From her early songwriting days in a Wyoming dorm room to sharing stages with bluegrass maestras like Molly Tuttle, Shelby Means has carved out a path that blends deep-rooted influences with an adventurous artistic spirit. Now, with the release of her debut solo material, Shelby Means is embracing a musical journey uniquely her own—a journey defined by heartfelt storytelling, meaningful collaborations, and genuine authenticity.
Settled comfortably at home in Folly Beach, South Carolina, alongside her spirited cavapoo Casper, Shelby Means took a moment to discuss her journey, tracing her roots from songwriting origins to collaborative projects that have shaped her evolving sound.
SM: I’m at home in Folly Beach, South Carolina. My dog Casper, our cavapoo, is all of 30 pounds and thinks it’s time to go to the dog park. It’s still chilly, but the sun is out. It’s nice today. I’m just living the glamorous life of computer work and laundry.
GW: I love cavaliers! Such spunky little pups. Get that pup to the dog park—just after I ask you a few questions.
Where should we start? I want to go way back. After listening to "Streets of Boulder," which you released on Valentine’s Day, I read that you wrote this song back in your college dorm room. Where did you go to college?
SM: I went to the University of Wyoming.
GW: Is that Laramie?
SM: Yep, Laramie. My dad taught there, and honestly, it was probably the only place I applied. I still got out of my family house and moved into the dorms so I could have a proper college experience—that great experience of dorm life. But yes, that is where I wrote "Streets of Boulder."
GW: I went to Colorado State, just down Interstate 25 from you! Great place for school, always lots going on.
SM: My parents went there.
GW: Go Rams!
SM: Hahaha, I can’t really say that, but Go Pokes
GW: "Streets of Boulder" came out on Valentine’s Day—heartbreak for Valentine’s?
SM: Yep! Exactly.
GW: It has classic bluegrass fox chase energy, and you’re no stranger to bluegrass. Tell me about Sally & George.
SM: Sally & George is a duo project I have with my husband, Joel Timmons. It came about in 2016, I think? Yes, 2016.
GW: Are these your alter egos?
SM: They are, basically. My grandparents on my mom’s side were named Sally & George. They lived in Colorado. I never got to meet my grandmother, but my grandfather lived into his late 80s. When he passed, my mom was in Saguache, CO, cleaning out the house. There were all these amazing vintage clothes. Grandpa had saved my grandmother’s things—from, gosh, I don’t know, maybe the '60s and '70s. There were bolo ties, cowboy hats, and jackets. We were working on a record in Laramie, WY, at Dan Tinker’s studio at that time, so while we were recording, my mom showed us the clothes. There are photos of us in the studio wearing Sally & George outfits. It fit the whole vibe—the Americana sweetheart vibe—so we adopted Sally & George as our stage names.
It confuses people, and to add even more confusion, my husband, Joel, will say things on stage like, "I’m Sally, and this is George!"
GW: So, when did you start with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway?
SM: That was 2021. Golden Highway incepted. I don’t know the right word for that, but its inception was in 2021. We were coming out of the pandemic, so rough for independent music and the musicians and the crews… just the whole industry. The whole world was suffering and we were wringing our hands like, man oh man, what are we going to do? How are we going to get back on our feet? Molly decided to form a bluegrass band and called me! Golden Highway was such a cool thing to sink into.
GW: I interviewed Molly and asked her about her red carpet-moments. I’ve gotta tell you, she gives you a ton of credit! When it comes to fashion, Molly has such an incredibly unique style, and when I asked her she said you help her out so much, that you set her up with her stylist in Nashville. This story about Sally & George’s inspiration is filling in more about the type of sister/friend/bandmate you are. How fun that you got gifted these beautiful vintage pieces with such deep meaning and heartfelt value!
SM: Yeah! Aw that’s sweet, I did introduce her to my friend Samantha Roe and it's been so cool to watch Molly’s style evolve.
It’s funny when I was a little girl, my mom would try to dress me but… We moved from Kentucky where I was born to Wyoming, closer to my grandparents and more family. I had to wear pants sometimes due to the cold weather and I remember not liking it one bit! My mom said I could wear a dress if it wore leggings under it, so she got me some of those leggings with the stirrups on the feet. I swore she was ruining my life by making me wear those unfashionable stirrup leggings. But now, a few years back, I saw some models on a runway wearing stirrup leggings over their high heels. I had to give it to my mom. I was so brutal to my mom but it turns out she was ahead of her time.
GW: Shout out to Mom!
SM: Exactly! She and Grandma Sally both had great style.
