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Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile

The Goat Rodeo Sessions

Sony Masterworks
Release Date: October 25, 2011

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The Goat Rodeo Sessions (Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile) | Musicians At Google
Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile - Helping Hand
Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile - Here and Heaven
Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile And Stuart Duncan: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
1 Attaboy  
2 Quarter Chicken Dark  
3 Helping Hand  
4 Where's My Bow?  
5 Here and Heaven  
6 Franz And The Eagle  
7 Less is Moi  
8 Hill Justice  
9 No One But You  
10 13:8  
11 Goat Rodeo  
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Thanks to a fortuitous "goat rodeo," Sony Masterworks is releasing The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a landmark album project by four of the great instrumentalists in music today, on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. The album uniquely showcases cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer, mandolinist Chris Thile and fiddler Stuart Duncan. While each musician is a renowned superstar in his own music sphere, they have come together now as a unified ensemble on a most remarkable and organic cross-genre project stemming from their friendship, and the title concept. The album also includes two vocal tracks featuring Thile and guest artist Aoife O'Donovan, the lead vocalist and writer for progressive bluegrass group Crooked Still.

 

  • Chris Thile's new Mandolin Concerto is uniquely personal, daffy, uninhibited, and unclassifiable / SFCV
    Posted At: August 28, 2023 12:00 AM
    SFCV - Richard S. Ginell writes…..The first piece of advice for writers is “write what you know.” Chris Thile, the hyperactive expert mandolin player and onetime radio star, seems to have taken that bit of advice and sprinted with it.When the Los Angeles Philharmonic and seven other organizations co-commissioned Thile to write a mandolin concerto, they got something uniquely personal, daffy, uninhibited, an...
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  • Aoife O'Donovan: five essential albums / 90.7WFUV
    Posted At: March 14, 2023 12:00 AM
    90.7WFUV's Kara Manning writes….Women's history is world history, but care is taken in March to elevate the message and mission of Women's History Month. We've asked some of the "Women We Love" to write about their "Five Essential Albums" for FUV.Aoife O'Donovan has always felt deeply connected to her Irish roots—not only does Eire reflect her own family's history, but the country's musical legacy influence...
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  • Aoife O'Donovan - Age of Apathy is a bittersweet symphony / HOT PRESS
    Posted At: January 25, 2022 12:00 AM
    HOT PRESS - ELLEN GOUGH writes…..The first studio album from Grammy-winning artist Aoife O’Donovan since 2016’s In The Magic Hour, Age Of Apathy is a stunning and soulful record.Produced remotely by fellow Grammy-winner Joe Henry, the Massachusetts-born singer-songwriter’s third offering is the product of an extraordinarily fertile few months, inspired by her move from New York to central Florida in late 20...
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  • 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' makes the 'Top 10 Billboard bluegrass albums of 2021' / the Boot
    Posted At: December 21, 2021 12:00 AM
    Earlier this year, Sony Music Masterworks released the long-awaited follow-up album to the GRAMMY Award-winning The Goat Rodeo Sessions, with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile - Not Our First Goat Rodeo.  Making its debut alongside the new album was a live performance video for the song "The Trappings," featuring guest artist Aoife O'Donovan. Watch the attachedSharing the story behi...
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  • The endless curiosity of Chris Thile / The New York Times
    Posted At: May 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    The New York Times Giovanni Russonello writes.....At his first in-person performance before a New York audience in over a year, the mandolinist Chris Thile spent a lot of time with his instrument on his lap, listening. Half-encircled by a sizable but well-spaced-out crowd at the East River Park Amphitheater last month, Thile welcomed an assortment of New York-based artists to the stage. Some, li...
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  • 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' makes Central Coast Public Radio - Best of 2020
    Posted At: December 29, 2020 12:00 AM

    The DJs at Central Coast Public Radio: KCBX clearly love to explore and enthusiastically share new music. Here are some of their picks for the top albums and songs of 2020. Janelle Younger, host of The Broken Spoke Folk Show comments: "In looking over my Top Ten list for this year, I'm noticing a common theme – nostalgia. Lots of music that hearkens back to some half-known mythical musical glor...
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  • 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' is a wonderfully diverse album firmly rooted in American folk traditions / theWholeNote
    Posted At: October 2, 2020 12:00 AM

