The tour kicks off April 12 in Savannah, Ga., and so far is scheduled to run through the middle of May. The band will also be performing at the Rocky Grass Festival in Lyons, Colo., July 29 and at the Four Corners Folk Festival in Pagosa Springs, Colo., September 29.

A statement from the band explains that the decision to take time off wasn’t prompted by animosity among the group’s members. In fact the motivating factor is quite the opposite. The band is so pleased with the results of their third album, Why Should the Fire Die?, they can’t imagine coming up with anything better right now.All three members of the band say they’d like to devote more time to other projects. In fact, Thile and Sean Watkins have been juggling other work besides Nickel Creek for several years now.

Thile has a bluegrass album, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, which was released last September, he’d like to promote; a project with bassist Edgar Meyer, and he wants to work on what the statement describes as “an ambitious composition.”

Sean Watkins wants to devote his attention to an upcoming release, Blinders On, which is a collaboration with Switchfoot‘s John Foreman, as well as a bluegrass EP and says he has a number of “other irons in the fire.”

Sara Watkins, while guarded about her plans, says she does has some specific goals and has a list of people she’d like to work with on a number of different projects.