CHRIS THILE

A Solo Evening of Music with Chris Thile

Exceptional musician Chris Thile with current album 'Laysongs' on solo paths Mandolinist, singer and songwriter live in Germany in 2026

He was a member of the Grammy Award-winning bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, has recorded collaborations with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Brad Mehldau and Michael Daves as well as six albums under his own name. Mandolinist, singer and songwriter Chris Thile, described by the Guardian as "that rare creature: an all-round musician at ease in every style, from bluegrass to classical", presents his first true solo album with his latest work 'Laysongs' (Nonesuch/Warner, June 2021): just Thile, his voice and his mandolin and the intention to explore his own spirituality.

'Laysongs' was created in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown in a converted church in upstate New York and is now finally being performed live on stage. The centerpiece of the album is the three-part 'Salt (in the Wounds) of the Earth', which was inspired by C.S. Lewis' 'The Screwtape Letters' and premiered by Thile in 2018 during a composer's residency at Carnegie Hall. It was the first (and so far only) music he's composed for it to be performed solo, which felt like an opportunity to sing some words that shouldn't necessarily be put in a colleague's mouth. And he had no idea that he was only at the beginning of what was to develop into a solo adventure, professionally and - who knows - philosophically. Thile, who grew up in a Christian household, drew his motivation for 'Laysongs' from a conversation he had backstage with the former chairman of Nonesuch, Bob Hurwitz. He encouraged him to make an album that dealt with the topic of God, as his entire work was characterized by it. When the world went into Covid lockdown in spring 2020 and the radio show 'Live from Here', hosted by Thile, came to a close, he finally had time to think seriously about the idea. Eventually, he set up a recording studio in an old church in Hudson, New York, where it became a reality.

"I loved how much sound surrounded the actual sound. I had two sonic partners on this album: the great sound engineer Jody Elff - and the church." It will be all the more exciting to see how Thile's musical reflections on spirituality sound in the concert hall.