GW: Tell me about your collaboration with Melody Walker. Didn’t you record a tune with Sally & George… How did “Listen Sister” come to be?
SM: Sure, so we were recording our second record as Sally & George and we were looking for more songs to add to the record. I had always wanted to co-write with Melody because I am a huge fan of hers. Previous to this, I was in a band called Della Mae and Melody Walker was in Front Country. We were on a similar circuit at the time, we’d become friends out on the road. When Melody moved to Nashville, I was getting more established as a songwriter myself, just more into songwriting in Nashville and interested in co-writing. I thought it would be cool to try a co-write with Melody so we sat down in an afternoon and just started deep dive talking about feelings.
Four hours later, we emerged with “Listen Sister” without any instruments. We just used our voices. Melody had an iPad. I had a notepad and a pen. “Listen Sister” came melodically and lyrically. She went home and added chords, I think she used a piano for the chords on that one. That was super cool. It’s so awesome to experience co-writing with Melody. Melody! Who is now a Grammy winner!!! She deserves that!
GW: I know, right!?! I just caught her here in Chicago with Grateful Drag! She actually was supposed to be hobnobbing with Grammy nominees but instead played Chicago and raised money for LGBT causes. I was so impressed, not only with her performance but her personal choices. That is the beauty of this bluegrass music, the communal aspect. She won the Grammy for writing a song with Sierra Ferrel, right?
SM: Yep!
GW: So from all these collaborations and community, to now striking out on your own. Was there a moment that changed everything for you or has this been an idea slowly building?
SM: I think it’s always been in the back of my mind somewhere. I was super inspired by Molly (Tuttle) making her bluegrass record. Also, Bronwyn and I were roommates for the first year of Golden Highway. We spent a lot of time together, talking and dreaming of our future, and everything we were planning on doing. She was planning to make another solo record but she wanted to sing this time. Hearing her talk about that got me thinking, I want to make a solo record too!
Then my husband Joel made a solo record and I started to realize that this was a possibility for me. Watching him go through the process of writing songs, selecting songs, working with his producer… I began looking at myself with my own recording experiences and realized now was the time.
Watching Joel work with his producer Maya de Vitry, and seeing how she operates, I thought Joel was very smart to hire her. She helped him massage the songs and then in the studio she had such great energy. It’s calming and she can make quick decisions while also letting the artist feel that their vision is being honored. Knowing that someone like her was available to produce records made it even more plausible and appealing.
Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway have been so great. The last three years I’ve gotten to play with many of my bluegrass heroes while being in such a super tight bluegrass band myself that I felt I could finally make the bluegrass record of my dreams.
GW: In a lot of ways, “Streets of Boulder” still features Molly and Kyle, doesn’t it?
SM: Yes! On "Streets of Boulder," the core band includes Bryan Sutton (guitar), my brother Jacob Means (mandolin), Ron Block (banjo), Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle), and Jerry Douglas (dobro). Molly and Kyle Tuttle sang harmony with me.
GW: So now that you have had a taste of striking out on your own, how do you balance your individuality with your collective efforts, being a part of an ensemble?
SM: As a bass player, I’m very comfortable with the collaboration role. It’s a community instrument. It’s hard to play bass all by yourself. We had some time off from Golden Highway so Joel and I did some Sally & George shows down in the Virgin Islands. Playing as a duo band is really fun because we get to experiment with our new songs. We each sing about the same amount of songs and we both support each other. It’s such a nice fluid thing, ya know?
It’s exciting to step out on my own. The response to “Streets of Boulder” has been so awesome. I’m looking forward to what is to come. I’ll always be collaborative, I’ll always aim to be in the bluegrass scene in some way or another, whether it’s me solo putting the band together or me being in someone else’s totally awesome band playing at Telluride. Different times call for different measures.
GW: Definitely. Being able to be flexible like that and having the foresight to see what the situation will call for is such a great skill to have. Is there a moment of solidarity that still sticks with you today?
SM: Performing at the Ryman Auditorium, the “Mother Church” with Golden Highway last year was huge. It was so beautiful. I felt so much good energy coming from the crowd and from all we’d worked so hard to accomplish on the road culminating in this big awesome nearly sold-out Ryman show in Nashville. But as we were talking about fashion in the beginning, at Hulaween a couple of years ago where we dressed like the characters in Alice in Wonderland was totally awesome. My love of costuming was on full display for that show.
GW: What character were you dressed as?
SM: The Mad Hatter! Molly was the Red Queen and her crown fell off during part of the show. I hurried to fix her crown and didn’t even have to break character! Haha.
