| Noam Pikelny | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | February 27, 1981 [1] |
| Origin | United States [1] |
| Genres | Progressive bluegrass Bluegrass |
| Instruments | Banjo |
| Labels | Compass Records |
| Associated acts | Punch Brothers feat. Chris Thile Leftover Salmon |
| Website | noampikelny.com |
Noam Pikelny is an American banjoist. He is a member of the "Americana country-classical chamber music" group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band.
Contents |
Pikelny was in Leftover Salmon from 2002 until leaving in 2004 to play in the John Cowan Band from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 Punch Brothers formed. Chris Thile of Nickel Creek was planning to form a string quintet, but did not know what direction he wanted to take it, except that he wanted it to include fiddler Gabe Witcher. After Thile had a jam session with Witcher, Pikelny, bassist Greg Garrison and guitarist Chris Eldridge, he decided he wanted the band to be a quintet. The band was called "The How to Grow a Band" in 2006 when they were the backing band on Thile's solo release How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, as well as the following supporting shows. After on and off touring throughout 2007 coinciding with Nickel Creek's Farewell (For Now) Tour, the band's name was changed to the "Tensions Mountain Boys" briefly, and subsequently to Punch Brothers (borrowed from a short story by Mark Twain). Punch Brothers released their first official album as a band, Punch, on Nonesuch Records on February 26, 2008.
Pikelny currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Pikelny was the recipient of the 2010 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.[2] On November 5, 2010, he appeared on Late Show with David Letterman playing a comedic version of "Dueling Banjos" alongside Martin, and later performed with Martin and Punch Brothers.[3]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Grass | US Heat | ||||
| In the Maze |
|
— | — | ||
| Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail |
|
3 | 27 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Live | Compass |
| 2004 | Leftover Salmon | Compendia |
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | How to Grow a Woman from the Ground | Sugar Hill |
| 2008 | Punch | Nonesuch |
| 2010 | Antifogmatic | Nonesuch |
|
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