In celebration of Father’s Day, Molly Tuttle recorded a new performance video of her song, “Grass Valley,” featuring her father, Jack Tuttle, a music teacher and multi-instrumentalist, on mandolin and vocals. Watch/share the video, out today, HERE.
“Grass Valley” is from Tuttle’s widely acclaimed new album, Crooked Tree, and tells the story of going Grass Valley, California’s annual Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival with her dad, where she was first exposed to the bluegrass music that inspired her to play. Her father is also featured on Crooked Tree, singing harmony on the track.
Reflecting on the video, Tuttle shares, “My dad took me to the Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley, CA when I was 10 years old and it changed my life. It was my first time going to a music festival and the songs that I heard on stage and jammed in the campground stuck with me for years to come. When I was writing the songs for Crooked Tree I kept going back to those earliest musical memories. I decided to close my album with a song about Grass Valley to give context to the music that I make now. I hope you enjoy this special version of “Grass Valley” that I filmed with my dad! Happy Father’s Day weekend!”
Out now via Nonesuch Records (Tuttle’s first release on the label, stream/purchase here), Crooked Tree explores Tuttle’s love of bluegrass, which she discovered through her father and her grandfather, a banjo player. Recorded live at Nashville’s Oceanway Studios, the record was produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas and features collaborations with Sierra Hull, Old Crow Medicine Show, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Dan Tyminski and Gillian Welch.
In celebration of the release, Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, were recently featured on CBS Saturday Morning as part of their “Saturday Sessions” series, performing three songs from the album: “She’ll Change,” “Over the Line” and the title track.
Raised in Northern California, Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she has released two full length albums: her 2019 debut, When You’re Ready, and …but i’d rather be with you, a covers album released in 2020. NPR Music praised When You’re Ready saying, “Tuttle applies remarkable precision to her pursuit of clarity … handsomely crafted melodies that gently insinuate themselves into the memory,” while the Wall Street Journal noted Tuttle’s “stunning acoustic guitar-picking” and called the album “invigorating, mature and attention-grabbing.” The New Yorkersaid of …but i’d rather be with you, “the record’s star is ‘She’s a Rainbow’…in Tuttle’s reading, the song uses a bluegrass spirit to look to the past—and a feminist allegiance to peek at the future.”
An award-winning artist, Tuttle was named Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year in both 2017 and 2018, the first woman in the history of the IBMA to receive the honor. Tuttle has performed around the world, including shows with Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jason Isbell, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Dwight Yoakam as well as at several major festivals including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk, and Pilgrimage.
CROOKED TREE TRACKLIST
1. She’ll Change
2. Flatland Girl feat. Margo Price
3. Dooley’s Farm feat. Billy Strings
4. Big Backyard feat. Old Crow Medicine Show
5. Crooked Tree
6. Castilleja
7. The River Knows
8. Over the Line feat. Sierra Hull
9. Nashville Mess Around
10. San Francisco Blues feat. Dan Tyminski
11. Goodbye Girl
12. Side Saddle feat. Gillian Welch
13. Grass Valley
MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
June 23—Cambridge, MA—The Sinclair
June 24—Greenfield, MA—Green River Festival
June 25—Katonah, NY—Caramoor American Roots Music Festival
June 26—Mount Salon, VA—Red Wing Roots Music Festival
June 27—Alexandria, VA—Birchmere
July 2-3—Quincy, CA—High Sierra Music Festival
July 10—San Francisco, CA—Stern Grove Festival
July 11—Reno, NV—Artown Monday Night Music Series at Bartley Ranch Regional Park
July 12—Santa Rosa, CA—Luther Burbank Center
July 13—Saratoga, CA—Mountain Winery
July 16—Vancouver, BC—Vancouver Folk Music Festival
July 18—Seattle, WA—Woodland Park Zoo
July 20—Bonner, MT—KettleHouse Amphitheater
July 21—Bozeman, MT—The Elm
July 24—North Plains, OR—Northwest String Summit
August 6—Del Norte, CO—Rhythms on the Rio Music Festival
August 12—Torrey, UT—For Desolation Festival 2022
August 25—Fayetteville, AR—Fayetteville Roots 2022
August 28—Bridgeview, IL—Sacred Rose
September 1—Richmond, VA—Maymont
September 2—Mill Spring, NC—Earl Scruggs Music Festival
September 3—Galax, VA—The Blue Ridge Music Center
September 11—Bristol, TN—Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion
September 14—Nashville, TN—AmericanaFest
September 17—Louisville, KY—Bourbon & Beyond
September 23—Winona, MN—Boats and Bluegrass Festival
September 25—Franklin, TN—Pilgrimage Festival
October 29—Live Oak, FL—Suwanee Hulaween
November 12—Highlands, NC—Highlands Food & Wine Festival
