Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s new record City of Gold may just be the best bluegrass album of the year.
In fact, I think it’s the best bluegrass album since their critically acclaimed 2022 project Crooked Tree, and that’s saying something. With 13 spectacular tracks City of Gold will take you on a one-of-a-kind sonic adventure fueled by some of the best musicians in the genre and led, of course, by virtuosic guitarist and lead singer Molly Tuttle.
One listen to City of Gold, and there is no question as to why Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway have been nominated for just about every category at the prestigious IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year, Album of the Year, and several others.
The proof is in the music for sure, so without further ado, check out the tracklist to City of Gold, which includes an awesome feature from the legendary Dave Matthews and is a perfect showcase of everything Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway have to offer in the realm of bluegrass, the jam band scene, and the greater landscape of country music.
“El Dorado”
“Where Did All the Wild Things Go”
“San Joaquin”
“Yosemite” ft. Dave Matthews
“Next Rodeo”
“When My Race is Run”
“Alice in the Bluegrass”
“Stranger Things”
“Down Home Dispensary”
“More Like a River”
“Goodbye Mary”
“Evergreen, OK”
“The First Time I fell in Love”
Produced by bluegrass great Jerry Douglas at Sound Emporium Studios in the band’s homebase of Nashville, TN, and with songwriting assistance throughout the album from Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor and Mason Via, among others, there is no shortage of star power that was involved in the making of this record. The five-piece band that makes up Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, though, is where the real magic comes from on this record.
Led by California bred frontwoman Molly Tuttle, an unreal guitar talent in her own right as mentioned earlier, Golden Highway features revered artists within the bluegrass industry on every instrument – Kyle Tuttle, of no relation to Molly, is a killer on the banjo, Dominick Leslie plays the mandolin, Shelby Means keeps everyone in line on the bass, and lent quite a bit of songwriting assistance in this record, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes may be the most talented of the group, believe it or not, as she has gained a reputation as one of the best fiddle players in the industry.
Proving more than capable of maintaining the momentum they built with Crooked Tree and carrying the torch of bluegrass tradition as one of the most prominent bands in the scene, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway is a legendary band in the making, and we just get to sit back and enjoy the ride with City of Gold.
If you like what you are hearing, though, I highly suggest you make it a priority to see them play live, because that’s really where the magic happens.
Check out Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s recently announced fall tour below to see if they’re coming to a city near you.
