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It’s the day before New Year’s Eve in Nashville, and Molly Tuttle is in the Ryman Auditorium dressing room getting ready to open the Old Crow Medicine Show’s annual year-end concerts later that night. Tuttle has played the Ryman stage in the past, but this time he’s doing so with a prominent asterisk next to his name: The bluegrass guitarist is nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy.
Tuttle is about to turn 30 in January (the 14th, to be exact), and she reflects on the past decade, when she left her native California at just 19 to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. “It’s really cool to think back to the last 10 years when there was so much doubt, when I was like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work,'” says Tuttle A rolling stone. “But in the last few years of my twenties it all came together.”
Last spring, Tuttle released his third solo album, Crooked tree, to rave reviews. She and her band Golden Highway broke live performances at major festivals from coast to coast; they will play Bonnaroo and Under the Big Sky this summer. In September, she took home the International Bluegrass Music Award (IBMA) for Female Vocalist of the Year. (The organization previously named her Guitarist of the Year in 2017 and 2018.)
But a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist is different. The field is global and covers all genres: Tuttle’s fellow nominees include names such as British indie rockers Wet Leg, Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta and Italian rock band Måneskin. Seeing a bluegrass artist compete for Best New Artist is historic in itself — Tuttle is the first nominee in the category since its inception in 1960.
“[Being nominated] is wild This is not something I ever imagined would happen. It’s exciting for me to represent bluegrass in this way,” says Tuttle, who earned a second Grammy nomination in the Best Bluegrass Album category. Crooked tree, opposite genre legends Del McCoury Band and Peter Rowan. While Crooked tree is Tuttle’s purposeful offering, paying homage to her bluegrass roots and those who have supported her since the beginning, the artist herself remains a moving target, happily meandering beyond the “high, lonely sound” of bluegrass into the realms of country, folk and pop.
“There’s a part of me that just wants to try playing every style of music at once. But there’s another liberating thing about imposing those limitations on yourself, “Well, I’m going to play straight-up bluegrass and try to write songs with chords that people can easily jam,” says Tuttle. “The challenge nowadays is that you’re exposed to all kinds of different music. There’s a side of me that still wants to experiment and push the boundaries.”
Growing up in Palo Alto, California, Tuttle was surrounded by musicians from the beginning. Her father, Jack, is a multi-instrumentalist and music instructor. Raised on a farm in Illinois, he attended local bluegrass festivals and religiously tuned in to the Grand Ole Opry while playing music with his banjo player father. When Jack migrated to the West Coast and became a music teacher, he formed The Tuttles with AJ Lee, a family group that included Molly and her two brothers, Sullivan and Michael.
“Bluegrass has always been a part of my family,” says Tuttle. “I heard my dad play and we used to go back to visit the farm to play with my grandfather and aunt. I’ve always gravitated towards music. When I finally got a guitar, I loved everything.”
Tuttle initially tried violin, but didn’t take it up because “it sounded so rough at first.” He also had experience at the piano, but Tuttle disliked the reading of sheet music and the formality of the lessons. The guitar felt calmer, more welcoming. “I can rattle and play along with my dad,” she says. “I also love to sing and this is such a nice instrument to accompany yourself while you sing.”
With guitar legends like Tony Rice, Dave Rawlings, David Greer, Clarence White and Doc Watson inspiring the young, hungry guitarist, Tuttle set about learning flatpicking and fingerpicking. She deciphers solos and sits for hours working on various guitar pieces with her father and brothers.
Tuttle wasn’t just a natural on the guitar; she had the potential to become a virtuoso. By 2012, she had left home for Berklee College of Music, and that year won the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at North Carolina’s MerleFest String Festival. After Berklee, Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015 in hopes of starting a solo career. Landing in a house on Petway Avenue in East Nashville, she became roommates with another hugely ambitious guitar phenom looking to make a name for himself, Billy Strings, now considered one of the nation’s hottest live acts.
“I was touring in my minivan, and Billy had his van,” says Tuttle. “We were both always on the go.”
On those rare occasions when Tuttle and Strings were in town, the duo would walk across the street to the home of Lindsay Lou, an up-and-coming bluegrass and Americana singer-songwriter, and play on her porch.”[Lindsay] was kind of the leader of all the big jam sessions,” says Tuttle. “She used to throw all these parties and house concerts that were so much fun.”
That camaraderie between Tuttle, Strings, Lou and others like Sierra Hull, Greensky Bluegrass and the Infamous Stringdusters is what’s helping fuel a new wave of bluegrass appreciation. Interest in the genre is growing, with new fans drawn to artists exploring other musical landscapes.
“Our generation of bluegrass players is really going in some new directions,” says Tuttle. “I feel lucky to be a part of this barrier-breaking scene.”
Tuttle overcame a major barrier in her personal life by finding strength in her medical diagnosis of alopecia universalis, a loss of body hair. On social media and on stage in recent years, she has found solidarity and support in sharing her story. In 2019, she walked the red carpet at the 18th Annual Americana Honors and Awards without a wig.
“The surprising thing to me is how [sharing my story] helped me gain confidence. I didn’t realize what a weight it would take off my shoulders. I’ve always wanted to share my story to help others, and that’s still important to me,” says Tuttle. “It’s really helped me grow as a person and it’s helped me do things I never thought I’d be able to do, like take my wig off on stage.”
Preparing for a soundcheck at the Ryman, Tuttle gathers the remaining members of Golden Highway and heads to the stage. But she’s taking one last moment to appreciate how far she’s come — and where she might go after the Best New Artist winner is announced Feb. 5 at the Grammys.
“I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid. And even when the going gets tough, I’m going to commit to doing this until I’m old,” says Tuttle. “I’ll find a way to make it work somehow.”
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