Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - Molly Tutttle

Episode Date: September 1, 2026

This episode is brought to you by JamCut.IO (https://jamcut.io/). If you're a musician and you're tired of making clips all the time, check these guys out! Molly Tuttle joins Andy Frasco for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up in a bluegrass family, becoming one of the best guitar players of her generation, and finding her place in Nashville. Molly talks about losing her hair to alopecia as a child, dealing with social anxiety, and how music gave her a way to connect with people. She looks back on meeting Sierra Hull and other future bluegrass stars as a kid, moving to Nashville with no manager or booking agent, and eventually moving into a house with Billy Strings and his partner Ally, right across the street from Lindsay Lou. She also tells a hilarious story about taking an edible at a festival, unexpectedly getting asked to sit in with another artist, and having a full-blown panic attack onstage. Plus, Molly talks about winning IBMA Guitar Player of the Year, her Grammy success, songwriting with her partner Ketch Secor, the song "Crooked Tree," burnout in the music industry, and what she ultimately hopes people remember about her.

Molly Tuttle, how you doing? I'm good. How are you? Wow, rock star. Just out here, just kicking ass for a good cause and writing great songs. It's an honor to, I don't think we've ever met. Or maybe we met once, but. I saw your set at Hogs for a Cause like a few years ago. Oh, God. And I saw you running around and it was awesome.

Oh, yeah. But I don't know if we met, maybe we said hi or something. I don't think we like officially met. No, well, let's get to. to know each other right now. Yeah. I met your dad. I actually sat in with your dad.

You did? When did you sit in with him? It was during, I was doing a show with Steve Pultz and your dad. Oh. Yeah. Tell me about Palo Alto. Like, you grew up out there? Yeah.

I grew up in Palo Alto. My dad kind of moved there in like the 80s. He grew up on a farm in Illinois, had a bluegrass family band growing up. My grandfather played the banjo. My grandpa was a farmer and like a huge bluegrass fan. He would go, they'd go see the grandol opera. They'd go to bluegrass festivals all over Illinois. My grandma didn't play an instrument, but she was like a taper.

Like we still have all her old cassettes of bluegrass festivals they'd go to. So she would like tape everything. And so they loved bluegrass. And so my dad grew up playing and then moved out to the Bay Area because he kind of wanted to just get a change of scenery, get off the farm. farm and he loved David Grisman, who was out in the bay playing lot. Tony Rice was out there and he thought that would be exciting. So he ended up stumbling into a music store in Palo Alto and they needed a banjo teacher. So for up until just a few years ago, he was teaching at Griffin String Instruments. It's a music store and they have these little rooms in the back where there's music teachers who go in and teach private lessons and some group classes every day. So he was doing that six days a week up until the pandemic. when they stopped having teachers to kind of expand the space in the store. And now he teaches online.

But yeah, it's kind of like a random roundabout way to have grown up in Silicon Valley but play bluegrass. And people are always asking me about that. But I feel like I have to explain like how it all came about. Yeah, my mom's a big music fan. She doesn't really play music, but she loves bluegrass and roots music. and that's how my parents meant. Do they stereotype you?

They're like, oh, she's from Silicon Valley. She must be a rich girl. You know, like, did you ever have to deal with any of those stereotypes? But. Um, yeah, I do. I kind of have to, like, do a disclaimer.

Like, my parents are both teachers. Like, I'm not, like, don't come from, like, millionaire family just because I'm from Palo Alto. I understand it's very, like, privileged place to grow up, though. Yeah. And, um, I don't know, it's very, Very passive aggressive in California. I grew up in Southern California, but I went to school in San Francisco.

I always felt like it was very passive aggressive about how they approached feelings and stuff. Like, were you picked on when you were a kid at all? Or what was your childhood? It was funny, because I grew up, I lost my hair when I was a kid, alopecia. And I wear wigs now a lot. but when I was a kid, I never did. So I found that California, people are so, you know, open. Everyone, like open with their feelings almost in a passive-aggressive way.

