Noam Pikelny is a banjoist, vocalist, and composer of progressive contemporary bluegrass best known as a current member of Punch Brothers and past member of Leftover Salmon. Pikelny hails from Chicago, IL, where he spent his youth in joint custody between Wrigley Field and the Old Town School of Folk Music. During high school, he played all over Illinois and Indiana with several traditional bluegrass bands, who occasionally required him to wear a uniform. He studied music at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, before loading up the truck and moving to Boulder. Colorado, that is. In 2002, he became the principal banjoist with the award winning Colorado ensemble, Leftover Salmon. His debut solo record, In the Maze, was released on Compass Records, and though it did not have much success on the charts, it made a splash in the world of postmodern progressive three-finger style five-string banjo. He relocated to Nashville, TN, in 2006 to play with New Grass Revival bassist and vocalist John Cowan. He starting performing and recording with mandolinist, fellow Cubs fan, and biggest hero, Chris Thile, in the fall of 2005. Noam relocated to Brooklyn, NY in the spring of 2008. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.