Molly Tuttle

Biography

Molly Rose Tuttle was born on January 14, 1993, in Santa Clara, California, and raised in Palo Alto in a deeply musical family. Her father, Jack Tuttle, a renowned bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, teacher, and instructor at Gryphon Stringed Instruments, introduced her to music early; she began playing guitar at age 8 and performed onstage with him at age 11. By age 15, she joined the family band The Tuttles with AJ Lee, alongside siblings Sullivan (guitar) and Michael (mandolin), and mandolinist AJ Lee, performing across the Bay Area at venues like pizza parlors and local bluegrass events organized by groups such as the California Bluegrass Association. Tuttle attended Palo Alto High School (Paly) but pursued bluegrass outside typical school programs, releasing her first single with her father during her freshman year and deciding midway through high school to pursue music professionally, earning scholarships to Berklee College of Music in 2012.[1][2][6]

After moving to Nashville in 2015, Tuttle's career accelerated. She formed The Molly Tuttle Band with Wes Corbett (banjo), Joe K. Walsh (mandolin), and Hasee Ciaccio (bass), and in 2017 became the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Guitar Player of the Year award, repeating in 2018 and also earning the Americana Music Association's Instrumentalist of the Year. In 2018, she joined the supergroup First Ladies of Bluegrass with Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull, and Becky Buller. Tuttle's style blends flatpicking, clawhammer, and crosspicking guitar techniques in bluegrass, newgrass, and Americana, influenced by Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, Alison Krauss, and Hazel Dickens. In 2021, she formed Golden Highway—featuring Shelby Means (bass), Kyle Tuttle (banjo), Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle), and Dominick Leslie (mandolin)—releasing Crooked Tree (2022) and City of Gold (2023), both winning Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album, with City of Gold also securing IBMA Album of the Year in 2024.[1][3][4][5][7]

Tuttle's legacy includes breaking barriers as a female guitarist in bluegrass, multiple IBMA and Grammy wins, a 2023 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and high-profile appearances like Buddy Miller's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in 2018, the 2024 CMA Awards with Dierks Bentley, and Ringo Starr's 2025 album Look Up. Her songwriting, vocals, and versatility continue to elevate the genre, earning her Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards and eight IBMA nominations in 2024.[1][3][4]

Fun Facts

• Molly Tuttle was the first woman to win the IBMA Guitar Player of the Year award in 2017 at age 24, and she won it again in 2018.[1][5]
• She performed bluegrass at Bay Area pizza parlors and music stores as a child with her family band.[2][6]
• Tuttle earned front-row seats at the 2023 Grammys due to her Best New Artist nomination, allowing her to watch heroes perform up close.[2]
• In 2025, she featured on Ringo Starr’s album Look Up and performed with him at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, and joined Dierks Bentley for 'American Girl' at the 2024 CMA Awards.[4]

Associated Acts

• The Molly Tuttle Band
• The Goodbye Girls
• ♀♀♀♀: The Collaboration
• The Tuttles
• First Ladies of Bluegrass - guitar

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Jack Tuttle - Father and primary early teacher, bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and instructor (Duet single (2006), family performances) [Early 2000s]
• Laurie Lewis - Role model and stylistic influence (N/A) [Ongoing]
• Kathy Kallick - Role model and stylistic influence (N/A) [Ongoing]
• Alison Krauss - Role model and stylistic influence (N/A) [Ongoing]
• Hazel Dickens - Role model; received Hazel Dickens Memorial Scholarship (Foundation for Bluegrass Music scholarship) [2012]

Key Collaborators

• AJ Lee - Band member in family group The Tuttles with AJ Lee (Albums The Tuttles with AJ Lee (2010), Endless Oceans) [2008-2012]
• Sullivan Tuttle - Brother and bandmate; later in Blue Summit with AJ Lee (The Tuttles with AJ Lee) [Early 2000s-2012]
• Michael Tuttle - Brother and bandmate on mandolin (The Tuttles with AJ Lee) [Early 2000s-2012]
• Golden Highway (Shelby Means, Kyle Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Dominick Leslie) - Current dream band members sharing vocals (Crooked Tree (2022), City of Gold (2023)) [2021-present]
• Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull, Becky Buller - Supergroup First Ladies of Bluegrass (formerly Julia Belles) (Rockygrass Festival performance) [2018]
• Jerry Douglas - Co-producer (City of Gold) [2023]

Artists Influenced

• AJ Lee - Learned humility and intent from work with Tuttle family (Blue Summit band with Sullivan Tuttle) [2008-2012]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #americana, #bluegrass, #progressive-bluegrass