It's been 20 years since the Grammy Award-winning Americana trio Nickel Creek released their celebrated self-titled album.  To mark the occasion, Craft Recordings are set to reissue that album alongside This Side (2002), and Why Should the Fire Die? (2005). The audiophile-quality albums will be pressed at 45rpm onto 180-gram vinyl and available on black vinyl and artist webstore-exclusive color variants. It's all happening tomorrow, November 6!

The Americana trio Nickel Creek formed in 1989 when multi-instrumentalists Chris Thile and siblings Sara and Sean Watkins were each under 13. They quickly became regulars on the bluegrass circuit and released two albums. By the 2000s, they'd sign with Sugar Hill (the Americana label) and catch the attention of Alison Krauss, who'd produce their next two albums, Nickel Creek and This Side. On their first Sugar Hill effort, which the band considers their official debut, the trio developed a mix of bluegrass, rock, jazz, and alternative music which brought the bluegrass tradition to a new audience just as the resurgence in roots music was beginning to take off (we're looking at you, O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack). The band's rich mix of influences garnered significant acclaim as they earned Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Instrumental Performance. The album peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and was eventually certified Platinum. As it was described in a recent NPR retrospective, Nickel Creek was "unafraid to push the boundaries of its primary genre, and packing the musical chops to bring such an eclectic vision to life" and as such built a bridge between the past, present, and future of the bluegrass sound.

Their talents remained undiminished on This Side, the album that followed in 2002. They branched out into the indie world with a cover of Pavement's "Spit On A Stranger" and continued to hone their bluegrass hybrid sound. The result was a debut at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200, a Grammy win for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and critical acclaim across the board.

For 2005's Why Should the Fire Die, the band enlisted Eric Valentine - whose production credits include Joe Satriani, Taking Back Sunday, Good Charlotte, and Queens of the Stone Age - to helm the sessions.  Their new direction had a darker, more introspective vibe than their previous efforts and was once again acclaimed right out of the gate, followed by chart success and two Grammy nominations.

Twenty years since their breakthrough album, it's clear that Nickel Creek were always onto something, building a strong musical fusion within and apart from the bluegrass idiom.  Those remarkable albums still endure and will now be heard in a whole new way with these upcoming vinyl pressings.  Cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering using the original tape or the best-available high-definition digital sources (depending on the medium of the masters), the 2-LP, 45-rpm vinyl will no doubt sound better than ever.  In addition to the standard black vinyl editions, Nickel Creek's online store will offer Nickel Creek pressed on translucent opal vinyl, This Side on marbled mahogany, and Why Should the Fire Die? in a translucent gold and red marbled vinyl.

Now, if you're more digitally inclined or you just can't wait for the records to hit shelves, you're in luck as these three albums are also available in high-rez digital formats.  Nickel Creek is out in 24-bit/48kHz audio, while This Side is available in 24-bit/96kHz and Why Should the Fire Die? in 24-bit/192kHz audio.

You can purchase your copies of Nickel Creek's landmark albums from the links below!

Nickel Creek, Nickel Creek [2-LP, 45rpm] (originally Sugar Hill Records CD SHCD-3909, 2000 - reissued Craft Recordings, 2020)

Black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop
Transparent opal vinyl: Nickel Creek's online store

Disc 1 - Side A:

1. Ode To A Butterfly
2. The Lighthouse's Tale
3. Out Of The Woods

Disc 1 - Side B:

1. In The House of Tom Bombadil
2. Reasons Why
3. When You Come Back Down

Disc 2 - Side A:

1. Sweet Afton
2. Cuckoo's Nest
3. The Hand Song

Disc 2 - Side B:

1. Robin And Marian
2. The Fox
3. Pastures New

Nickel Creek, This Side [2-LP, 45rpm] (originally Sugar Hill Records CD SHCD-3941, 2002 - reissued Craft Recordings, 2020)

Black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop
Marbled mahogany vinyl: Nickel Creek's online store

Disc 1 - Side A:

1. Smoothie Song
2. Spit On A Stranger
3. Speak
4. Hanging By A Thread

Disc 1 - Side B:

1. I Should've Known Better
2. This Side
3. Green And Gray

Disc 2 - Side A:

1. Seven Wonders
2. House Carpenter
3. Beauty And The Mess

Disc 2 - Side B:

1. Sabra Girl
2. Young
3. Brand New Sidewalk