Some time ago I watched a video of Molly Tuttle, who plays a wicked bluegrass guitar and banjo, and has a great country voice. I immediately recognized her immense talent (along with that of her friend Billy Strings, with whom she plays here). And tbat talent has now been recognized multiple times. As Wikipedia notes:
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. 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. Also in 2023, Tuttle and Golden Highway won International Bluegrass Music Awards for album Crooked Tree and the title track in the categories of Album of the Year and Song of the Year, respectively, while Tuttle won Female Vocalist of the Year.
But, as they say, without further ado I’ll let you hear two of her songs (along with her able bandmates), both recorded some time ago. Her musicianship is even better now than in these videos, but I think they’ll suffice.
The first is the old John Hartford song made famous by Glenn Campbell in 1968:
And of course this one’s by Neil Young, and appeared on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s 1970 album Déjà Vu.
Check out this great live version of “White Rabbit” including costumes
Whew!
Thanks man!
+1
Ok, but Ms. Slick does it better, in my opinion.
Well, sure, but then Grace couldn’t play the guitar like that.
+1
I don’t remember most of the details, but seeing Jefferson Airplane perform live was a highlight of my youth.
Anyone who doesn’t understand how one could not remember most of the details about a highlight of their youth did not live in the ’60s.
Lots of material on my subscription service, including one with her dad, The Old Apple Tree – love the cover art-
Good pick DJ PCC(E) 🕶️!… live, on
WEIT – The Selection
( Or… what is it, not “disc” … but meh, we let it go.. )
There are 25 Molly Tuttle songs on Spotify that I’ve liked. I think that means I’m a fan.
For some reason, her version of this Rancid punk song makes me happy every time listen to it, and her guitar solo about halfway through makes me really happy. The hours and hours she must have put into practice her technique! I marvel at how she could take a punk song (and don’t get me wrong, I’m a boomer who likes punk) and turn it into – Americana?
As I understand it, not only was she the first woman to receive the Guitar Player of the Year award you cited, she was the first woman ever nominated for it. She backed up Billy Strings on the song “Sittin’ on Top of the World” in a concert in 2019 and bent a string on her first solo around 1:45 that was clever enough to make Billy Strings chuckle. I told a friend when I saw the two of them play that the future of blue grass was in good hands.
yeah!
Outstanding! Thank you.
What a pleasant surprise! Things so grim — I was glad to open this post. Molly Tuttle is wonderful. Good choices too, those posted above. Some I’ve seen, some new to me, all good stuff.
Thanks to all.
She’s great. She headlined this year’s Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion in a big public park. (My brothers and I played one of the smaller stages the next morning.)
Billy Strings, also great.
Railroad Earth have been doing that kind of stuff for 20 years, check them out.
I like!
Thanks everyone – including PCC(E) – some great songs!
That version of Helpless was great. It has the details of little Neil Young’s being paralyzed with Polio. He was locked in the polio ward like a leper with a chain locking him in. There was no vaccine in 1951.
I hope we never go back to those dismal days.
It is so good to know there is still enjoyable music being produced. One of my favourite artists is Meinir Gwilym, she is a very busy on radio, TV and playing regularly but still finds time to help promote the Welsh Language and help its learners, we were very lucky to hear her play a solo set one evening on a residential course at Nant Gwrtheyrn.
She has done better songs than these but here are two I could find which also had Seisnig (English) translations.
I bought tickets to see her before COVID at a small club in Columbus, Ohio called Skully’s Music Diner. The show and tour were canceled and I was disappointed and almost forgot about it. Then, in 2024 I received an email letting me know she was scheduled to appear again, this time with Golden Highway. Incredibly, my tickets were still valid because i never received a refund. So I saw her there last April and was front row, center. Near the end of their set, they performed the song “Crooked Tree” which is one of my favorites and introduced the song by explaining how she always felt different because of her alopecia. Then she ripped off her beautiful wig and absolutely brought down the house. I also saw Billy Strings and his band at a huge outdoor music festival but it was too hot to want to get close. Like PCC and other posters have said, the future of bluegrass is in very good hands indeed! They both play so well that it makes me suspect they aren’t human! If you love live music, don’t miss them.