by Dusty Teng
Staff Writer

Appalachian State University welcomes contemporary bluegrass band Nickel Creek and singer-songwriter Mindy Smith to Holmes Convocation Center Thursday.

Nickel Creek mandolin player Chris Thile, fiddler Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins are all under the age of 30, but have performed together for over a decade.

While bluegrass music is often associated with the Appalachian Mountain area, the three musicians of Nickel Creek grew up in southern California. Thile met the Watkins siblings at a pizza parlor that regularly hosted bluegrass bands.

Since then, the young trio has accumulated an impressive list of accolades, such as being named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s “Best of 2002” bands and one of Time magazine’s “Five Music Innovators for the Millennium.”

Nickel Creek’s “This Side” won a Grammy award in 2003 for Best Contemporary Folk Album after they had previously been nominated four times.

The individual members of Nickel Creek have also performed on various television programs and have been featured on the albums of musicians such as Bela Fleck, The Chieftains and Dolly Parton.

Although Nickel Creek is often categorized as a bluegrass group, the band also incorporates rock ‘n’ roll, pop rock and folk influences in its music.

Folk singer-songwriter Mindy Smith will open for Nickel Creek on Thursday.

The solo artist will perform music from her debut album “One Moment More.”

“[Smith and Nickel Creek] are both on the same [record] label. They met each other through other occasions,” Smith’s manager Casey Verbeck said. “The folks of Nickel Creek are Mindy Smith fans, so they wanted to bring her out.”

Smith is often considered a country singer, but she actually blends country, gospel, folk and bluegrass elements in her album to cater to wide variety of musical audiences.

“It’s definitely not country. It’s more folk rock,” Verbeck said.

Smith grew up in Long Island, N.Y., but is now based out of Nashville. After moving to Tennessee, Smith turned down offers from major labels that wanted to present her as a country singer.

She wanted to avoid having a producer create a sound for her.

Smith’s wait has paid off. “One Moment More” has received recognition from USA Today, Billboard magazine and National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

“Not only is she an amazing songwriter, she is an amazing vocalist. So combined, it puts her at a whole other level,” Verbeck said.

Nickel Creek and Mindy Smith will perform at 8 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the Appalachian Popular Programming Society and Holmes Convocation Center.

Tickets are $10 in advance for students and $14 at the door for both students and the public.