NickelCreek

Punch Brothers frontman Chris Thile has the demeanor of a world-class pitcher. While upon the mound of his Brooklyn, N.Y., progressive bluegrass outfit, he clutches his mandolin, fingers across the frets like the stitching of a baseball, waiting to release the heat...

Before the advent of burning music on CDs and iPods, people assembled their playlists of songs on cassette tapes. Tift Merritt once made mixtapes herself, particularly of her early music, and had also received them from other people when she was younger...

Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins is venturing out on her own. The accomplished singer/songwriter/fiddle player has signed a deal with Nonesuch Records, recruiting some big names to help make her solo debut. Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones will produce Watkins' self-titled album...