Within a year of their formation, Punch Brothers are already playing to sold-out crowds across the United States and preparing to release their second recording project. Composed of the young and blazingly talented musicians Chris Thile (mandolin player, of Nickel Creek), Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Chris Eldridge (guitar), Noam Pikelny (banjo) and Greg Garrison (bass), the band has captured the attention of music lovers of all kinds, from bluegrass to classical, veteran to novice. Their first album, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, was released in September 2006 to great critical acclaim and received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance for the song The Eleventh Reel. In March 2007, Punch Brothers premiered The Blind Leaving the Blind, a long-form, four-movement chamber suite composed by Thile, at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. The piece is included on Punch, which was released February 26 on
Nonesuch Records.