Like people were always commenting. People would come up to me like, honey, I'm praying for you. I get that down south, but like, you know, just trying to like have this connection with me as a small child, but like also making so many assumptions about me and just feeling free to kind of like say whatever. and like, you know, say it in like a positive way, but still making kind of the same assumptions that I get anywhere. And then I remember taking a trip to like the East Coast when I was a kid and nobody, like, nobody bothered me about it. It was like just in California. I was like, I was constantly getting people coming up to me. Yeah. What's your take on judging a book by its cover?

Yeah, well, I think kind of going through that experience when I was younger just made me a lot more, at least trying to be aware of when I do that myself. Because, you know, I can't blame people for assuming anything about me because I'm sure I've done the same thing with someone else. But it does try to make, make, made me like take a step back and really just kind of notice when I am judging someone based on their appearance or I hear someone. Right. I want to question it a little bit more and just be like, you know, we shouldn't.

Yeah. We know someone's whole story. And you shouldn't really make assumptions based on what someone's. looks like. Yeah. Or like, yeah, I think what fucked us,

sorry, I'm cussing, I don't know if you cussed. I think what screwed us is social media, we have six seconds to judge someone's post,

you know? So we do that, we look at it, oh, I get it all. And we move on, we move on, we move on.

Maybe this like ADD culture is kind of, is reassessing how quickly we, shoe things away or not. Yeah, totally.

Yeah. I know. I feel like it just, it's so gratifying in a way to just see one picture and like make a snap judgment. Yeah, yeah. How, like, so I think about this too because like, reading, reading your story or the notes I have is like, it kind of

feels like partridge family in a hair. Where like, you guys were a family band. You guys, was it, Did you fall in love with it or fall in love with music or were you forced to play it in the beginning? Tell me those first couple steps of you've really deep diving and fall in love with songwriting and deep dive and fall in love with guitar. Yeah, I loved music as a kid. I remember being like really little and just hearing my dad play and wanting him to play me the same songs over and over again. And I just love listening to music.

I love, we'd have jam sessions or my dad would have friends over and then. all play and I was always really interested in it. I tried to play the fiddle, but I don't think I ever had the attention span for that instrument because when you first start playing, it sounds horrible. At least it did when I first started. I didn't take naturally to that.

And then I tried some piano lessons, but didn't love, I had kind of a strict teacher who I didn't really love. And then finally I asked for a guitar, and then one day my dad brought home this little baby Taylor from his music store where he was where he worked and just started showing me simple chords casually,

and that I really took, too, because I like that it felt more like just this fun activity I could do with my dad. And yeah, I don't know. I just, I knew I, music was kind of like my big passion as a kid. I loved listening to music and playing it. And then my younger brothers, I think, saw me playing and made them want to do it too.

And so then we all started playing together once we got a little older and had played for a couple years. And then also my dad had some students who were the same age as me and my brothers. We'd get together with them, make little bands, play at the local pizza parlor down the street. And that was always really fun, too. It felt like I had my friends at school, and then I had this other life with these other friends. I was never into sports or any other extracurricular. So that was kind of my only thing.

Yeah. Were you, was it easy for you to, like, have friends or were you a homebody? Or did you like being alone more or like being with the family? What was your personality like when you're a kid? I always had like a couple really close friends. So I feel like I always had like a best friend. I was never like someone who was super gregarious in like a big group setting. But I would have these like really close friends.

So I'd hang out with all the time. So I was social, but not like a social butterfly. Did they play music? Sometimes. Yeah, some of them did. I remember one of my best friends in middle school, we would get together every day. Like anytime we had an off period or during lunch, we would just run to the band room. And we were playing just like Green Day, rancid, rage against the machine.

We were into like rock stuff and or like finding songs on YouTube and trying to learn those. So it was different from what I was playing like with my family. family, but still fun to have a best friend who I got to play music with. Yeah, and like, it's nice to have your own life, you know? Like, I read your story, like, you're making a duet record with your dad at 13.