    The final selection is not a cello disc per se, but having spent a large part of last month's column on Yo-Yo Ma's Bach Project I think I should mention at least in passing that his collective with Chris Thile (mandolin), Stuart Duncan (violin) and Edgar Meyer (bass) has released a second CD, Not Our First Goat Rodeo (Sony Music GR002 sonymusic.com/masterworks). The players are all top rank i...
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  • Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer And Chris Thile play NPR: Tiny Desk ^ at home concert
    Posted At: September 1, 2020 12:00 AM

    The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit - stripped-down sets, an intimate setting - just a different space. Yo-Yo Ma, arguably the best known cellist in the world, assembled the world-class musical ensemble known as Goat Rodeo nearly 1...
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  • Goat Rodeo with Aoife O'Donovan perform 'The Trappings' for Colbert: #PlayAtHome series / JamBase
    Posted At: July 31, 2020 12:00 AM

    Supergroup Goat Rodeo featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan and bassist Edgar Meyer are featured in the latest installment of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert‘s #PlayAtHome video series. The quartet is joined by vocalist Aoife O'Donovan for a performance of "The Trappings." "The Trappings" appears on the group's recently released sophomore st...
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  • 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' is an unqualified 'A' / The Graham Album Review
    Posted At: July 27, 2020 12:00 AM

    It used to be that musicians playing in specific styles tended not to collaborate much. There seemed to be steep walls between, for example, classical music and rock and bluegrass. There were occasional efforts at fusing disparate styles, but they tended to come off as one-off novelties, and not lasting associations. These days, the musical world is much more stylistically diverse, with musicians from wh...
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  • 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' is a celebration of chaos / mxdwn.com
    Posted At: July 8, 2020 12:00 AM

    Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Myer and Chris Thile, each highly accomplished musicians in their own right, unite in their eagerly anticipated follow up album to Grammy Award winning The Goat Rodeo Sessions.  "Goat Rodeo" is an expression meaning a chaotic situation, one in which everything has to go right by skill or luck, or everything will be thrown off course. It's an appropriate title for t...
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  • Ma, Thile, Meyer, Duncan - Not Our First Goat Rodeo is the WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: July 6, 2020 12:00 AM

    Not Our First Goat Rodeo is the long-awaited follow-up album to the Grammy Award-winning Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile. Both albums combine the talents of the four solo artists to create a singular sound that's part composed, part improvised, and uniquely American. The music is so complex to pull off that the group likens it to a goat rodeo – an avia...
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  • Lovely and light-fingered, 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' takes some daredevil rides into the unknown / San Francisco Classical Voice
    Posted At: June 28, 2020 12:00 AM

    Is there a classical performer more keenly attuned to the moment than the cellist and musical ambassador Yo-Yo Ma? When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March, Ma launched a participatory social media project (#SongsOf Comfort) that's tapped a deep need for music as a unifying force in these isolating times. The performer's ongoing performances of Bach's Cello Suites around the world have seemed sim...
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  • The highly anticipated; 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo,' seemed inevitable for these musicians / Associated Press
    Posted At: June 19, 2020 12:00 AM

    Sony Music Masterworks today releases Not Our First Goat Rodeo, the long-awaited follow-up album to the GRAMMY Award-winning The Goat Rodeo Sessions, with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile. Making its debut alongside the new album is a live performance video for the song "The Trappings," featuring guest artist Aoife O'Donovan. Sharing the story behind the track, Yo-Yo Ma recalls: ...
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  • 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo' releases; 'The Trappings' / Violinist.com
    Posted At: June 19, 2020 12:00 AM

    Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Yo-Yo Ma, cello, Chris Thile, mandolin, Stuart Duncan, violin, Edgar Meyer, bass have released 'Not Our First Goat Rodeo.'...
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  • Goats, Rodeos and Music / NPR
    Posted At: June 16, 2020 12:00 AM

    Between the pandemic, the economic crisis and now protests, 2020 has already been a lot. Yo-Yo Ma has been coping, and trying to help the rest of us cope, with music. The cellist has been posting videos of himself playing what he calls "Songs of Comfort." "I do believe that everything that we do," he says, "people in every profession - medical workers, the delivery people, the politicians - we all are th...
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  • Ahead of Mondavi Center, Chris Thile talks about 'Live From Here' with Capital Public Radio
    Posted At: August 17, 2018 12:00 AM

