Brothers. They are currently scheduled to continue touring through the beginning of april 2009.
On February 26, 2008, Punch Brothers released the album,
Punch
, on
Nonesuch Records. The album features Thile's suite "The Blind Leaving the Blind", as well as other original songs.
[3]
In March 2008, when Chris Thile was asked in an interview if there would be another album by Punch Brothers, Thile said that "there will definitely be another album."
[4]
On November 08, 2008, the band announced on their website that they parted ways with bass player Greg Garrison. Paul Kowert, who studied under
Edgar Meyer at the Curtis Institute of Music, takes Garrison's place on the bass.
[5]
Band members
thumb performing with Punch Brothers at
The Independent in
San Francisco,
California, on February 23, 2008.
Current members
- Chris Thile - Mandolin, Vocals
- Gabe Witcher - Fiddle, Vocals
- Noam Pikelny - Banjo, Vocals
- Chris Eldridge - Guitar, Vocals
- Paul Kowert - Bass, Vocals
Former members
- Bryan Sutton - Guitar, Vocals (2006-2007)
- Greg Garrison - Bass, Vocals (2006-2008)
Discography