Interview: Molly Tuttle

Bluegrass singer-songwriter Molly Tuttle has set off on her co-headlining tour with Maggie Rose, a fellow Nashville native and talented singer-songwriter in her own right. The two songstresses are bringing their tour to the Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio on Friday May 15! On the eve of the tour starting, CleveRock’s Delaney Canfield had the honor of chatting with Tuttle via phone about her bluegrass career, what this tour means to her, and what went into this tour’s preperation.

When asked about how she connected with Maggie Rose, Tuttle talked about the local Nashville music scene.

“We both have lived in Nashville for a while and we used to run into each other at the local coffee shops and stuff, and I’ve been a big fan of her for a while. I went on her podcast a year ago, ‘Salute the Songbird‘ and had so much fun, and we just sort of kept in touch. We did [iconic venue] the Bluebird [Cafe] here in Nashville about a month or two ago and sang some together. So we just kind of collaborated here and there, but I’m a really big fan of hers, and our agents sort of got together this year, and were like, we should do something, so we put together this co-headline tour and we’re super excited to come to Kent, Ohio. I just got together with her the other day, we were filming a couple little videos to promote the tour, so she’s just really fun, and I love her singing, and we were just talking through some different collaboration ideas. 
We’re definitely gonna be singing some together on the tours.”

Tuttle is no stranger to a packed tour schedule, frequently sharing her monthly calendar on social media that is filled with shows. She was recently in Europe opening for Tyler Childers, supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band, and playing music festivals. With a wide array of shows and audiences, I asked her how she prepares for a co-headlining show like this, and how it differs from other show formats.

“It’s a lot to kind of think about and plan for, because, I mean, just looking ahead to my next month or two of doing festivals, opening shows, headline shows; co-headline shows. So, I just kind of try to keep it all in the back of my mind, like, ‘What do I want to make? 
What do I want to plan to make each show different and special?’ And especially when it’s a co-headline tour like this, I think I’m just kind of pondering what are the special collaborations we can do that will make these really unique and a fun experience for the audience that they won’t find in any other shows throughout the year. So I think for this one, we were talking about, what are some cool covers we could work up that are meaningful in each town and what songs of each other’s do we want to collaborate on? You know, I’d love to have Maggie come out and sing one of my songs with me, and maybe vice versa, as well to work up some unique collaborations.“

I shared with Tuttle that I saw her perform with her band, The Golden Highway, in Cleveland, at Globe Iron last year, and was blown away by the performance. One of the things that I loved was the uniqueness of the covers that were incorporated into the set, along with her music. I asked Molly about how she picks covers, what makes her want to cover a certain song, and if fans can expect any of the same fun at The Kent Stage in May.

“I think I spent a lot of time doing that around when I made my cover record. I made a pandemic cover album in my house in Nashville, and that was sort of, like, when I spent the most time thinking about what are some songs I can cover that people might not expect, and how can I take these songs and maybe make them my own to where you don’t even, like, it takes you a minute to recognize the original song. 
And I did that on one song on my last record, ‘I love it’ [by Icona Pop] was on my record, and I slowed it way down, made it really soft and ambient, and the original is, like, super high energy comps on. So I feel like I have different approaches, where sometimes I want to totally rework them, and just kind of reimagine the song in my own way, and make it completely different from the original. Sometimes I’m paying tribute to the original, you know, taking it more similar. 
On tour, I like to pick a couple covers that people I’ve definitely heard before, so it’s always fun to get the audience singing along..that’s kind of fun moment for the crowd. And then other times, it’s kind of fun to find, like, an obscure cover that people might have not heard before. Maybe they’ll go home and look it up or something. Yeah, it’s always a different process picking songs to cover.“

With bluegrass being such a unique genre, I wanted to know more about how Molly got started in it. Her talent is unmatched, and musicianship like hers doesn’t just come out of nowhere, so I knew there had to be a deeper connection.

