Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Contemporary bluegrass group the Punch Brothers, featuring celebrated mandolinist Chris Thile, perform at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18 in Kenan Auditorium for an evening of original compositions and bluegrass favorites as part of the UNCW Arts in Action Performance Series.

The Punch Brothers—comprised of five fiercely talented young musicians whose musical backgrounds include rock, folk, country, bluegrass and classical music—is named after the Mark Twain short story Punch, Brothers, Punch! This acoustic quintet, which first recorded together in 2006, has already risen in its short history to national prominence by masterfully producing a fresh, cutting-edge sound that seamlessly blends bluegrass traditions with breathtaking innovation. Their first album, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, which features covers of songs by the White Stripes and the Strokes as well as by Gillian Welch and Jimmy Rodgers, was Grammy nominated for Best Instrumental Performance.

Punch Brothers front man, mandolinist Thile, is widely regarded as one of the most inventive musicians of his generation, having taken the mandolin from its folk and bluegrass origins to an instrument that can be featured in jazz improvisation and classical performance. Thile released the first of five solo albums when he was just 13 and, by the time he was 20, had attracted a following among pop, country, and alternative-rock audiences as a member of the Grammy Award-winning Nickel Creek. He has performed and recorded with double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, Emmanuel Ax, Bela Fleck, Dolly Parton, the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Douglas, and Sam Bush. Punch Brothers debuted Thile's most ambitious work in 2007—a forty minute suite in four movements entitled The Blind Leaving the Blind, which leaves room for jazz-like improvisation and for the personalities of the players to influence its flow.

Tickets are $20 for the general public; $16 for senior citizens and UNCW employees; $8 for non-UNCW students; and $6 for UNCW students. Group discounts are available. Call Kenan Box Office at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643 outside the Wilmington area or visit www.uncw.edu/presents. Box office hours are Noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and one hour prior to the event.

The Arts in Action Performance Series seeks to culturally enrich, educate and entertain both students and the Wilmington community through the presentation of diverse programs featuring professional, high-quality performing artists. The series is supported by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division of the Department of Cultural Resources with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with National Endowment for the Arts.

Media Contact: Shannon Hooker, 910.962.7600