# Molly Tuttle
**Molly Tuttle** (born 1993 in [Santa Clara, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-clara-california)) is an American bluegrass guitarist, singer, and songwriter who leads the band Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and has won consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography) • [2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/molly-tuttle/52200/) She is known for virtuosic flatpicking, clawhammer, and cross-picking guitar technique, and for a career that moves between straight bluegrass and pop-influenced songwriting.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Santa Clara, California[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography) |
| Instrumental honors | First woman to win the IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Award, 2017 (at age 24); won again in 2018[3](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio) |
| Grammy Awards | Best Bluegrass Album for *Crooked Tree* (2023) and *City of Gold* (2024), both with Golden Highway; Best New Artist nominee, 2023[2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/molly-tuttle/52200/) |
| Band | Golden Highway: Tuttle (guitar), Kyle Tuttle (banjo), Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle), Shelby Means (bass), Dominick Leslie (mandolin)[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/crooked-tree-mw0003658536) |
| Solo albums | *Rise* EP (2017), *When You're Ready* (2019), *...But I'd Rather Be with You* (2020), *Crooked Tree* (2022), *City of Gold* (2023), *So Long Little Miss Sunshine* (2025)[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/crooked-tree-mw0003658536) • [5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/so-long-little-miss-sunshine-mw0004572960) |
| Other recognition | Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year; signature Martin D-18 and D-X2E guitars (2026)[3](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio) • [6](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/acoustic-guitars/molly-tuttle-signature-martin-guitars-d-18-and-d-x2e) |
## Early life and technique
Tuttle grew up in a musical family in California and started guitar lessons with her father, Jack Tuttle, at age eight.[7](https://www.intunemonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Lesson-Plans-IT-20-5.pdf) She appeared on regional stages across [Northern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-california) as a teenager, competing in instrumental contests against adults, and made her debut recording at age 13.[8](https://www.mollytuttle.org/bio) • [9](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/molly-tuttle-organic-acoustic) In interviews she credits learning songs and tunes, rather than drills, with developing her picking technique.[10](https://www.musicradar.com/news/molly-tuttle-i-think-i-became-more-and-more-obsessed-and-in-love-with-playing)
Her technique draws notice for combining flatpicking, in which a pick is used for single-note leads, with clawhammer, a down-stroke style she lifted directly from banjo playing, and with cross-picking.[9](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/molly-tuttle-organic-acoustic) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography) She attended [Berklee College of Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/berklee-college-of-music) in Boston, where she co-founded the all-female group the Goodbye Girls.[8](https://www.mollytuttle.org/bio) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography)
## Breakthrough and awards
A 2015 crowdfunding effort paid for her debut solo release, the seven-track EP *Rise*, which came out in 2017; that same year, she joined Compass Records and made history as the first female recipient of the [International Bluegrass Music Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-bluegrass-music-association)'s Guitar Player of the Year Award.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography) She won that award again the following year and has been nominated nearly every year since; she has also won the [Americana Music Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/americana-music-association)'s Instrumentalist of the Year award.[3](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio)
The Grammy recognition arrived with Golden Highway. *Crooked Tree*, her Nonesuch debut and the band's studio debut, won Best Bluegrass Album at the [65th Annual Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/65th-annual-grammy-awards), where Tuttle was also nominated for Best New Artist.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/crooked-tree-mw0003658536) • [2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/molly-tuttle/52200/) *City of Gold* won the same category at the 66th ceremony.[2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/molly-tuttle/52200/) She has also played on other artists' records, including [Ringo Starr](https://www.edgepedia.org/ringo-starr)'s country album *Look Up* (2025).[3](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio)
