Molly Tuttle | |
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 Tuttle in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Molly Rose Tuttle (1993-01-14)January 14, 1993 (age 32) Santa Clara, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Compass Nonesuch |
| Website | mollytuttlemusic |
Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993)[1] is an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, banjo player, recording artist, and teacher in thebluegrass tradition. She is noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer,[2] andcrosspicking[3] guitar prowess. She has citedLaurie Lewis,Kathy Kallick,Alison Krauss andHazel Dickens as role models.[4] In 2017, Tuttle was the first woman to win theInternational 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 theBest Bluegrass Album forCrooked Tree and also received a nomination for the all-genreBest New Artist award at the65th Annual Grammy Awards.[6] In 2023, Tuttle and Golden Highway won International Bluegrass Music Awards for their albumCrooked 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]
Tuttle was born inSanta Clara, California, and raised inPalo 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), andmandolist AJ Lee[11] were also in the band.[12]
In 2006, at age 13, Tuttle recordedThe Old Apple Tree with her father, an album of duets.[13] She graduated fromPalo Alto High School in 2011.[14][15] In 2011, the Tuttles self-released theirIntroducing the Tuttles album,[16] and theEndless Ocean album in 2013.[17]
In 2012, Tuttle was awarded merit scholarships to theBerklee 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 theMerlefest Music Festival,[20] and appeared with her father onA Prairie Home Companion.[21]
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 EPGoing to Boston in 2014 and the albumSnowy Side of the Mountain in 2016,[23] and toured Jonsson's home country ofSweden several times.[24] Tuttle also recordedMolly Tuttle & John Mailander, a duet EP with fiddler John Mailander.[25]
In 2018, she joinedAlison Brown,Missy Raines,Sierra Hull, andBecky Buller in asupergroup. The quintet performed at the Rockygrass Festival inLyons, 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 theIBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 28, 2018. Tuttle collaborated withBilly 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 album byMissy Raines, titledRoyal Traveler, released in 2018 onCompass Records.[26]
In 2015, Tuttle moved from Boston to Nashville.[27] Her EPRise 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 includedDarrell 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 byBuddy Miller to join his "Cavalcade of Stars" section ofHardly Strictly Bluegrass on the Rooster Stage on October 6, 2018.
In 2017, Tuttle signed withAlison Brown'sCompass Records.[30][31] She released her debut albumWhen You're Ready via Compass Records on April 5, 2019, andbut I'd rather be with you again on Compass Records in August 2020.[32]
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 titledCrooked Tree on April 1, 2022. Their follow-up album,City of Gold, was released in July 2023.[33] Both won theGrammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
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 byJay Joyce and preceded by the single "That's Gonna Leave a Mark".[35]
Tuttle was diagnosed withalopecia areata when she was three years old, which quickly progressed toalopecia universalis, resulting in total body hair loss.[36] Tuttle has been in a relationship withKetch Secor ofOld Crow Medicine Show since 2023.[37]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat [38] | US Indie [39] | US Bluegrass [40] | |||
| When You're Ready | 5 | 11 | — |
| |
| But I'd Rather Be with You |
| — | — | — | |
| Crooked Tree[42] |
| 12 | — | 1 | |
| City of Gold |
| 22 | — | 1 | |
| So Long Little Miss Sunshine |
| — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat | US Indie | US Bluegrass | |||
| Rise |
| 18 | 47 | 2 | |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US AAA | |||
| "That's Gonna Leave a Mark" | 2025 | 13 | So Long Little Miss Sunshine |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Momentum Award | Herself | Won | |
| 2017 | Guitar Player of the Year | Won | [43][5] | ||
| 2018 | International Folk Music Awards | Song of the Year | "You Didn't Call My Name" | Won | |
| Americana Music Honors & Awards | Instrumentalist of the Year | Herself | Won | [44] | |
| International Bluegrass Music Awards | Emerging Artist of the Year | Nominated | [45] | ||
| Guitar Player of the Year | Won | ||||
| Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Album of the Year | Rise | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | "You Didn't Call My Name" | Nominated | |||
| Recorded Event of the Year | "Swept Away"[A] | Won | |||
| 2019 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [46] |
| Guitar Player of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Song of the Year | "Take the Journey"[B] | Nominated | |||
| Collaborative Recording Of The Year | "Soldiers Joy/Ragtime Annie"[C] | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [47] |
| Guitar Player of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [48] |
| Guitar Player of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2022 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Entertainer of the Year | Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway | Nominated | [49][50] |
| Instrumental Group of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | Won | |||
| Guitar Player of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Album of the Year | Crooked Tree | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated | [6] |
| Best Bluegrass Album | Crooked Tree | Won | |||
| International Folk Music Awards | Album of the Year | Won | [51] | ||
| International Bluegrass Music Awards | Entertainer of the Year | Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway | Nominated | [52] | |
| Instrumental Group of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Song of the Year | "Crooked Tree" | Won | |||
| Album of the Year | Crooked Tree | Won | |||
| Collaborative Recording of the Year | "From My Mountain (Calling You)"[D] | Nominated | |||
| Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | Won | |||
| Guitar Player of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best Bluegrass Album | City of Gold | Won | [53] |
| 2026 | Grammy Awards | Best Americana Album | So Long Little Miss Sunshine | Pending | [54] |
| Best Americana Performance | "That's Gonna Leave a Mark" | Pending |
^ A. withMissy Raines,Alison Brown,Becky Buller andSierra Hull
^ B. Molly Tuttle (artist), Molly Tuttle/Sarah Siskind (writer)
^ C. withRoland White,Justin Hiltner,Jon Weisberger andPatrick McAvinue
^ D. withPeter Rowan andLindsay Lou
Molly Tuttle, a 14-year-old freshman at Paly, has been preserving the underappreciated tradition of performing bluegrass music for six years.
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