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Craft Recordings is currently reissuing three best-selling albums from the GRAMMY® Award-winning Americana trio, Nickel Creek, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled breakthrough album! Featuring mastering from the original tapes by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, the digital high-resolution transfers were overseen by Paul Blakemore. Consisting of siblings Sara and Sean Watkins, plus Chris Thile, Nickel Creek formed in 1989, when all three multi-instrumentalist members were under the age of 13. Along with Chris’ father, bassist Scott Thile, the group built a following in their native San Diego, and soon became regulars on the bluegrass festival circuit, releasing two records on their own in the ’90s. At the turn of the millennium, the band signed with the iconic Americana imprint, Sugar Hill. There, they caught the ears of bluegrass star Alison Krauss, who would become a mentor to the young musicians and produce their next two albums. As Nickel Creek integrated more rock and pop elements into their music, they went in a new direction with their next record – enlisting Eric Valentine (Taking Back Sunday, Good Charlotte, Queens of the Stone Age) and industry veteran Tony Berg to produce the album. While Valentine’s lengthy credits in punk, alt-rock, and pop might have made the producer seem like an unlikely match, Why Should the Fire Die? proved to be the group’s most ambitious effort yet. Featuring nearly all original material, save for a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” the 2005 album included such favorites as “When in Rome,” “Helena,” the instrumental “Scotch & Chocolate,” and “Jealous Moon,” which Thile co-wrote with The Jayhawk’s Gary Louris. Darker and more introspective than their previous material, Why Should the Fire Die? garnered the band wide acclaim.