Chris Thile
The University of Central Arkansas Reynolds Performance Hall welcomes Chris Thile Live in Concert at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.
Thile is best known for his work in the acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and in 2016 through 2020, he was the host of the radio variety show “Live from Here,” which was formally known as “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Most recently, Chris recorded “Laysongs,” his first truly solo album released in June last year. The album is just Thile, his voice and his mandolin on new recordings of six original songs and three covers, which contextualize and banter with his ideas. Recorded in a converted upstate New York church during the pandemic, the heart of the album is the three-part piece, “Salt (in the Wounds) of the Earth,” that was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.”
The Guardian calls Thile a “rare being, an all-round musician who can settle into any style, from bluegrass to classical.” NPR calls him a “genre-defying musical genius.”
Tickets are $30-$40 for adults and $10 for children and students. Discounted tickets are available. Tickets may be purchased online at uca.edu/Reynolds, at the Reynolds Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by calling UCA Ticket Central at (501) 450-3265 or toll-free at (866) 810-0012.