'The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers,' Band's First All-Instrumental Album, Out Now on Nonesuch

Browse by:
Year
Browse by:
Publish date (field_publish_date)
Submitted by nonesuch on
Article Type
Publish date
Excerpt

The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, the seventh album from the Grammy-winning band—and its first comprising all instrumental tunes as well as its first with fiddle player Brittany Haas, who joined the quintet in 2023—is out now. The album features eight new original compositions by Punch Brothers as well as three traditional songs they arranged. The album’s title is more than a play on words: without lyrics to guide the listener, these are stories, impressions, and emotions communicated entirely with strings through melody, harmony, rhythm, and a literary sense of musical structure. The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers is produced by the band and engineered by Joseph Lorge. You can watch the band perform the track “June Apple (poisoned),” in a new video here, and see the band on tour this summer and fall.

Copy

The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, the seventh album from the Grammy-winning band—and its first comprising all instrumental tunes as well as its first with fiddle player Brittany Haas, who joined the quintet in 2023—is out now on Nonesuch Records. The album features eight new original compositions by Punch Brothers as well as three traditional songs they arranged. The album’s title is more than a play on words: without lyrics to guide the listener, these are stories, impressions, and emotions communicated entirely with strings through melody, harmony, rhythm, and a literary sense of musical structure. For a band known for pushing acoustic music into unexpected places, going fully instrumental may be the most adventurous move they have made yet. The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers is produced by the band and engineered by Joseph Lorge, who most recently received a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album/Non-Classical for his work on Pino Palladino and Blake Mills' That Wasn’t a Dream. A limited-edition translucent blue LP is available from the Punch Brothers Store and the Nonesuch Store. A performance video of the track “June Apple (poisoned),” directed by Josh Goleman, was also released today and may be seen below.

Punch Brothers continues its extensive US tour through the fall and heads to Europe to tour in January. For details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

Recorded at Guilford Sound Studio in Vermont in the fall and winter of 2025, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers is an album of music without words. Thile, who founded the band in 2006, says, “This music is the result of what feels to me like our deepest but also most joyful exploration of the American string band in the twenty years we’ve been making music together. Something about the dichotomy of all the water under the bridge plus a new, brilliant teammate in Brittany. We all felt like kids in a candy store … so many possibilities and so much energy with which to pursue them, except with the kind of collective discipline and clarity of intent that only decades of collaboration affords.”

Punch Brothers, formed by Chris Thile in 2006, is known for pushing the boundaries of acoustic music. The band has garnered critical acclaim, including a Grammy for Best Folk Album for All Ashore (2018). The Washington Post applauded them for taking “bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.”

Over the past two decades, Punch Brothers has become a pioneer in modern string music, with albums like Antifogmatic (2010), Who’s Feeling Young Now (2012), and The Phosphorescent Blues (2015) showcasing the group’s genre-defying sound. Rolling Stone praised their work as “wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity,” cementing their reputation as trailblazers in contemporary acoustic music. The band’s most recent album, Hell on Church Street (2021), is a reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album Church Street Blues.

Most recently, Punch Brothers have been focused on the band’s musical variety show, The Energy Curfew Music Hour. Season One is available on all podcast platforms, with season two exclusively out on Audible. Season 1 was nominated for a Webby Award in the Podcast: Features, Experimental & Innovation category; it also won Most Innovative Audio Experience, Best Live Podcast Recording, and Best Sound Design in the Listener’s Choice category of the 2025 Signal Awards.

featuredimage
Punch Brothers: 'The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers' [cover]
  • Friday, July 24, 2026
    'The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers,' Band's First All-Instrumental Album, Out Now on Nonesuch

