City of Gold
Molly Tuttle’s band is called Golden Highway and her new album is City of Gold and the first song is called “El Dorado.” The emerging theme here is something rare of high value and this CD fits the bill.
Few acts have had the sustained heat of Tuttle and her supporting cast over the last half decade. She was IBMA “Guitar Player of the Year” in 2017, repeated that win the next year, and she was “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 2022. Her fiddle player, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is the reigning IBMA “Fiddle Player of the Year.”
Her previous album, Crooked Tree, won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. Few things in life are certain, especially these days, but it is hard to image City of Gold not being a strong contender to add more hardware next year.
Ahead of the full album release, “El Dorado,” the first single, features fast pace, hot picking and Tuttle’s distinctive vocals. It will be in the Top 10 by the time this review is in reader’s hands.
The album offers a wide range of topics and sounds. At its heart, it is bluegrass, but has distinct Americana, rock and blues influences. Listeners get gold mines, fortune tellers, love and even Alice in Wonderland, if she’d ventured to Kentucky.
Dave Matthews joins Tuttle on “Yosemite,” which Tuttle says was inspired by a breakup that occurred on a road trip from the West Coast back to Nashville. “Down Home Dispensary,” co-written by Mason Via makes the case for legalizing marijuana in Tennessee and features fun instrumental runs with a little boogie vibe thrown in.
Co-producer Jerry Douglas provides next-level Dobro work, especially shining on “When My Race is Run,” which might be the most Molly Tuttle song on the CD. Keith-Hynes shows why she reached the top of the fiddle lane throughout, but is particularly tight with “Next Rodeo.”
Three songs that might be underrated in the early going of this project are “More Like a River,” “Evergreen,” and the haunting “Goodbye Mary.” All three will be appreciated by bluegrass fans.
Tuttle wrote or co-wrote most of the songs with Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor. She mentions the influence of John Hartford, Gillian Welch and Peter Rowan on her writing and sound and she blends them beautifully on this album.
Dominick Leslie (mandolin), Shelby Means (bass/harmony vocals) and Kyle Tuttle (banjo/harmony vocals) round out Golden Highway. City of Gold is one of those albums that just needs to be set on repeat and let it go—one of the very best of 2023 that will be on all the awards short lists.
