After 17 years together, the members of Nickel Creek decided it was time to take a break.

“We’ve spent the greater part of our lives organizing and arranging everything around Nickel Creek’s touring, recording and writing schedules,” singer and fiddler Sara Watkins said in an April interview with the Advocate.

“We’re excited about the idea of being in a place where we can put this on hold and let the creative ground lie fallow for awhile.”

Catch Nickel Creek on its “Farewell (For Now) Tour” when it appears with opening act Derek Hughes on April 29 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino.

For Sean Watkins, Sara Watkins’ brother and the band’s guitarist, the current tour is a way to provide a memorable farewell to those loyal fans who have supported the trio, he told the Mobile (Ala.) Register.

When the tour wraps up in May, the band members will be able to concentrate on other pursuits. And given each member’s age — Sara Watkins is 25, Sean Watkins is 30 and mandolin/banjo player Chris Thile is 26 — there should be plenty of time for them to reunite.

“We love the band, and we love each other so much,” Sara Watkins told the Advocate. “It’s a rare thing to have your co-workers be practically family members. At the same time, this (hiatus) is probably the best idea for all of us.”

Sara and Sean Watkins and Thile began performing as a group in 1989, when all three were preteens in San Diego, according to All Music Guide. Nickel Creek soon was formed, with Thile’s father, Scott, joining the band on bass. Nickel Creek was a regular on the festival circuit through most of the 1990s, during which time Chris Thile recorded two solo albums, 1994’s “Leading Off” and 1997’s “Stealing Second.”

Nickel Creek landed a record deal in 1998 with the help of bluegrass singer-fiddler Allison Krauss; she produced the band’s self-titled debut in 2000, according to All Music Guide. With the band established, Scott Thile left the group.

The band’s sophomore effort, 2002’s “This Side,” won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2005, Nickel Creek released its third album, “Why Should the Fire Die?,” which marked the band members’ growth as musicians and their departure from bluegrass tradition.

Individually, the members have pursued solo projects and collaborations. Sean Watkins has released three solo albums, while Thile has released five, including his latest, “How to Grow a Woman From the Ground,” in 2006. Sara and Sean Watkins regularly perform in jam sessions called the “Watkins Family Hour,” and Sean Watkins is collaborating with Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, according to the Register.

Sara Watkins told the Advocate it will be an emotional farewell tour.

“I’m sure I’m going to be crying different nights, probably unexpected moments, but in a really honest and beautiful way,” she said. “A lot of the other stuff will be special in the way that anything is special when you realize that it’s not going to be around forever. ... Nothing is going be Nickel Creek except Nickel Creek.

“I’m not looking for anything to top this. It can’t be duplicated in my life.”