Nickel Creek have announced Celebrants, their first new album in nine years, arriving March 24th via Thirty Tigers. To celebrate the announcement, the trio—mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins—have released their new single, “Strangers” today. Listen to the song below and pre-order the new album now HERE.
Of the song, Thile shares, “This song is an exploration of the ostensibly rewarding but often awkward, even excruciating act of catching up with an old friend. Can the connection be reforged? Should it be?”
Their fifth studio album, Celebrants marks a highly anticipated return for the beloved trio and explores the inherent dynamics of human connection. Across the 18 tracks, the trio addresses love, friendship and time with lyrics both poetic and plain-spoken, as they see bridges built, crossed, burned and rebuilt. Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, the album was produced by longtime collaborator Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Grace Potter, Weezer) and features Mike Elizondo on bass.
Of the project, the band reflects, “This is a record about embracing the friction inherent in real human connection. We begin the record yearning for and pursuing harmonious connection. We end the record having realized that truly harmonious connection can only be achieved through the dissonance that we’ve spent our entire adult lives trying to avoid.”
In celebration of the release, the band will perform three very special sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium this spring on April 27, 28 and 29. Additional tour dates will be announced soon.
NICKEL CREEK CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
January 27—London, U.K.—Union Chapel* (SOLD OUT)
January 28—London, U.K.—Union Chapel* (SOLD OUT)
January 29—Glasgow, U.K.—City Halls, Celtic Connections* (SOLD OUT)
April 27—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium (SOLD OUT)
April 28—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium (SOLD OUT)
April 29—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium (SOLD OUT)
June 4—Lexington, KY—Railbird Festival (SOLD OUT)
June 15-18—Telluride, CO—Telluride Bluegrass Festival (SOLD OUT)
September 1—London, U.K.—Barbican Centre (on-sale 1/27)
*with Lau Noah