Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993) is an American vocalist, songwriter, banjo player and guitarist, recording artist and teacher in the bluegrass tradition, noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer, and crosspicking guitar prowess. She has cited Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick,

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

and Hazel Dickens as role models. In 2017, Tuttle was the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association's Guitar Player of the Year award. In 2018 she won the award again, along with being named the Americana Music Association's Instrumentalist of the Year. Tuttle received a Best Bluegrass Album and all-genre

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

nomination at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 3 ...

Biography

Early career

Born in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

and raised in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, Tuttle began playing guitar at age 8. At age 11, she played onstage with her father Jack Tuttle, a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and instructor. At age 15, she joined her family band The Tuttles with AJ Lee. Her siblings Sullivan (guitar) and Michael (mandolin), and mandolist AJ Lee are also in the band. In 2006, at age 13, Tuttle recorded ''The Old Apple Tree'' with her dad, an album of duets. Tuttle graduated from

Palo Alto High School Palo Alto Senior High School, commonly referred to locally as "Paly", is a comprehensive public high school in Palo Alto, California. Operated by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the school is one of two schools in the district, the other b ...

in 2011. In 2011, the Tuttles self-released their ''Introducing the Tuttles'' album, and the ''Endless Ocean'' album in 2013. In 2012, Tuttle was awarded merit scholarships to the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

for music and composition, received the Foundation for Bluegrass Music's first Hazel Dickens Memorial Scholarship, won the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at the Merlefest Music Festival, and appeared with her dad on ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed '' Live from ...

''.

Collaborations

While studying at the Berklee College of Music, in 2014, Tuttle met and joined the all-female bluegrass group the Goodbye Girls. They combine bluegrass, jazz, and Swedish folk music. Other members are Allison de Groot (banjo), Lena Jonsson (fiddle), and Brittany Karlson (bass). They released an EP ''Going to Boston'' in 2014, and the album ''Snowy Side of the Mountain'' in 2016. The band has also toured Jonsson's home country Sweden several times. Tuttle also recorded ''Molly Tuttle & John Mailander'', a duet EP with fiddler John Mailander. In 2018, she joined

Alison Brown Alison Brown (born August 7, 1962) is an American banjo player, guitarist, composer, and producer. She has won and has been nominated for several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck, for her unique style of ...

, Missy Raines,

Sierra Hull Sierra Dawn Hull (born September 27, 1991) is an American bluegrass singer-songwriter, mandolinist, and guitarist. Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13 and released her debut vocal album, ''Secrets'', in 2008 at the age of 16. T ...

, and

Becky Buller Rebecca “Becky” Haley Buller is an American bluegrass singer-songwriter, fiddle player, and music teacher. Buller is the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Award for Fiddle Player of the Year as well as the first artist t ...

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 later became known as the First Ladies of Bluegrass. Additional gigs were booked at Analog at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville on Sept 18, 2018 and the IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 28, 2018. She also collaborated with Billy Strings on the songs "Sittin' on Top of the World" and "Billy in the Lowground." The First Ladies of Bluegrass are featured on the first single from a full-length CD by Missy Raines titled ''Royal Traveler'' released in 2018 on Compass Records.

Solo career

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - Blue Ridge Music Center - Galax VA - September 03, 2022

In 2015, Tuttle moved from Boston to Nashville. 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. Guests included

Darrell Scott James Darrell Scott, known as Darrell Scott (born August 6, 1959), is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The son of musician Wayne Scott, he moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana (known today as Lake Station, Indiana). ...

the Milk Carton Kids The Milk Carton Kids are an American indie folk duo from Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, Eagle Rock, California, United States, consisting of singers and guitarists Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, who began making music together in early 2011. The ba ...

, Kathy Kallick, and Nathaniel Smith. She formed The Molly Tuttle Band, which includes Wes Corbett (banjo), Joe K. Walsh (mandolin), and Hasee Ciaccio (bass). In 2017, Tuttle signed with

Compass Records Compass Records is an independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown that specializes in folk, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and acoustic music. In 2006, Compass purchased the Green Linnet and Xenophile catalogs, ...

. Molly was selected by

Buddy Miller Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller ...

to join his "Cavalcade of Stars" section of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on the Rooster Stage on October 6, 2018. Tuttle released her debut album ''When You're Ready'' via Compass Records on April 5, 2019. Next she released ''... but I'd rather be with you'' again on Compass Records in August 2020. In January 2022, Nonesuch Records announced a release by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway titled '' Crooked Tree'' on April 1, 2022.

Personal life

Tuttle was diagnosed with

alopecia areata Alopecia areata, also known as spot baldness, is a condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body. Often, it results in a few bald spots on the scalp, each about the size of a coin. Psychological stress and illness are po ...

when she was three years old, which quickly progressed to alopecia universalis, resulting in total body hair loss.

Discography

Solo albums

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)

As a featured artist

* 2015: Mile Rocks - ''Mile Rocks and Friends'' (Audio & Video Labs) * 2017: AJ Lee - ''AJ Lee'' (self-released) * 2017:

Korby Lenker Korby Lenker is an American folk and Americana singer-songwriter, writer, and actor. He is known for his album ''Thousand Springs'' and his book of short stories, ''Medium Hero.'' The son of a mortician and a school teacher, Lenker was born in 1 ...

- ''Thousand Springs'' (Relativity) * 2017: Bobby Osborne - ''Original'' (

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

) * 2017: Billy Strings - ''Turmoil & Tinfoil'' (Apostol) * 2019:

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, '' Remedy'', released in 2014, won the ...

- “Live at the Ryman” (Columbia) * 2021:

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

- “ My Bluegrass Heart” (Renew)

Awards and nominations

A. with Missy Raines,

and

B. Molly Tuttle (artist), Molly Tuttle/

Sarah Siskind Sarah Siskind (born April 15, 1978) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Career Siskind grew up in North Carolina in a musical household. She learned the piano at an early age, began writing songs at age eleven and recorded her first alb ...

(writer)
C.

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

with

Justin Hiltner Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

Jon Weisberger Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Patrick McAvinue, and Molly Tuttle (artists),

Ty Gilpin Ty (stylized as ty) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was founded by Ty Warner in 1986. It designs, develops and sells products, most notably Beanie Babies, exclusively to speci ...

Jon Weisberger Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Mountain Home Music Company A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

(label)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Molly 1993 births Living people American bluegrass guitarists American bluegrass musicians Singer-songwriters from California American women country singers American country singer-songwriters 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from California Palo Alto High School alumni People from Santa Clara, California People from Palo Alto, California Berklee College of Music alumni