FLINT, Mich. - He may not be a household name, but Grammy Award-winning mandolinist, singer and songwriter Chris Thile regularly performs with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and is recognized by the MacArthur Foundation as a 2012 MacArthur Fellow. He will headline Flint’s Capitol Theatre October 6.
The Guardian calls Thile "that rare being, an all-round musician who can settle into any style, from bluegrass to classical.” NPR calls him a "genre-defying musical genius." The New York Times says, “Thile creates a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike.”
Thile worked with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on the Grammy Award-winning Goat Rodeo Sessions in 2011 and the long-awaited follow-up album, Not Our First Goat Rodeo in 2020. He also has two other Grammy Award-winning bands he performs with: the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers. From 2016 through 2020, he was the host of the radio variety show Live From Here, formally known as A Prairie Home Companion.
In June, Thile released Laysongs, his first solo album. The album is just Thile, his voice, and his mandolin, on a set of nine new tracks, combining original songs with three wisely chosen covers that contextualize and banter with his ideas. At the heart of the album is a three-part piece, “Salt (in the Wounds) of the Earth,” that Thile premiered during a fall 2018 composer’s residency at Carnegie Hall. The piece was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.
Tickets for the Capitol show are on sale now for between $45 and $66. Genesee County residents receive 30 percent off as a benefit of the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment Millage. The discount will be automatically applied at check-out. Purchase tickets at www.capitoltheatreflint.com.