    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} Live from Here with Chris Thile is a Saturday-night destination for audiences everywhere. This variety show features a unique blend of musical performances, comedy and audience interaction. Acclaimed musician an...
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  • Chris Thile set to host 'A Prairie Home Companion'
    Posted At: February 8, 2015 12:00 AM

    Garrison Keillor takes a two-week break from his radio duties, and lets Chris Thile step to the centerstage mic at the Minnestota Public Radio's Fitzgerald Theater hosting A Prairie Home Companion for Garrison Keillor February 7 and 14. Thile will be joined live by his string quintet comrades Punch Brothers, singer Sarah Jarosz, poet Billy Collins, and storyteller Tristan Jimerson. As alway...
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  • HUFFPOST Entertainment Conversation with Chris Thile
    Posted At: September 23, 2013 12:00 AM

    Chris Thile: Mike, how are you doing? Mike Ragogna: Oh, I'm doing well, how are you doing, man? CT: I'm doing great, just sort of galavanting around Portland, Oregon, right now. MR: Good for you, nice, hope you're having a greattime. So Chris. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas Part 1. What's going on here? CT: I know, I know, I know, Crazytown right? I was exposed to Bach when ...
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  • Goat Rodeo plays KCRW World Festival@the Hollywood Bowl
    Posted At: August 25, 2013 12:00 AM

    An astounding group of virtuosos – Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Chris Thile on mandolin, Edgar Meyer on bass and Stuart Duncan on fiddle, also known as The Goat Rodeo' play the Hollywood Bowl TONIGHT!!! Sunday, August 25th. Check out this evening of Celtic, bluegrass, jazz, and beyond by an astounding group of virtuosos - The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a collaborative album by these four musicia...
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  • The Goat Rodeo Sessions Band plays Rohnert Park CA: Green Music Center
    Posted At: August 23, 2013 12:00 AM

    The Goat Rodeo Sessions: cellist Yo-Yo Ma, fiddler Stuart Duncan, bassist Edgar Meyer, and mandolin player Chris Thile, come to the Green Music Center, TONIGHT!! Friday Aust 23rd@7:30 p.m. 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. READ THE Press Democrat STORY...
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  • A Hipster Goes for Baroque: Chris Thile / The Wall Street Journal
    Posted At: August 22, 2013 12:00 AM

    Chris Thile has never been shy about genre-hopping. In his early 20s, singing and playing with the band Nickel Creek, the mandolin virtuoso covered songs by slacker-rock heroes Pavement, picking along with a fiddler and a guitarist. And a year ago, he was onstage with his band at Bonnaroo, the Tennessee summer music festival, working the crowd with acoustic string-band covers of rock songs by The Cars, R...
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  • Goat Rodeo plays Detroit's Meadow Brook Music Festival
    Posted At: August 21, 2013 12:00 AM

    World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma will bring his Grammy Award-winning bluegrass collaboration, Goat Rodeo Sessions, to the Meadow Brook Music Festival on Wednesday, August 21 at 8 p.m. An astounding group of virtuosos – Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Chris Thile on mandolin, Edgar Meyer on bass and Stuart Duncan on fiddle – come together in this Grammy award-winning collaboration. From high-spirited Ce...
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  • Win a Collings mandolin to celebrate Chris Thile's Bach release
    Posted At: August 19, 2013 12:00 AM

    To celebrate the release of Chris Thile's latest album, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, D'Addario Strings, Collings Guitars and Mandolins and the Mandolin Cafe are giving away a brand new Collings MT2 mandolin. READ THE FULL ARTICLE...
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  • Goat Rodeo plays Chicago's Ravinia Festival
    Posted At: August 18, 2013 12:00 AM

    In a brilliant mashup of genres, Yo-Yo Ma shares the stage with three other world-class instrumentalists-bluegrass/classical bass player Edgar Meyer, Nashville fiddler Stuart Duncan, and mandolinist Chris Thile (of Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers)-to play The Goat Rodeo Sessions at Ravinia TONIGHT, Sunday August 18. This is set to be collaborative folk show of the month for the Chicago venue. READ THE FU...
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  • The Goat Rodeo Sessions are: LIVE@Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
    Posted At: August 16, 2013 12:00 AM

    Experience The Goat Rodeo Sessions LIVE featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile with guest Aoife O'Donovan TONIGHT!! Friday, August 16 at 8:00 p.m. Bethel Woods. This exclusive pavilion only concert event brings together these four string virtuosos: world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, legendary Bluegrass fiddler Stuart Duncan, acclaimed bassist Edgar Meyer, man...
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  • Goat Rodeo rides in to Tanglewood
    Posted At: August 15, 2013 12:00 AM

