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Molly Tuttle
American musician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993)[1] is an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, banjo player, recording artist, and teacher in the bluegrass tradition. She is noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer,[2] and crosspicking[3] guitar prowess. She has cited Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, Alison Krauss and Hazel Dickens as role models.[4] In 2017, Tuttle was the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association's Guitar Player of the Year award.[5] In 2018 she won the award again, and was named the Americana Music Association's Instrumentalist of the Year. In 2023, Tuttle won the Best Bluegrass Album for Crooked Tree and also received a nomination for the all-genre Best New Artist award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.[6] In 2023, Tuttle and Golden Highway won International Bluegrass Music Awards for their album Crooked Tree and for the title track, in the categories of Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Tuttle was Female Vocalist of the Year.[7]
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Biography
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Early career
Tuttle was born in Santa Clara, California, and raised in Palo Alto. She began playing guitar at age 8.[8][9][10] At age 11 she played onstage with her father Jack Tuttle, a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and instructor.[10] At age 15, she joined her family band The Tuttles with AJ Lee. Her siblings Sullivan (guitar) and Michael (mandolin), and mandolist AJ Lee[11] were also in the band.[12]
In 2006, at age 13, Tuttle recorded The Old Apple Tree with her father, an album of duets.[13] She graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2011.[14][15] In 2011, the Tuttles self-released their Introducing the Tuttles album,[16] and the Endless Ocean album in 2013.[17]
In 2012, Tuttle was awarded merit scholarships to the Berklee College of Music for music and composition.[18] She received the Foundation for Bluegrass Music's first Hazel Dickens Memorial Scholarship,[19] won the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at the Merlefest Music Festival,[20] and appeared with her father on A Prairie Home Companion.[21]
Collaborations
While studying at the Berklee College of Music in 2014, Tuttle met and joined the all-female bluegrass group the Goodbye Girls[20] which combined bluegrass, jazz, and Swedish folk music.[22] Other members were Allison de Groot (banjo), Lena Jonsson (fiddle), and Brittany Karlson (bass). The group released an EP Going to Boston in 2014 and the album Snowy Side of the Mountain in 2016,[23] and toured Jonsson's home country of Sweden several times.[24] Tuttle also recorded Molly Tuttle & John Mailander, a duet EP with fiddler John Mailander.[25]
In 2018, she joined Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull, and Becky Buller in a supergroup. The quintet performed at the Rockygrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado, on July 27, 2018. Initially known as the Julia Belles, the group became known as the First Ladies of Bluegrass. Additional gigs were played at Analog at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville on September 18, 2018, and the IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 28, 2018. Tuttle collaborated with Billy Strings on the songs "Sittin' on Top of the World" and "Billy in the Lowground." The First Ladies of Bluegrass were featured on the first single from a full-length CD album by Missy Raines, titled Royal Traveler, released in 2018 on Compass Records.[26]
Solo career
In 2015, Tuttle moved from Boston to Nashville.[27] Her EP Rise was released in 2017 after a crowdfunding campaign. She wrote all of the songs on the 7-song album, which was produced by Kai Welch.[28] Guests included Darrell Scott, the Milk Carton Kids, Kathy Kallick, and Nathaniel Smith.[29] She formed The Molly Tuttle Band, which included Wes Corbett (banjo), Joe K. Walsh (mandolin), and Hasee Ciaccio (bass).[20] Tuttle was selected by Buddy Miller to join his "Cavalcade of Stars" section of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on the Rooster Stage on October 6, 2018.
In 2017, Tuttle signed with Alison Brown's Compass Records.[30][31] She released her debut album When You're Ready via Compass Records on April 5, 2019 and but I'd rather be with you again on Compass Records in August 2020.[32]
Golden Highway
In 2021, Tuttle assembled her new "dream" band, Golden Highway, including Shelby Means on bass, Kyle Tuttle on banjo, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on fiddle, and Dominick Leslie on mandolin, everyone sharing or supporting vocals. In January 2022, Nonesuch Records announced a release by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway titled Crooked Tree on April 1, 2022. Their follow-up album, City of Gold, was released in July 2023.[33] Both won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
New Band
Tuttle announced the dissolution of Golden Highway in May 2025, with many band members pursuing solo careers, and revealed a new, all-female band that would begin touring with her in July.[34] Her new album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, was set for release on August 15, 2025. The project was produced by Jay Joyce and preceded by the single "That's Gonna Leave a Mark".[35]
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Personal life
Tuttle was diagnosed with alopecia areata when she was three years old, which quickly progressed to alopecia universalis, resulting in total body hair loss.[36]
Discography
Solo albums
Extended plays
The Goodbye Girls
- 2014: Going to Boston (self-released)
- 2016: Snowy Side of the Mountain (self-released)
Molly Tuttle and John Mailander
- 2014: Molly Tuttle and John Mailander EP (Back Studio)
The Tuttles With AJ Lee
- 2012: Introducing the Tuttles with AJ Lee (self-released)
- 2013: Endless Ocean (self-released)
Molly and Jack Tuttle
- 2007: The Old Apple Tree (Back Studio)
Singles
As a featured artist
- 2015: Mile Rocks - Mile Rocks and Friends (Audio & Video Labs)
- 2017: AJ Lee - AJ Lee (self-released)
- 2017: Korby Lenker - Thousand Springs (Relativity)
- 2017: Bobby Osborne - Original (Compass)
- 2017: Billy Strings - Turmoil & Tinfoil (Apostol)
- 2019: Old Crow Medicine Show - "Live at the Ryman" (Columbia)
- 2021: Béla Fleck - "My Bluegrass Heart" (Renew)
- 2025: Ringo Starr - "I Live for Your Love"
- 2025: Ringo Starr - "Look Up"
- 2025: Ringo Starr - "Can You Hear Me Call"
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Awards and nominations
^ A. with Missy Raines, Alison Brown, Becky Buller and Sierra Hull
^ B. Molly Tuttle (artist), Molly Tuttle/Sarah Siskind (writer)
^ C. with Roland White, Justin Hiltner, Jon Weisberger and Patrick McAvinue
^ D. with Peter Rowan and Lindsay Lou
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References
External links
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