    The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, the seventh album from the Grammy-winning band—and its first comprising all instrumental tunes as well as its first with fiddle player Brittany Haas, who joined the quintet in 2023—is out now on Nonesuch Records. The album features eight new original compositions by Punch Brothers as well as three traditional songs they arranged. The album’s title is more than a play on words: without lyrics to guide the listener, these are stories, impressions, and emotions communicated entirely with strings through melody, harmony, rhythm, and a literary sense of musical structure. For a band known for pushing acoustic music into unexpected places, going fully instrumental may be the most adventurous move they have made yet. The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers is produced by the band and engineered by Joseph Lorge, who most recently received a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album/Non-Classical for his work on Pino Palladino and Blake Mills' That Wasn’t a Dream. A limited-edition translucent blue LP is available from the Punch Brothers Store and the Nonesuch Store. A performance video of the track “June Apple (poisoned),” directed by Josh Goleman, was also released today and may be seen below.

    Punch Brothers continues its extensive US tour through the fall and heads to Europe to tour in January. For details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

    Recorded at Guilford Sound Studio in Vermont in the fall and winter of 2025, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers is an album of music without words. Thile, who founded the band in 2006, says, “This music is the result of what feels to me like our deepest but also most joyful exploration of the American string band in the twenty years we’ve been making music together. Something about the dichotomy of all the water under the bridge plus a new, brilliant teammate in Brittany. We all felt like kids in a candy store … so many possibilities and so much energy with which to pursue them, except with the kind of collective discipline and clarity of intent that only decades of collaboration affords.”

    Punch Brothers, formed by Chris Thile in 2006, is known for pushing the boundaries of acoustic music. The band has garnered critical acclaim, including a Grammy for Best Folk Album for All Ashore (2018). The Washington Post applauded them for taking “bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.”

    Over the past two decades, Punch Brothers has become a pioneer in modern string music, with albums like Antifogmatic (2010), Who’s Feeling Young Now (2012), and The Phosphorescent Blues (2015) showcasing the group’s genre-defying sound. Rolling Stone praised their work as “wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity,” cementing their reputation as trailblazers in contemporary acoustic music. The band’s most recent album, Hell on Church Street (2021), is a reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album Church Street Blues.

    Most recently, Punch Brothers have been focused on the band’s musical variety show, The Energy Curfew Music Hour. Season One is available on all podcast platforms, with season two exclusively out on Audible. Season 1 was nominated for a Webby Award in the Podcast: Features, Experimental & Innovation category; it also won Most Innovative Audio Experience, Best Live Podcast Recording, and Best Sound Design in the Listener’s Choice category of the 2025 Signal Awards.

Enjoy This Post?

Get weekly updates right in your inbox.
Thank you!
x

Welcome to Nonesuch's mailing list!

Customize your notifications for tour dates near your hometown, birthday wishes, or special discounts in our online store!

Related Posts

  • Wednesday, August 5, 2026
    Wednesday, August 5, 2026

    Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and virtuoso guitarist Molly Tuttle releases So Long Little Miss Sunshine (Acoustic), a companion EP to her acclaimed Grammy-nominated album So Long Little Miss Sunshine, September 4. It was recorded with touring bandmates Vanessa McGowan and Mary Meyer and produced by Steve Berns. The EP strips back five standout tracks from the album and places Tuttle's voice, intricate guitar playing, and songwriting front and center. The intimate recordings offer a fresh perspective on some of the album's most personal songs. You can hear "Rosalee" now.

    Journal Topics: Album ReleaseArtist News
  • Wednesday, July 29, 2026
    Wednesday, July 29, 2026

    Natalie Merchant has shared two new tracks from the upcoming album Cabinet of Wonder: "The Queen of Hearts" and "Humpty Dumpty." You can watch the videos here. Cabinet of Wonder is a digital collection of seventeen songs and accompanying videos from the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Chicago Children’s Theatre (CCT) due August 21 on Nonesuch. The songs reimagine Mother Goose and her rhymes for a new generation of young children through modern interpretations of the classic children’s canon and three originals by Merchant—performed by Merchant, musicians from the CSO and special guests—in orchestral arrangements by Megan Gould.

    Journal Topics: Album ReleaseArtist NewsVideo