With Elephant Revival, 8 p.m. Saturday, Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave., $39.50-$59.50, 799-4139,
pikespeakcenter.com

The trio of musicians in Nickel Creek grew up performing together, but ultimately it was the nearly seven years spent concentrating on their own separate musical interests that made returning the stage together all the more exciting.

Fiddler Sara Watkins, her brother and guitarist Sean Watkins and mandolin player Chris Thile reunited last year in Los Angeles with the modest goal of a 25-city tour to mark 25 years since the band formed and an EP of new songs. They wondered if their fans would return nine years after their last record.

“It’s really easy to lose fans these days,” Sara Watkins said.

Instead, the reunion resulted in a full-length album, sold-out shows and an expanded tour, which includes a performance at the Pikes Peak Center on Saturday. (Local favorite Elephant Revival opens.) “A Dotted Line” debuted at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 this past spring – a strong showing for a bluegrass album that answered the question about fan interest.

Starting out in Southern California as pre-teens hitting the bluegrass circuit, the trio achieved a Grammy Award, two gold albums and popularity outside the genre by the time members reached their 20s. But they took a break after realizing they couldn’t fit all their musical interests and pursuits under the Nickel Creek umbrella.

“I think we were kind of imposing the width and breadth of our individual musicianship on the project at all moments,” Thile said. “And no single project can stand that kind of intensity.”

During their hiatus following a 2007 farewell tour, Thile went on a prolific run, forming the Punch Brothers, winning a MacArthur Foundation grant, collaborating with Yo-Yo Ma and writing classical music for the mandolin. The Watkins siblings went in separate directions, with Sara recording two solo albums and Sean working with two other bands, but the two also continued to perform together.

Sara Watkins said they haven’t made any long-term plans for the band after this summer’s tour, but her brother said they will always find a home with Nickel Creek.

“I think we’ll always sort of be a band,” he said. “It’s kind of a short and sweet little summer of getting to do these songs and these new songs.”

Kristin M. Hall, The Associated Press

This undated image released by Nonesuch shows members of Nickel Creek, from left, Chris Thile, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. The trio of musicians from Nickel Creek grew up performing together, but ultimately it was the nearly seven years spent concentrating on their own separate musical interests that made returning to the stage together all the more exciting. They reunited last year in Los Angeles with the modest goal of a small 25-city tour to mark 25 years since the band formed and an EP of new songs. That quickly blossomed into a full-length album and they are starting on the expanded second leg of that tour in July, including stops at Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. (AP Photo/Nonesuch)

AP