    TONIGHT!!, Thursday August 15th in Lenox MA., Yo-Yo Ma brings together his band of four American string virtuosos and one superb singer: (bassist Edgar Meyer, mandolinist Chris Thile, and fiddler Stuart Duncan, vocalist Aoife O'Donovan) to create a new kind of chamber ensemble to Tanglewood called 'Goat Rodeo.' While each musician is a renowned superstar in his own sphere, they have come toge...
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  • NPR: Weekend Edition Sunday / Chris Thile Looks Back To Bach
    Posted At: August 11, 2013 12:00 AM

    There's the mandolin - and then there's the mandolin when Chris Thile puts it to work. He started playing with the band Nickel Creek when he was just 8, and recorded his debut solo album at 12. In his early 20s, he pushed the mandolin to new places as a member of Punch Brothers. Today, Thile is stretching the limits of his instrument yet again - this time taking on Johann Sebastian Bach. He&#...
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  • Chris Thile promotes Bach recording on WNYC: Soundcheck
    Posted At: August 8, 2013 12:00 AM

    Chris Thile makes an appearance on Soundcheck® TODAY!! Thursday August 8. Soundcheck® is WNYC's on-air and online destination for new music, live performances and engaging conversations with artists, critics and tastemakers, and is hosted by John Schaefer every weeknight at 9 p.m. on 93.9 FM and WNYC.org. Chris Thile plays well with others -- he came into prominence thanks to h...
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  • PBS NewsHour / Chris Thile: Bach Sontas and Partitas
    Posted At: August 5, 2013 12:00 AM

    Modern master of the mandolin Chris Thile hates being boxed in by genres, and has made his reputation by going beyond traditional tunes. With a new album of works by Bach, the virtuoso easily moves from Americana to classical. Jeffrey Brown from the PBS NewsHour talks to Thile the Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan, about his career and who he calls the greatest musician who ever lived....
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  • Aoife O'Donovan releases 'Fossils' on YepRoc
    Posted At: July 11, 2013 12:00 AM

    Yep Roc is pleased to announce that Aoife O'Donovan's debut solo album, Fossils, is now available everywhere. The track "Beekeeper" from the album, is featured today as iTunes' Single of the Week.  The thing about fossils is that they take a very long time in the making, and it's not an entirely intentional process. The making of Aoife O'Donovan's debut album, Fossils, ha...
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  • Goat Rodeo Sessions Take Multiple Grammys
    Posted At: February 13, 2013 12:00 AM

    The term 'goat rodeo' refers to a chaotic event where many things must go right for the situation to work. "If there were forks in the road and each time there was a fork, the right decision was made, then you get to a goat rodeo." Says Yo-Yo Ma. The band is Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Stewart Duncan and Aoife O'Donovan. This collaborative album "The Goat Rodeo Sessions" won the 2...
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  • A 'Goat Rodeo.' Performed Perfectly In Sync
    Posted At: January 17, 2013 12:00 AM

      In Aviation, a "Goat Rodeo" is a situation that becomes so chaotic that everything needs to be performed perfectly in sync for it to turn out ok. This is an oddly fitting title to Yo Yo Ma's latest. The Goat Rodeo Sessions', written by Stuart Duncan, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, and joined by singer Aoife O'Donovan, is Ma's second attempt at a classical/bluegrass crossover since S...
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  • Goat Rodeo, Order from Chaos
    Posted At: August 20, 2012 11:30 AM

    Thanks to a fortuitous "goat rodeo," Sony Masterworks is releasing The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a landmark album project by four of the great instrumentalists in music today. The album uniquely showcases cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer, mandolinist Chris Thile and fiddler Stuart Duncan. While each musician is a renowned superstar in his own music sphere, they have come together now as a unified ensembl...
    Bookmark and Share

  • 4 Musicians, 1 Rodeo
    Posted At: July 19, 2012 12:00 AM

    As described by Chris Thile and according to Urban Dictionary, a goat rodeo is "about the most polite term used by aviation people (and others in higher risk situations) to describe a scenario that requires about 100 things to go right at once if you intend to walk away from it." The Goat Rodeo Sessions is a collaboration of four of the greatest instrumentalists in music today and showcases cellist Y...
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