Bluegrass singer-songwriter and guitarist Molly Tuttle recently took home Album of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards show for her 2023 album, “City of Gold.” The project explores California’s rich history, in particular, the thrilling tales of the state’s gold rush years. Tuttle relates these stories to her own adventures as a touring musician.
‘Gold Dust Days’
“City of Gold” opens with a thrilling tale of El Dorado county’s “gold dust days.” The California county is home to Coloma, a tiny ghost town that was once one of the state’s active sites for miners looking for gold. It was put on the map in 1848, when prospector James W. Marshall struck gold while mining the area’s Sierra Nevada foothills.
“When I was a kid, we took a field trip to Coloma, CA, to learn about the gold rush. I’ll never forget the dusty hills and the grizzled old miner who showed us the nugget around his neck. Just like gold fever, music has always captivated me, captured my heart, and driven me to great lengths to explore its depths.”
Gold Country and Beyond
For this album, Tuttle brought fellow bluegrass songwriter Ketch Secor on board. The Old Crow Medicine Show frontman co-wrote songs for “City of Gold.” As the two worked together on the record, a diverse, story-driven track listing formed.
Tuttle explained, “The songs span from breakdowns to ballads, fairytales and fiddle tunes, from Yosemite up to the Gold Country and out beyond the mountains.”
“City of Gold” is the culmination of years of hard work for the artist. In 2023, Tuttle toured extensively, playing over 100 shows with her band Golden Highway in support of the album release. She also won her first Grammy that year for Best Bluegrass Album honoring her 2022 record, “Crooked Tree.” In 2024, she picked up another Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album when “City of Gold” won the award as well.
The Tuttle Kids
Tuttle began learning guitar at just 8 years old. When she strummed the strings on her first Taylor guitar, she knew she wanted to be a musician. Her father, Jack, is a musician as well. He’s an accomplished music teacher of multiple instruments, including guitar, banjo, and mandolin. As a teen, Tuttle often joined her father on stage. Her brothers also took an interest in music. Sullivan learned guitar, and Michael learned mandolin.
The Tuttle family often performed at bluegrass events, and they became well-known among bluegrass circles as one of the genre’s serious acts. But as a young adult, Molly wanted to study her craft in a more official capacity. After earning a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, she left her home state of California and headed to Boston.
A rare bluegrass player among jazz enthusiasts in the music program, Tuttle sometimes felt like a fish out of water. But she found an inspiring mentor in fellow musician Abigail Aronson Zocher. The classical guitarist recognized Tuttle’s unique potential, and she was impressed with the fact that Molly was something of a triple threat: She could sing, play guitar, and write her own songs.
‘A Musician’s Musician’
At just 3 years old, Molly’s hair began falling out in clumps at a time. After several consultations with doctors, Tuttle was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own hair follicles. The diagnosis, along with days spent trying her best to wear wigs amid recess, practice, and everything in between, made for an often lonely childhood. For comfort, she turned to music.
She explained that her music was “a friend that I always knew would be there for my whole life.” She said that whenever she felt isolated and lonely, “I could always play music, listen to music, write a song about how I was feeling … and that was just really comforting.”
For years, she donned a wig on stage as well, until finally, at a show one day, she took it off to thunderous applause. Moments like these showed Tuttle and others that she was finding her voice after years of concealing a part of her identity.
“Sometimes I imagined growing old without ever letting people see me without a wig, but other times I imagined a future me who was unafraid to be different and who stood up for people who faced similar challenges. … Music became a beloved safe place that I could always count on.”
She also found her voice when she became the frontwoman of her band, Golden Highway. Her management style over the last couple of years has been described as a “calm leadership,” and those who work with her agree.
After collaborating with hit songwriter Dave Matthews, he paid her one of the highest compliments an artist can receive. Matthews called Tuttle a “musician’s musician.”
In other words, she’s an artist who takes her craft seriously, serving the music and the song any way she can.
Tuttle’s seasoned Dobro player for her Golden Highway band, Jerry Douglas, was also co-producer for “City of Gold.” Regarding Molly’s playing style and dedication to music, he said:
‘Embracing Who You Are’
In September 2024, after years of performing at the Ryman Auditorium as a supporting act, Tuttle headlined her first show at the historic Nashville, Tennessee landmark.
She’s currently on tour, with dates scattered throughout the United States, including stops in Scottsdale, Arizona; Miramar Beach, Florida; Buffalo, New York; and Santa Barbara, California.
As Tuttle reigns as one of bluegrass music’s most in-demand performers, she’s building on the courage she’s gained that helps her unique experiences shine through her recordings. As she continues to create music, she’s learning that the more she uses her voice to tell her story, the better it is for her and her listeners.
“To me, it just means embracing who you are. ... Everyone has something that makes them feel unique and different from other people. So with this album, I was just trying to incorporate different parts of myself that I felt like I hadn’t included before when I express myself creatively.”
She continued and said that she is “slowly learning to express that side of who I am in my music … which has felt really good.”
