Watch Nickel Creek Cover Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ For 1st Time In 16 Years

Nickel Creek brought their first headlining tour since 2014 to Ting Pavilion in Charlottesville, Virginia on Thursday night. The concert saw Chris Thile, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins dusting off their cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” for the first time in 16 years.

Nickel Creek treated the Virginia college town to a career-spanning set, touching on all five of their previous albums stretching back to their 2000 self-titled major label debut. The band opened the concert with one from their latest LP, “Where The Long Line Leads,” off 2022’s Celebrants, their first record since 2014’s A Dotted Line.

The trio would go on to play eight of Celebrants’ 18 songs including the singles “Strangers” and “Holding Pattern” along with the title track. The trio also offered deeper cuts like “Going Out,” “To The Airport” and “…Despite The Weather” and “New Blood.”

Following “Scotch And Chocolate” from 2005’s Why Should The Fire Die, Nickel Creek” broke out Britney Spears’ “Toxic” — from the pop star’s 2003 album In The Zone — for the first time since November 16, 2007, as per SetlistFM stats. Mandolinist Chris Thile handled lead vocals with fiddler Sara Watkins joining him in harmony and also reeling off the song’s high-register string line as guitarist Sean Watkins and touring bassist Mark Schatz held down the rhythm. Chris joked with Sean, singing “you know that you’re toxic, Sean” before bringing the fun cover home.

Watch Nickel Creek cover “Toxic” for the first time in 16 years below: