Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway Look to Ride Momentum to “City of Gold”

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Molly Tuttle and her bluegrass band Golden Highway set the world on fire in 2022 with the album Crooked Tree and a subsequent tour in support. It shot an injection of youth and vitality in the bluegrass genre on the way to seeing Molly Tuttle win a well-deserved Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, along with a nomination for the Grammy’s New Artist of the Year.

Now looking to capitalize on the attention and momentum she’s captured in her Golden Highway era, Molly Tuttle recently ventured back in the studio, and recorded a brand new 13-song set called City of Gold to be released on July 21st via Nonesuch Records. Recorded at the Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, once again Tuttle employs dobro maestro Jerry Douglas as co-producer just like on Crooked Tree. But unlike the first set, City of Gold features Molly’s Golden Highway touring band primarily as opposed to other musicians.

“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,” California native Molly Tuttle says. “Just like gold fever, music has always captivated me, captured my heart, and driven me to great lengths to explore its depths … I made this record with my band Golden Highway after playing over 100 shows across the country last year.”

That band includes mandolinist Dominick Leslie, bassist Shelby Means, banjo player Kyle Tuttle, and fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, who also won the IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year in 2022. Molly Tuttle won the IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 2022. Tuttle co-produces the new album with Jerry Douglas, while Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show helped co-write multiple tracks. Other co-writers include Old Crow’s Mason Via, former Front Country member Melody Walker, and Golden Highway bassist Shelby Means.

“I dug deep as a songwriter and co-producer, 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,” Molly Tuttle says. “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.”

The first single from the album is aptly titled “El Dorodo” (listen below). City of Gold is now available for pre-order.

With her blazing flatpicking style, strong songwriting chops, infectious energy, and inspirational story, Molly Tuttle is a significant part of the infusion of new energy into bluegrass, and City of Gold immediately rockets into the position of one of the most anticipated releases of 2023.

TRACK LIST:

  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
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