Headed downtown Friday night for my first big bluegrass show. Molly Tuttle and the Golden Highway were playing at the Ryman. Tuttle came out to cheers from a packed crowd, kicking the night off with one of her up-tempo hits “Nashville Mess Around”. In true country music homage to the mother church Molly was wearing a blue dress with gold fringe and a cowboy hat. Her bandmates were decked out in coordinating western outfits.

“This is our first headlining show at the Ryman. It’s something we’ve dreamed about” Molly tells the crowd with enthusiasm. Her band, Golden Highway featured Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on fiddle, Kyle Tuttle on banjo, Shelby Means on Upright bass and background vocals, and Dominick Leslie on mandolin.

Being Nashville, the night was filled with special guests. First up was the Del McCoury Band who had just gotten off stage at the Grand Ole Opry and stopped by to sing their song “She’s Heavenly” with Molly. Next was flat picking guitarist Bryan Sutton who did two numbers (a Doc Watson song “Salt Creek” and “Old Man at the Mill” with claw hammered picking. Country music royalty Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas Nelson came out and played a cover of “Act Naturally”. Fiddle player extraordinaire Jason Carter joined the band on Molly’s hits “Dooley’s Farm” and “Crooked Tree”.

The song I remember most was “White Rabbit”, partly because I knew the song, partly because of the antics onstage. Someone dressed up as the white rabbit from the movie Alice In Wonderland came out and proceeded to dance with each of the band members and Molly, much to the crowds amusement.

Another song that stuck out was Stranger Things. The song featured ethereal vocal echo solos and a haunting fiddle. It fits with the Friday the 13th show. There was a memorable banjo solo from Kyle Tuttle right before “Alice in the Bluegrass”.

Where Did All The Wild Things Go was another highlight because of the pretty fiddle duet between Bronwyn and Jason Carter, followed by long instrumental from full band.

“Thank you so much for coming out and seeing us in our hometown at the mother church” Molly graciously addressed the crowd. Tuttle then shares her story of growing up with Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. She took off her wig and played “Crooked Tree”, a song that was inspired by her journey with the disease. Fans cheered their support.

Molly closed her set with the song “San Joaquin” , bringing out the opening act and the special guests onstage to join in. After lots of crowd stomping she returned to the stage with everyone for an encore of “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “White Freightliner

Blues” featuring all of the special guests. While I may not be as familiar with Molly and the songs as the rest of the audience, the show was enjoyable and a fun introduction to bluegrass live.

SETLIST

1. Nashville Mess Around

2. Evergreen, OK

3. El Dorado

4. The River Knows

5. Yosemite

6. Side Saddle

7. She’s Heavenly (with Del McCoury Band)

8. Stranger Things

9. Alice in the Bluegrass

10. White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane cover)

11. Down Home Dispensary

12. Salt Creek (traditional cover with Bryan Sutton)

13. Old Man at the Mill (traditional cover with Bryan Sutton)

14. More Like a River

15. Where Did All The Wild Things Go

16. Act Naturally (Johnny Russell cover with Lukas Nelson)

17. Dooley’s Farm (with Jason Carter)

18. Crooked Tree (with Jason Carter)

19. San Joaquin

Encore:

20. Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms (traditional cover with all guests)

21. White Freight Liner Blues (Townes Van Zandt cover with all guests)