All Over Albany

Chris Thile at the Massry Center

Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile -- from the Punch Brothers, and Nickel Creek -- is scheduled to play a show at St. Rose's Massry Center October 27. Tickets are $30 and on sale now.

Thile has bee on fire over the last year or so -- earning acclaim with the progressive bluegrass band the Punch Brothers (including a show at The Egg), and being named a McArthur fellow. From his profile for the "genius grant":

Chris Thile is a young mandolin virtuoso and composer whose lyrical fusion of traditional bluegrass with elements from a range of other musical traditions is giving rise to a new genre of contemporary music. With a broad outlook that encompasses progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile is transcending the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres in compositions for his own ensembles and frequent cross-genre collaborations. Although rooted in the rhythmic structure of bluegrass, his early pieces for his long-time trio, Nickel Creek, have the improvisatory feel of jazz; his current ensemble, Punch Brothers, evokes the ethos of classical chamber music even while adhering to the traditional instrumentation of the bluegrass quintet.

See also: a cover of the Strokes' "Reptilla."

Thile has a new album of Bach recordings coming out in August. The show at the Massry Center will draw "from his new Bach recording, while also exploring his own compositions and contemporary music."

More Thile:
+ He's playing with Michael Daves at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Greene County July 20.
+ Thile will be at Tanglewood August 15 to play as part of Yo-Yo Ma's Goat Rodeo Sessions with bassist Edgar Meyer, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and singer Aoife O'Donovan.

[via Val]

photo: Danny Clinch