GW: Of course, you were the mad hatter! I love that!!
SM: I hope we get to play another Halloween show again!
GW: Weren’t you also in Bronwyn’s wedding recently?
SM: Yes, I was her maid of honor, gosh what a special day. That was also at the Ryman, nope I mean, that one was at the Grand Ol Opry.
GW: I went on family vacation with my dad every summer to Dollywood and the Grand Ol Opry. You’re bringing my childhood dreams into today! I love it. So can we talk about your next release? What can we look forward to next?
SM: Ooo yes, I covered “Million Reasons”
GW: Another collaboration cowrite tune, yes? Hillary Lindsey and Lady Gaga, right?!
SM: Yes! It comes out on Friday, March 14th. When I first moved to Tennessee I was singing along to "Poker Face" on the radio. That was so my jam! I love Lady Gaga for a million reasons. Her music brought me in and her wild pop star fashion captivates me! Her theatrical performances and her philanthropy around mental health and LGBTQ rights make me respect her even more. Her character Joanne was very relatable to me. She released “Million Reasons” and donned a cowboy hat and musically stripped down to a more country sound. Bluegrass is ready for this Lady Gaga cover, I know it! :D Perhaps one day I’ll have to push the boundaries of fashion like Lady Gaga did at the 2010 MTV awards and show up to the IBMA red carpet in a raw meat dress, hahaha!
GW: You heard it here first! Shelby Means on the red carpet with her meat dress!
SM: When she wore her suit and her cowboy hat on SNL and then went on a dive bar tour and played at the Five Spot, I mean HELLO! I had to learn “Million Reasons”. I started performing that song live with Sally & George in 2016. When I was looking for more songs to record Joel told me to make a demo and send it to Maya. So we did and when Maya heard it, she said “We’re doing that.”
My version of “Million Reasons” was interpreted in such a gorgeous way by the musicians. Jerry Douglas has some beautiful dobro hooks throughout the chorus. He had the idea for the intro drone, like, oh! You’ll want some ambiance here to start it and then Bryan was like, oh! We listened to the take and I’m gonna do my thing here. He went back and added another guitar part. Ron Block plucked the banjo with his bare fingers and Bronwyn’s soaring fiddle lines and Jacob’s tasteful chops round out the performance. Joel and Maya sing harmony and I love the way our voices sound together. The musicians & engineers in the session heard the song and understood my vision, and then made it even better than I could imagine!
GW: Everybody loves a cover. It shows your unique style and how you color the situation. You take that original piece and put your stamp on it. I think covers can really showcase who you are as a musician. This cover of “Million Reasons” is definitely unique to you.
SM: Thank you! I like this song too because lyrically it's up for interpretation. Is it about a lover? Is it about a job? Is it about an industry? What is it to the listener?
GW: Yes! As a fan, daydreaming about what you could mean by recording this song, in my fictitious thoughts, I imagined you to be singing about the hard life of being a musician. There are a million reasons to quit and be more ‘practical’ but if they give you just one reason to stay, you’ll do it.
SM: For sure! Here I am. I’m an emotional gal so it’s really nice to be able to channel the ups and downs of my human existence into a song, into music and that my voice might possibly help another. I think that is my one reason.
GW: Have you worked much with female producers?
SM: You know what, most of the producers I worked with have been men, although Molly co-produced City of Gold with Jerry. I did some harmony singing for Rebecca Frazier. She produced that whole vocal session but not the overall record I don’t think… Maya de Vitry is so awesome to have in my corner. It is a huge undertaking to produce a record, from song selection, to booking the studio and organizing the musicians, to making decisions in comping and mixing, she is a real sister and worth every dollar and more! That is for sure. She came to Charleston to help Joel finish up some of his recordings while workshopping and writing songs with me. She and I ended up having 2 co-writes on this new album. Shoot! I’m not supposed to mention the new album yet!
GW: We’ll keep that for another day.
SM: It’s just so cool to work with someone who has so many similar experiences as me. She really encourages me. Anytime I start to think, I can’t do this… she is there cheering me on. She will tell me that I got this and it has been amazing. Maya has spent a lot of time in recording studios. She has been in many bands. She knows the dynamics of working solo and working with a band. She brought a lot to the table.
GW: Well, you bring a lot to the table too. So glad we could share some time together catching up. Thank you for the music and the great energy you bring, I just adore watching you perform.
SM: Thank you! Thank you for wanting to chat and your interest in me as a solo artist!
GW: I hope we will chat again when your next big music news drops.
SM: Sounds good, Get home safe!
