Familiarity with innovative string band music has fans lining up outside Morristown, NJ’s MPAC this Thursday, May 14, 2026 evening for a concert by the genre-defying string band, Punch Brothers.
Founded by mandolinist Chris Thile, Punch Brothers is a contemporary acoustic group which encompasses an amalgam of bluegrass energy, classical intricacy, jazzy improvisation, and a folksy roots sound. Named after Punch, Brothers, Punch — a Mark Twain story about an earworm — the group recorded its first album in 2008 and was the focus of the 2011 documentary, How to Grow a Band. The ensemble’s song, “Dark Days,” was featured in the 2012 movie blockbuster, The Hunger Games, and after six nominations, the group earned its first Grammy award for Best Folk Album for its 2018 recording, All Ashore.
Inside the MPAC auditorium, the lights dim and the crowd cheers as Chris Thile on mandolin and lead vocals, Noam Pikelny on banjo, Chris Eldridge on guitar, Paul Kowert on bass, and Brittany Haas on fiddle take the stage and begin to create spacey, ethereal sounds on their instruments.
Segueing into the rhythmic string piece, “Found in a Frozen Fog,” the ensemble’s playing builds gently in intensity before Paul Kowert bows his bass intensely, Brittany Haas saws on the fiddle, and the piece morphs into a foot-stomping jig and, later, into a pensive classical reverie which inspires audience hoots, hollers, cheers, and applause.
In his strong high voice, Thile sings with emotion, “Go back to sleep, my daughter/Go back to sleep, my wife,” on the folk-rocker, “Clara.” He and the group follow up with the ebullient “New Bike,” an instrumental which gets heads bopping and feet stomping to the feel-good vibes of this happy-go-lucky bluegrass tune.
The crowd cheers and Thile responds, “Welcome to the fabulous Mayo Performing Arts Center for another exciting episode of The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers” — the title of the group’s latest album which will be released on July 24, 2026.
After introducing his stagemates, Thile reveals, “It’s a special night — May 14, 2026 — the last stop on our US expedition before we blast off for Galaxy F5 to deliver our unique brand of essential string band music to the good lifeforms of Planet Zartarg,” to which banjoist Noam Pikelny apprehensively quips, “I’m not sure I want my last memory to be of New Jersey.”
Launching into “It’s All Part of the Plan,” Thile croons, “It’s all part of the plan/I’ll have ’em eating out of my hand,” before rendering a lightning fast mandolin solo on this syncopated indie-pop tune. He and the band segue into “Solve Knut (untied),” a Norwegian fiddle tune which features a bowed bass solo by Paul Kowert and a mandolin and fiddle duet by Thile and Brittany Haas.
After Pikelny agrees to join the rest of the band on their interplanetary excursion, Thile sings, “It’s on,” while playing a quick arpeggiated mandolin accompaniment on “Familiarity.” Once the other musicians join in, he and guitarist Chris Eldridge sing in unison before Pikelny rapidly fingerpicks on the banjo and the group vocalizes in five-part harmony on a rhythmic and jazzy movement of the piece prior to concluding with the suite’s slowed-down country coda.
Rhythmic plucking, strumming, and bowing characterize the mysterious instrumental, “Song of the Water Kelpie (unsung).” Then, after inviting the audience to join the band on their journey, the musicians play off one another’s energy on a rhythmic version of their cosmic traveling song, “Movement and Location.”
Having arrived at their destination, Thile explains to the inhabitants of Zartarg how the planet’s rings not only remind him of the rings of Saturn, but of the “pogo ball” a childhood friend once had. Fast strumming and bowing start off before pizzicato fiddle, tremolo mandolin, and bending strings take over on the rhythmic avant-garde instrumental, “Saturn: Pogo Ball of the Gods.” Thile and Co. follow up by singing, “My oh my, what a wonderful day/We’re having, we’re having” on the funky rocker, “My Oh My.”
Thile announces to the lifeforms, “We thought we’d work up a little string band version of one of your biggest hits — a song that’s close to your hearts.” Here, the crowd chuckles as Thile and the band perform a stellar acoustic version of Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars — “The Imperial March” by John Williams — which inspires enthusiastic applause.
Thile reveals, “We have one more song before we head back,” as the band steps into “June Apple (poisoned),” where Pikelny fingerpicks on the banjo, bows bounce on fiddle and bass, and Thile and Chris Eldridge strum on mandolin and guitar on this traditional American fiddle tune.
Once the intrepid explorers realize they can’t return to Earth because the “bluegrass police” slashed the tires on their spaceship, the band rockets into the chamber pop tune, “Little Lights,” where they sing, “Shine little lights of ours/Like Orion’s Belt of stars/Guide us back to where we are/From where we wanna be,” while they repair the ship. Following up with “Descend, O Diamondback,” the melody rambles on this bouncy instrumental which has Thile dancing as he plays his mandolin on this traveling home tune.
Concertgoers whistle and cheer and Thile thanks fans who join in shouting, “Oh, boy!” on the upbeat progressive bluegrass tune, “Rye Whiskey.” Then, Thile earnestly croons, “Heaven’s a julep on the porch” on the lovely Americana song, “Julep,” before he and the band conclude tonight’s adventure with “New Book,” a fast-picking instrumental which inspires cheers, applause, and a standing ovation.
The musicians bow and exit the stage but soon return and Thile says, “From the bottom of our hearts, thanks for coming out tonight!” prior to sailing into a harmonious encore of the Sufjan Stevens ballad, “Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois.”
The ensemble wraps up the show with “All Ashore,” where Thile and his colleagues sing, “One falls back to Earth/Leaves a crater on the bedroom floor/Singing, love, I don’t need any more than this,” to wild cheers and applause.
As concertgoers make their way out of the theater, several share their thoughts on tonight’s performance by Punch Brothers. Comments James from Lafayette, CO, “I’ve been following these guys for a long time now. Chris Thile is probably one of the best instrumentalists alive and with this show he took us to outer space, brought us to a new planet, and slowly brought us back — and I had the time of my life! I’ve been a fan of the Punch Brothers for about 15 years and I’ve seen them at least 10 times and they sounded as great as ever tonight. They never mess up!”
Glenn from Lititz, PA, remarks, “It was an absolutely amazing show! I was just so enthralled. I’ve seen Chris Thile before, but tonight’s show with the Punch Brothers was almost like watching a jazz performance, it was so innovative and creative.” Danielle from Blairstown concurs, exclaiming, “I loved everything about it!”
Eric from Hackensack reveals, “What I love about the Punch Brothers is they have this unique take on bluegrass and Americana — it’s kind of spacey and cosmic — it’s not especially traditional. They have all sorts of stuff going on, and their solos are just incredible.”
José from Middlesex asserts, “Tonight’s show was phenomenal — one of the best shows I’ve seen. The sound quality was so crisp — the mix was so clear — and the lighting was great, too. I’ve been following the Punch Brothers for at least ten years and from watching their videos, I always knew they’d put on a tight live show. They’re so inspirational — you can tell these guys love music, and I love it, too!”
Lastly, Andrea from Parsippany declares, “I thought they were amazing tonight! This was my first time seeing them and they blew me away. They spoke through their bodies with their music — you felt it — and the energy was off-the-charts spectacular,” prior to concluding, “The Punch Brothers were just mesmerizing!”
To learn more about Punch Brothers, please go to punchbrothers.com. To find out about upcoming events at MPAC — including The Happy Together Tour on June 6, The Sergio Mendes Band on June 11, Chicago on June 14, and Straight No Chaser on June 26 — please go to mayoarts.org.
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