Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993)
Biography
Early career
Tuttle was born in Santa Clara, California, and raised in Palo Alto. She began playing guitar at age 8.
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At age 11 she played onstage with her father Jack Tuttle, a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and instructor.
At age 15, she joined her family band The Tuttles with AJ Lee. Her siblings Sullivan (guitar) and Michael (mandolin), and
Mandola AJ Lee
were also in the band.
In 2006, at age 13, Tuttle recorded The Old Apple Tree with her father, an album of duets.
In 2012, Tuttle was awarded merit scholarships to the Berklee College of Music for music and composition.
Collaborations
While studying at the Berklee College of Music in 2014, Tuttle met and joined the all-female bluegrass group the Goodbye Girls
which combined bluegrass, jazz, and Swedish folk music.
Other members were Allison de Groot (banjo), Lena Jonsson (fiddle), and Brittany Karlson (bass). The group released an EP
Going to Boston in 2014 and the album
Snowy Side of the Mountain in 2016,
and toured Jonsson's home country of
Sweden several times.
Tuttle also recorded
Molly Tuttle & John Mailander, a duet EP with fiddler John Mailander.
In 2018, she joined Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull, and Becky Buller in a supergroup. The quintet performed at the Rockygrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado, on July 27, 2018. Initially known as the Julia Belles, the group became known as the First Ladies of Bluegrass. Additional gigs were played at Analog at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville on September 18, 2018, and the IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 28, 2018. Tuttle collaborated with Billy Strings on the songs "Sittin' on Top of the World" and "Billy in the Lowground." The First Ladies of Bluegrass were featured on the first single from a full-length album by Missy Raines, titled Royal Traveler, released in 2018 on Compass Records.
Solo career
In 2015, Tuttle moved from Boston to Nashville.
Her EP
Rise was released in 2017 after a crowdfunding campaign. She wrote all of the songs on the 7-song album, which was produced by Kai Welch.
Guests included
Darrell Scott, the Milk Carton Kids,
Kathy Kallick, and Nathaniel Smith.
She formed The Molly Tuttle Band, which included Wes Corbett (banjo), Joe K. Walsh (mandolin), and Hasee Ciaccio (bass).
Tuttle was selected by
Buddy Miller to join his "Cavalcade of Stars" section of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on the Rooster Stage on October 6, 2018.
In 2017, Tuttle signed with Alison Brown's Compass Records.
Golden Highway
In 2021, Tuttle assembled her new "dream" band, Golden Highway, including Shelby Means on bass, Kyle Tuttle on banjo, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on fiddle, and Dominick Leslie on mandolin, everyone sharing or supporting vocals. In January 2022, Nonesuch Records announced a release by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway titled
Crooked Tree on April 1, 2022. Their follow-up album,
City of Gold, was released in July 2023.
Both won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
New Band
Tuttle announced the dissolution of Golden Highway in May 2025, with many band members pursuing solo careers, and revealed a new, all-female band that would begin touring with her in July.
Her new album,
So Long Little Miss Sunshine, was set for release on August 15, 2025. The project was produced by
Jay Joyce and preceded by the single "That's Gonna Leave a Mark".
Personal life
Tuttle was diagnosed with
alopecia areata when she was three years old, which quickly progressed to alopecia universalis, resulting in total body hair loss.
Tuttle has been in a relationship with
Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show since 2023.
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Discography
Solo albums
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Extended plays
The Goodbye Girls
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2014: Going to Boston (self-released)
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2016: Snowy Side of the Mountain (self-released)
Molly Tuttle and John Mailander
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2014: Molly Tuttle and John Mailander EP (Back Studio)
The Tuttles With AJ Lee
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2012: Introducing the Tuttles with AJ Lee (self-released)
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2013: Endless Ocean (self-released)
Molly and Jack Tuttle
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2007: The Old Apple Tree (Back Studio)
Singles
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| "That's Gonna Leave a Mark" | 2025 | 13 | So Long Little Miss Sunshine |
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As a featured artist
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2015: Mile Rocks - Mile Rocks and Friends (Audio & Video Labs)
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2017: AJ Lee - AJ Lee (self-released)
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2017: Korby Lenker - Thousand Springs (Relativity)
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2017: Bobby Osborne - Original (Compass Records)
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2017: Billy Strings - Turmoil & Tinfoil (Apostol)
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2019: Old Crow Medicine Show - "Live at the Ryman" (Columbia)
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2021: Béla Fleck - "My Bluegrass Heart" (Renew)
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2025: Ringo Starr - "I Live for Your Love"
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2025: Ringo Starr - "Look Up"
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2025: Ringo Starr - "Can You Hear Me Call"
Awards and nominations
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| 2016 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Momentum Award | | |
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| 2018 | International Folk Music Awards | Song of the Year | | |
| Instrumentalist of the Year | |
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| 2019 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | |
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| 2020 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | |
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| 2021 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | |
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| 2022 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | |
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| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | | |
| Best Bluegrass Album | Crooked Tree | |
| International Folk Music Awards | Album of the Year | | |
| International Bluegrass Music Awards | Entertainer of the Year | Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway | | |
| Instrumental Group of the Year | |
| Song of the Year | "Crooked Tree" | |
| Album of the Year | Crooked Tree | |
| Collaborative Recording of the Year | "From My Mountain (Calling You)" | |
| Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | |
| Guitar Player of the Year | |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best Bluegrass Album | City of Gold | | |
A. with
Missy Raines,
Alison Brown,
Becky Buller and
Sierra Hull
B. Molly Tuttle (artist), Molly Tuttle/
Sarah Siskind (writer)
C. with
Roland White,
Justin Hiltner,
Jon Weisberger and
Patrick McAvinue
D. with
Peter Rowan and Lindsay Lou
External links