## Crooked Tree and City of Gold
**Crooked Tree** was recorded at Oceanway Studios in Nashville with Jerry Douglas, the dobro player and "newgrass" veteran, co-producing. Guest appearances came from [Margo Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/margo-price), Billy Strings, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sierra Hull, Dan Tyminski, and [Gillian Welch](https://www.edgepedia.org/gillian-welch).[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/crooked-tree-mw0003658536) Reviewers noted that the album approached traditional bluegrass themes from a female perspective and that, unlike her earlier Americana-leaning releases, it was her first all-bluegrass album.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/crooked-tree-mw0003658536) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/02/crooked-tree-by-molly-tuttle-review-classy-bluegrass-for-modern-america) Its Metascore on Metacritic was 79 based on 7 critic reviews.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/music/crooked-tree/molly-tuttle/critic-reviews)
**City of Gold** was recorded in Nashville after a year of touring, again with Douglas producing alongside Tuttle, and critics heard it as more of a group effort.[13](https://acousticguitar.com/review-molly-tuttle-city-of-gold/) Its songs draw on her California upbringing: "El Dorado" is narrated by a Gold Rush figure, "San Joaquin" turns a train anthem into a pot-smuggling story, and "Alice in the Bluegrass" recasts [Lewis Carroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/lewis-carroll) in a backwoods setting.[13](https://acousticguitar.com/review-molly-tuttle-city-of-gold/) Several songs were co-written with Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show.[14](https://savingcountrymusic.com/album-review-molly-tuttles-city-of-gold/)
## So Long Little Miss Sunshine and the pop turn
*So Long Little Miss Sunshine* (2025) is a solo album produced by Jay Joyce in Nashville, with twelve songs, eleven originals plus a cover of [Icona Pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/icona-pop) and [Charli XCX](https://www.edgepedia.org/charli-xcx)'s "I Love It." Tuttle plays banjo on it for the first time on one of her records.[3](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio) AllMusic's review describes a pop sensibility that had been under the surface on the Golden Highway albums now taking center stage.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/so-long-little-miss-sunshine-mw0004572960) The album reached number 1 on both Billboard's Bluegrass and [Americana](https://www.edgepedia.org/americana) charts, and the single "That's Gonna Leave a Mark" became her first number 1 at Americana Radio in July.[15](https://www.grandtheater.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Fall-25_Newsletter-FINAL-forweb.pdf) It earned Grammy nominations for Best Americana Album and, for that single, Best Americana Performance at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.[2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/molly-tuttle/52200/)
## Alopecia and advocacy
Tuttle has been bald since age three because of the autoimmune condition alopecia areata, and she acts as a spokesperson for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. The cover of *So Long Little Miss Sunshine* shows multiple figures of her wearing different wigs and one with nothing on her head, and the song "Old Me (New Wig)" addresses letting go of self-doubt.[3](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio) At a 2025 Arlington Theatre concert she removed her wig mid-song and played without it for the rest of the show.[16](https://www.independent.com/2025/12/12/review-women-ruling-twanging/)
## Signature instruments
In 2026 Tuttle received two signature Martin guitars, a D-18 and the more affordable D-X2E, both based on her 1943 D-18. The D-18 features rear-shifted scalloped bracing, a 1940s neck profile, and moon-phase fingerboard inlays; the D-18 lists at $4,199.99 with right- and left-handed models available.[6](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/acoustic-guitars/molly-tuttle-signature-martin-guitars-d-18-and-d-x2e)
## References
1. [Molly Tuttle Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-tuttle-mn0002614308/biography)
2. [Molly Tuttle, Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/molly-tuttle/52200/)
3. [Biography, Molly Tuttle official site](https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/bio)
4. [Crooked Tree, AllMusic album review](https://www.allmusic.com/album/crooked-tree-mw0003658536)
5. [So Long Little Miss Sunshine, AllMusic album review](https://www.allmusic.com/album/so-long-little-miss-sunshine-mw0004572960)
6. [Molly Tuttle signature Martin guitars, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/acoustic-guitars/molly-tuttle-signature-martin-guitars-d-18-and-d-x2e)
7. [In Tune Lesson Plan, February 2023](https://www.intunemonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Lesson-Plans-IT-20-5.pdf)
8. [Molly Tuttle Biography, mollytuttle.org](https://www.mollytuttle.org/bio)
9. [Molly Tuttle: Organic & Acoustic, Premier Guitar](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/molly-tuttle-organic-acoustic)
10. [Molly Tuttle interview, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/news/molly-tuttle-i-think-i-became-more-and-more-obsessed-and-in-love-with-playing)
11. [Crooked Tree review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/02/crooked-tree-by-molly-tuttle-review-classy-bluegrass-for-modern-america)
12. [Crooked Tree critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/crooked-tree/molly-tuttle/critic-reviews)
13. [City of Gold review, Acoustic Guitar](https://acousticguitar.com/review-molly-tuttle-city-of-gold/)
14. [City of Gold album review, Saving Country Music](https://savingcountrymusic.com/album-review-molly-tuttles-city-of-gold/)
15. [Grand Theater Fall 2025 newsletter](https://www.grandtheater.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Fall-25_Newsletter-FINAL-forweb.pdf)
16. [Review: Women Ruling, Twanging, Santa Barbara Independent](https://www.independent.com/2025/12/12/review-women-ruling-twanging/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Blues, folk, and roots musicians › Bluegrass and old-time musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license