A bluegrass band, Nickel Creek first got together in Southern California in 1989. The band comprised Sean Watkins on guitar, his sister Sara on the fiddle, and Chris Thile on the mandolin. Between 1993 and 2006, they dropped six albums. They had varying degrees of success with these efforts, and broke through in 2000, when their album “Nickel Creek,” produced by Alison Kraus, attained Platinum status, and won several CMA and Grammy nominations. Their 2002 album, “This Side,” won the 2003 Grammy for “Best Contemporary Folk Album.”
After releasing a fifth studio album, followed by a complication album, the band took a break and members embarked on solo projects. They got back together in 2014. A concert review says:
“Seated amid a cluster of superfans . . . I tried not to roll my eyes at the anticipatory euphoria. It turns out the devotion was deserved.”
The band’s special guest is Monica Martin. The artist is a singer/songwriter who left Wisconsin and is now based in Los Angeles. In Baraboo, Wisconsin, Martin was the frontwoman of PHOX, an alt-folk band. Her childhood in Madison, she says, has inspired her.
Nickel Creek will be at the Canton Palace Theatre on March 12. When organizers plan events like this, they will often work with companies that provide poster printing to create advertising for the show.