GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Molly Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, will release their new album, City of Gold, July 21 via Nonesuch Records (pre-order/pre-save here). Ahead of the release, lead track, “El Dorado,” is debuting today. Listen/share HERE.
City of Gold follows Tuttle’s acclaimed 2022 record, Crooked Tree, which won Best Bluegrass Album at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards and led NPR Music to call her, “a female flat picker extraordinaire with agility, speed and elegance who distinctively brings American roots music into the spotlight,” adding that the album “marries the improvisatory solos of traditional bluegrass with singer-songwriter sophistication.”
Produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas and recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios, City of Gold was inspired by Tuttle’s constant touring with Golden Highway these past few years, during which they have grown together as musicians and performers, cohering as a band. These 13 tracks—mostly written by Tuttle and Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show)—capture the electric energy of the band’s live shows by highlighting each members’ musical strengths. In addition to Tuttle and Secor, Mason Via also co-wrote “Down Home Dispensary,” while Melody Walker and Shelby Means co-wrote “Next Rodeo.”
Reflecting on the project, Tuttle shares, “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. On my new album I dug deep as a songwriter (with Ketch Secor) and co-producer (with Jerry Douglas) and surfaced with a record that celebrates the music of my heart, my life, the land where I grew up, and the stories I heard along the way. I made this record with my band Golden Highway after playing over 100 shows across the country last year. On the road and in the studio, we are inspired by artists such as John Hartford, Gillian Welch and Peter Rowan to name a few, whose records are like family albums to us. Just like them, on this album we chart some new territory along some old familiar ground. The songs span from breakdowns to ballads, fairytales and fiddle tunes, from Yosemite up to the Gold Country and out beyond the mountains. That visit to Coloma, site of California’s first gold strike is where I first heard about El Dorado, the city of gold. Playing music can take you to a place that is just as precious. I hope you like this record!”
In addition to Tuttle (vocals, acoustic guitar), Douglas (dobro) and Golden Highway—Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle, harmony vocals), Dominick Leslie (mandolin), Shelby Means (bass, harmony vocals) and Kyle Tuttle (banjo, harmony vocals)—City of Gold also features special guest Dave Matthews on “Yosemite.”
In celebration of the new music, Tuttle and Golden Highway will tour through this summer including headline shows at Oklahoma City’s Beer City Music Hall, Virginia Beach’s Elevation 27, Cleveland’s Blossom Music Center and St. Louis’ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre as well as select dates with Shane Smith & The Saints, Dierks Bentley, Charley Crockett and Marcus King. The band will also make festival appearances this year at New Orleans Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo, Railbird Music Festival, DelFest and more. See below for complete tour itinerary.
Raised in Northern California, Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she’s been nominated for Best New Artist at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards, won Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards, Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards and Guitar Player of the Year at the IBMAs in both 2017 and 2018, the first woman 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 Newport Folk Festival and Pilgrimage.
CITY OF GOLD TRACKLIST
1. El Dorado
2. Where Did All the Wild Things Go?
3. San Joaquin
4. Yosemite (feat. Dave Matthews)
5. Next Rodeo
6. When My Race Is Run
7. Alice in the Bluegrass
8. Stranger Things
9. Down Home Dispensary
10. More Like a River
11. Goodbye Mary
12. Evergreen, OK
13. The First Time I Fell in Love
MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
May 5—New Orleans, LA—New Orleans Jazz Festival
May 9—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre*
May 13—Huntersville, NC—North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival
May 19—Oklahoma City, OK—Beer City Music Hall
May 20—Bentonville, AR—FreshGrass Bentonville
May 21—Columbia, MO—The Blue Note
May 25—Portsmouth, NH—The Music Hall
May 26—Marshfield, MA—Levitate Backyard
May 27—Virginia Beach, VA—Elevation 27
May 28—Cumberland, MD—DelFest
June 1—Toronto, ON—Budweiser Stage†
June 2—Clarkson, MI—Pine Knob Music Theatre†
June 3—Cleveland, OH—Blossom Music Center†
June 4—Lexington, KY—Railbird Music Festival
June 15—Manchester, TN—Bonnaroo
June 16—Grass Valley, CA—Father’s Day Festival
June 22—Owensboro, KY—ROMP 2023
June 23—Somerset, WI—Somerset Amphitheater
June 24—East Troy, WI—Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 25—Maryland Heights, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 7—Harbor Springs, MI—Blissfest Festival Farm
July 14—Whitefish, MT—Under the Big Sky Music & Arts Festival
July 18—Sandy, UT—Sandy Amphitheater‡
July 19—Boise, ID—Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden
July 22—Redmond, OR—FairWell Festival
July 30—Lyons, CO—RockyGrass Festival
August 3—Corning, CA—Rolling Hills Casino
August 4—Stateline, NV—Harveys Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena
August 19—Wellston, MI—Hoxeyville Music Festival
August 21—Richmond, VA—Virginia Credit Union Live^
August 22—Cincinnati, OH—Andrew J Brady Music Center^
September 8—Nashville, TN—Under the Stars Concert Series at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
September 15—Flagstaff, AZ—Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival
September 21—Nashville, TN—Tommy’s Emmanuel Guitar Camp USA
October 6—Monterey, CA—Rebels and Renegades Music Festival
*supporting Shane Smith & The Saints
†supporting Dierks Bentley
‡supporting Charley Crockett
^supporting Charley Crockett and Marcus King
