Sean Watkins

Sean Watkins, a member of the progressive bluegrass band <a href="spotify:artist:3bcLBxvaI7GsBzGp3WHnwQ">Nickel Creek</a>, released his debut album in 1991. Sean and his sister <a href="spotify:artist:1FDE7zZ6jmP8HHb9ej3mek">Sara</a>, along with father and son duo Scott and <a href="spotify:artist:1dyGPAYZZHHW6WIqwKN5QF">Chris Thile</a>, formed <a href="spotify:artist:3bcLBxvaI7GsBzGp3WHnwQ">Nickel Creek</a> in San Diego in 1990. The four met at a weekly pizza parlor show by the southern California group <a href="spotify:artist:3B78XD1CwZRq5uKSz265UK">Bluegrass Etc.</a> Sean showed virtuosic talent early on, reaching the finals in both mandolin and guitar at the National Flatpicking Championship at the age of 16. In 1994, <a href="spotify:artist:3bcLBxvaI7GsBzGp3WHnwQ">Nickel Creek</a> reached the regional division of the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Band Championship. The band released its self-titled debut on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sugar+Hill+Records%22">Sugar Hill Records</a> in May 2000. The single "Reasons Why" hit number one on the Americana charts. While <a href="spotify:artist:3bcLBxvaI7GsBzGp3WHnwQ">Nickel Creek</a>'s roots lie in modern folk and bluegrass, they are also influenced by everything from alt-pop to <a href="spotify:artist:5V0MlUE1Bft0mbLlND7FJz">Ella Fitzgerald</a> to Beethoven. The group was nominated for two Grammys in 2001. That same year, Watkins released his first solo effort, Let It Fall, a collection of original instrumentals. He showed signs of <a href="spotify:artist:3bcLBxvaI7GsBzGp3WHnwQ">Nickel Creek</a>'s new pop direction on 2003's genre-bending 26 Miles, a hobby he would turn into a habit on 2006's electrifying Blinders On. In 2009, Watkins and <a href="spotify:artist:6S58b0fr8TkWrEHOH4tRVu">Switchfoot</a> frontman <a href="spotify:artist:5D3h9ZoobhetjXw3dKhcaq">Jon Foreman</a> released an eponymous album under the moniker <a href="spotify:artist:4bokLXmltodf13GHlsiQD2">Fiction Family</a>. Their collaboration yielded a sophomore outing in 2013 with Fiction Family Reunion. 2014 proved a busy year for Watkins with the release of A Dotted Line, the first collection of new music from <a href="spotify:artist:3bcLBxvaI7GsBzGp3WHnwQ">Nickel Creek</a> since 2005, and a new solo album, All I Do Is Lie. In 2015, Sean and his sister <a href="spotify:artist:1FDE7zZ6jmP8HHb9ej3mek">Sara</a> released The Watkins Family Hour, the first-ever studio recording of the duo's longtime revue at Los Angeles' Largo; it also featured <a href="spotify:artist:3g2kUQ6tHLLbmkV7T4GPtL">Fiona Apple</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:64BpBvN4VY7JdhV9GaEbiV">Benmont Tench</a>. Early in 2016, Sean released his fifth solo album, What to Fear. ~ Erik Hage, Rovi