“I kind of got into it through my dad… He’s a music teacher, so he has taught bluegrass to hundreds and hundreds of people in the Bay Area, near San Francisco, in a little music store called Griffin Street Instruments, in Palo Alto, California, where I grew up. And my dad grew up playing bluegrass.
He grew up on a farm in Illinois, and my grandfather loves bluegrass. He’s plays the banjo and they would go to bluegrass festivals and travel around, and play music together. So my dad moved out to California, because there was a really great music scene out there. 
They had, um, I mean, Baby Grisman with doing his Grisman Quintet in the Bay Area. Tony Rice was up there, he was another big bluegrass legend. And there was just a really exciting scene in the late ’70s when my dad decided to move out to the Bay Area. He’s just been a big music fan and player himself for his whole life, so [he] thought it would be a fun place to land, and then he ended up teaching music. But I just kind of grew up with records being played around the house all the time, and my dad would have jam sessions at our house. So it just was sort of a natural part of my life as a kid, and I just really fell in love with it, and loved going to festivals as I got a little bit older and jam sessions with my dad, and then eventually, like, starting to perform myself.

It seems bluegrass is a genre that just keeps growing in popularity, and evolving as a whole. When asked about this Molly shared about the joy of seeing this genre grow, and how new people are always finding it in unique ways.

“Yeah, it’s so exciting and I just hope that it continues to build – and I know it will. Like, I think there’s always conversations within the bluegrass community, like, ‘how are we gonna keep the music alive?’ And, I think that no matter what, it’s always gonna be this genre that is passed along generation to generation. There’s always these big moments that come along in this style of music. 
We were just celebrating the 25th anniversary of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou a couple weeks ago, and that was such a big moment for bluegrass and just kind of helped it reach the mainstream when I was a kid. 
And then, you have things, like Billy Strings is playing arenas, bringing new people to the music, and there’s the jam grass festivals that bring a lot of young people in and then they might discover the more traditional side of the music. 
So in that, know [that] growing up in the Bay Area so many people have discovered bluegrass through Jerry Garcia, who played the banjo and had bluegrass projects as well. So, I just think there’s always gonna be these moments of people who love bluegrass are going to help share it with the world. So, I just hope that continues. 
And, I love how the genre just kind of evolves, then people push it in new directions, and it’s cool to see all the different subsets within the genre as well. “

As a female artist in this genre, I wanted to know how Molly felt about being such a powerhouse in this industry, and what it means to see more women on the forefront of the music industry.

“Yeah, I think, like, for me, I just have always found such a great community of women, whether it’s in the bluegrass genre and people like Maggie Rose, who, she’s not a bluegrass artist, but we’re two women in the Nashville music scene, and have been like, rooted in the scene for years now. 
So I think it’s fun that I get to do the tour with someone who’s pretty different from me, but still have some crossover. I think it’s important to, you know, highlight other women in music, and whether it’s in bluegrass or just the music industry as a whole, it can feel isolating at times. So I try to make the extra effort to connect with other women out here.“

Of course, I had to close out asking Molly about her recent experience attending the Grammy Awards. Her album ‘So Long Little Miss Sunshine’ was nominated for Best Americana Album, and her single, “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark,” was nominated for Best Americana Performance. Though she is no stranger to the Grammys and has been nominated previously, I wanted to know what the experience was like for her.

“Yeah, it was incredible to attend the Grammys this year. I’ve gotten to go now three times. The last times ‘Crooked Tree’ and ‘City of Gold’ were nominated for bluegrass album, and this one was nominated in 2 Americana categories. I love the whole week leading up to the Grammys. I went out there on, I think, Tuesday or Wednesday. 
I got to play at the Grammy Museum, a tribute to Neil Young at the Troubadour, and then just go to a couple fun parties throughout the week. It’s just a great celebration of music in general, it always really inspired me to see all these amazing artists, whose work is being recognized. You know, I always discover a couple new artists or new albums that I’m excited about, and and connect with friends as well. I got to see friends like Sierra Hull, she was up for four Grammys. I got to see Jesse Wells, who was up for a bunch of Grammys. So, yeah, I tried to go into it with just, like, the mindset that this is celebration of the power of music, and, you know, whether you take on more Grammy or not, it’s just so exciting and such an honor to be there.“

With Molly heading out on tour and having a jam packed summer of events, I wished her well and told her I hope she has space to create more music and more joy. She shared that her goal is so always write, and always keep creating.

“I’m always thinking about the next project. 
So I’m hoping to go back into the studio later this year. It is, like, tricky to find time for that, sometimes amid the tour schedule, and I’m actually planning a wedding. That’s also a very exciting development. But I’m definitely gonna make the time to go into the studio as well.“

As a fan, I truly hope new music is on its way, but in the meantime it is a joy to see Molly on stage performing and making her name as a talented bluegrass musician.

Catch Molly Tuttle and Maggie Rose on May 15 at the Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio. Tickets can be purchased RIGHT HERE!