Fans of Chris Thile will thrill as the American singer, songwriter and mandolin virtuoso returns Monday, Nov. 2, to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
Thile is set for a solo evening of flawless musicianship and mind-blowing exploration, from bluegrass to Bach and back again. He will perform at 7 p.m. in the ASC’s Jemison Concert Hall, 1200 10th Ave. South. Tickets are $33.50, $46.50 and $54.50. Tickets for UAB students and faculty are $25. UAB employees receive a 20 percent ticket discount. Call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.
A child prodigy, Thile rose to fame with the Grammy Award-winning trio Nickel Creek. He has released five solo albums, including 2004’s “Deceiver,” which he wrote, composed, sang and played every instrument. In 2006, Thile formed a band that ultimately became the bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers. Their first album in 2008 featured a four-movement, four-part suite composed by Thile, “The Blind Leaving the Blind.” The band’s latest album, “The Phosphorescent Blues,” was released this year. He has recorded extensively with bassist Edgar Meyer and fellow mandolin player Mike Marshall.
In 2011, Thile earned a Grammy nomination for “Sleep with One Eye Open,” an album of tradition-upending interpretations of bluegrass classics with guitarist Michael Daves. He won the 2012 Grammy for Best Folk Album for “The Goat Rodeo Sessions,” which he recorded with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Stuart Duncan and Meyer.
In 2012, the MacArthur Foundation named Thile one of its 23 MacArthur Fellows and recipient of its prestigious “Genius Grant.” Thile’s most recent solo recording, “Bach: Partitas and Sonatas, Vol. 1,” was released in late 2013.
A frequent guest on the show “A Prairie Home Companion” who has even guest-hosted twice in the past, Thile will take over hosting duties from Garrison Keillor in 2016.