There might be no other style of deeply American music so tied to a particular time, aesthetic, or expectation as bluegrass, the hoopin’, hollerin’ country-folk offshoot bolstered by blistering banjo-plucking and foot-stomping rhythms that burst forth from Appalachia in the 1940s.
But even as the bluegrass style often requires some seriously advanced musicianship and technical skill, it’s been regularly relegated to a throwback genre meant largely for nostalgia or musical cosplay, with only a few fleeting resurgences popping back into the mainstream over the years.
And then came Punch Brothers, and then all bets were off.
Convened and captained by mandolinist/singer Chris Thile (also of the massively successful, award-winning bluegrass-folk outfit Nickel Creek), Punch Brothers were designed from the ground up to cast off the shackles of bluegrass history and swing for the musical fences, incorporating wildly improvisational jazz elements and progressive classical structures alongside folk songwriting.
Their free, creatively unrestrained approach to the style has garnered them Grammys, untold legions of fans, and enduring respect as the torchbearers for the future of Americana-steeped folk music and its still-untapped potential.
Now, as the band approaches their 20th year, they’re celebrating a major lineup change and a new musical variety podcast with a cross-country tour that’ll bring them to the Tower Theatre stage on Monday, June 16th, with a slew of new songs and new approaches.
I caught up with banjoist and co-founder Noam Pikelny by phone ahead of their OKC stopover to chat about the new energies that longtime fans can expect from the show, the new songs they’ve developed through their “Energy Curfew Music Hour” podcast, and an upcoming local accolade just for him.
“Every angle of this feels new,” Pikelny said. “We have a new fiddler – our first real personnel change in years – and we have all this new music that we haven’t gotten to share yet beyond this little box theatre in New York.”
With so much improvisation and on-the-spot energy, Punch Brothers shows have always been malleable and unique for repeat concertgoers and diehards. But with brand new member Brittany Haas taking up the fiddle from outgoing founding member Gabe Witcher, even the longest-time fans will have plenty new to see and hear on this tour.
“Even all the old stuff feels like it just has a new life now because of Brittany,” Pikelny told me. “She’s just this amazing resource for all of this beautiful fiddle music from around the world, and she has this, like, library that she’s brought to the band.”
That wealth of new musical knowledge and inspiration has been an important factor in the writing of the band’s new material, which was developed and fleshed out through their Audible podcast series “The Energy Curfew Music Hour.” The show has given listeners a rare insight into the earliest stages of the new songs and the band’s processes of working them out.
“It’s a really important part of the process to play the music on stage before it gets recorded onto an album, but that’s not always a luxury that you have,” Pikelny explained. “The irony is that you record songs in their infancy and then you go out on tour and you start to understand it and perform it better once you put it in front of an audience.”
By developing and working out these songs on the podcast first, the band has still given audiences some familiarity with the new material. But now fans can come to the shows to get a first-hand look at how those new ideas are evolving before they reach what will be their final “album version” forms later.
“There’s just something really invigorating about sharing new music with people for the first time,” he said. “And there’s a chance for it to be different every night and for you to kind of play as a reflection of how you’re feeling at that moment.”
And when the band rolls through Oklahoma City this month, Pikelny is sure to be feeling particularly energized.
He was recently announced as one of 2025’s inductees into the Banjo Hall of Fame at OKC’s American Banjo Museum with a ceremony later this year.
“It’s such an honor, and it was completely unexpected,” Pikelny said of the recognition that will place him alongside the greatest banjo players in history. “I’ve been to the museum several times, every time that I’ve been through Oklahoma City, whether it’s with Punch Brothers or even just on a road trip. That place is such a gift, not just to the people of Oklahoma City, but to anyone that’s interested in the banjo or just American culture in general.”
In his dreams, Pikelny would love to leave OKC with a little souvenir in addition to his induction into the museum and an enraptured, satisfied fan base, though.
“I heard a rumor that if you’re inducted into the Banjo Hall of Fame, then you’re allowed to go through the museum and pick out any one banjo to take home and keep,” he said, joking. “I’m pretty sure that’s true, or maybe I just dreamed that.”
Punch Brothers perform at Tower Theatre on Monday, June 16th. For tickets and more, visit towertheatreokc.com.
Noam Pikelny will be inducted into the Banjo Hall of Fame at OKC’s American Banjo Museum this fall, and any proof of ticket for the Punch Brothers show at Tower Theatre will get visitors free admission to the museum throughout the remainder of 2025. For more information, visit americanbanjomuseum.com.
You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
