PUNCH BROTHERS
Whelanslive.com & Note Productions presents
PUNCH BROTHERS
No Support | Standing Only
“‘Their songs glitter and soar, capable of pushing beyond traditional bluegrass into alternative rock.’ – BBC.co.uk
“In their willingness to subvert pop melodies with startling dissonance and rhythmic jolts, they’re like an acoustic Radiohead, whose “Kid A” gets a sensitive instrumental treatment here.’ – San Francisco Chronicle
“There are fine, unexpectedly jaunty melodies here, but they come wrapped in complex arrangements, as fiddle, banjo and guitar weave around the remarkable mandolin work and sometimes more fragile vocals of Chris Thile. This is a remarkable band.” – The Guardian
“‘An astonishing, envelope-pushing vision that mocks the idea of bluegrass being a “revival genre.”’ – Q
“Five of the brightest young musicians on the planet” – Columbia Daily Tribune
Punch Brothers are a bluegrass band at heart but this is bluegrass as you’ve never seen or heard it before. Fronted by the prodigious and terrifyingly talented Chris Thile (“Chris Thile is a once in a century musician” – T-Bone Burnett) Punch Brothers combine a bluegrass heart with elements of indie rock, jazz, folk & classical music to create a euphoric and exhilarating sound that will leave you dumbfounded with joy.
Formed in 2006 by Chris Thile (Nickel Creek/Thile & Daves) with four other virtuosic musicians – fiddler Gabe Witcher, banjo player Noam Pikelny, bassist Paul Kowert, and guitarist Chris “Critter” Eldridge, The Punch Brothers have gone on to take the musical world by storm, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums and reaching across genres to sideswipe audiences who might never have owned a bluegrass album otherwise. Their latest opus ‘Who’s Feeling You Now’ was produced by Grammy Award winner Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Modest Mouse) and features lyrical contributions from none other than Ireland’s favourite adopted son, Josh Ritter. Additionally, the album contains the band’s interpretations of Radiohead’s “Kid A” and the Swedish group Väsen’s “Flippen” and is making music journalists reach for their thesauruses in their attempts to capture the album’s inclusive sound, melodic dexterity and virtuosity Immediately after finishing their album in October, Punch Brothers joined Paul Simon for a month of US dates, during which the band regularly accompanied Simon for his encores. The tour capped off a busy year for the band and its members: in addition to their year-round touring, Punch Brothers performed on Late Night with David Letterman with Steve Martin, on public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion and as part of T Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Revue concert; the band was also nominated for two Grammys; Thile wrote and performed on the album The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Stuart Duncan, with whom he also appeared on The Colbert Report and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Pikelny released a solo album, produced by Witcher and featuring Eldridge, Thile, and fellow banjo player and friend Steve Martin.