After
Nickel Creek disbanded in 2007, mandolin virtuoso
Chris Thile assembled an all-star quintet called
Punch Brothers (the name comes from the
Mark Twain short story
Punch, Brothers, Punch!) with guitarist
Chris Eldridge, formerly of
the Infamous Stringdusters; bassist
Greg Garrison, who has played with
Ron Miles and
Leftover Salmon; banjo player
Noam Pikelny, who has worked with
John Cowan and
Tony Trischka, and violinist
Gabe Witcher, a sought-after session musician and a member of
Jerry Douglas' band for a half-dozen years. The new group quickly signed with Nonesuch Records and issued a debut album,
Punch, in 2008, which was anchored by
Thile's ambitious 40-minute, four-part suite "The Blind Leaving the Blind." The double-disc (plus a third DVD concert disc) Antifogmatic, produced by Jon Brion, arrived from Nonesuch in 2010, and was followed in 2012 by Who's Feeling Young Now?, produced by Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Modest Mouse), and the Ahoy! EP.
–
Steve Leggett, Rovi