Yeah, didja' notice that chris fit right into Dolly's band on Mando? The BEST I ever heard, but playing in a pretty trad way. All of these kids got together through trad Bluegrass and can play and understand well the genre......they've just gone on as has been well stated here.

SAM PIRT (as a Guest above, but a Mudcatter without cookie really)......Those of you who have never heard Sam probably think he is just another saying the same thing as I and others did, but you'd be wrong. Sam is to accordion what Chris Thile is to mandolin and THAT is NOT an exaggeration!   Sam is truly steeped in trad folk and plays it extremely well ..... I mean extremely well. One of the most pleasurable, if shortest, evenings of my life was spent listening to Sam and Ian (along with old fart Bill Sables) play some great trad and then take the tunes elsewhere. Like Nickel Creek, Sam and his mates have upped the ante. And as Sam implied, he has brought other young folks into the tradition through his music....not just into his hot stuff, but into "the tradition." I submit that NC has done the same and not just to their music and NC, but around and back to their real roots as well.

Spaw