This is crazy, Molly. This is like, did you feel like you were that comfortable on the guitar? Was your dad saying, we should make this? Or was that like, are you like, you and your dad are just so close that it was just like you just loved writing music together. Yeah, we were always playing

together and it was definitely my dad's idea to like make a little album together because he was I think it was like a fun project for him to get you know he like ordered mics on eBay he learned how to engineer and he would just kind of lay down like a rhythm track and then I would come in and do my part and sing and it was fun yeah I really enjoyed doing it we just did it like at home and it was cool I haven't listened to it in a long time I'm like kind of scared to hear what it sounds like. Are you like that? Are you like, I'm like that too. I don't like, I do not want to listen to my first couple records. I'm like, I don't even want to go back to those memories of puberty and like stuff. Definitely. That was such like a cringy time. Yeah. What did you not like

about yourself during puberty? Oh, I didn't like, um, a ton of stuff. I didn't like, you know, I feel like I nitpigued how I looked. Obviously, the not having air became, like a bigger issue then because I was like well I was wearing hats all the time at school but I kind of want to start wearing wigs but I didn't want to just show up one day with a full head of hair and be like yeah me now it was scary um I didn't like that I felt a lot of I felt a lot of like social anxiety which I I still have but I've kind of like worked through it but at the time it was like kind of overwhelming especially like in a group or like talking to boys I like or whatever. It was just, I had a lot of, um, just feeling self-conscious about myself socially.

Why do you think that was? I'm, like everyone in my family is, or a lot of people in my family are pretty reserved. And I think it's like partially just that and then, um, partially just like feeling uncomfortable at that age. Right, right. Yeah. But me, like an instant in. It was like I could, if people were into playing music at school and then they knew that I played guitar, that was kind of how I could still make friends and feel cool. Yeah, it's weird how we departmentalize social anxiety because now look at you, you're playing in front of hundreds of thousands of people. All right.

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jam cut turns one show into a week's of content this is huge actually honestly no bullshit this is huge because sometimes we only get these like shitty one video iPhone videos and jam cut can actually cut it into something worth posting so take it from me it's fun as hell to use your first month is free just tell them i sent you use the code frasco and experience it the future of live show video editing so get yourself out go to fucking jam cut all right hey boys what about jam cut we love they fucking love it less work for frasco means happy band all right bye you know how did you get to that point from social anxiety to getting on the stage and being comfortable yeah that took a pretty long time i think i was early on i remember feeling pretty

comfortable like playing on stage, but it took me a long time to feel comfortable engaging with the audience, you know, kind of being expressive on stage and telling stories, telling jokes. That took a lot longer than I feel like as a kid or growing up I could stand on stage and play a song, but it was hard to really do much more than that performance-wise, I guess, if that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, it's so fascinating how we just like turn that. Because like, are you still like, what about when you're in crowds of people, not on stage?

You should have that anxiety of like, I don't want to, you know, like that angst of not really want to talk to people. Or have you that let go of that fear? I feel like I've kind of let go of that. Well, one time I do feel like that is like if I like smoke weed, I get that way. Me too. I can't smoke weed in it. I can't do it in a crowd. That's like the one time I still feel that way.

Give me an example. Do you have a story of one time? You smoked weed and then walked into the crowd and just like kind of froze. There was one time I took an edible at a festival. So we played like an early set. And then we had a late night set at like 11 p.m. Yeah. And I took an edible in between and then someone asked me to sit in with them.

And I said yes and I had forgotten I'd taken it. I thought it was like going to be super mild. So I just kind of completely forgotten. I agreed to sit in with someone. It was not mild at all. And I was like having a total panic attack on stage. Oh my God. My band escorted me.

So usually I feel like if I sit in with someone, I'd hang out and like say thanks or like thanks for having me afterwards. I was like freaking out and my band was all watching me in the crowd. They knew what was going on. So they were laughing. And that made me even more paranoid. So they like walked around me like, bodyguards to like we were in a sprinter and I just lay down in there for two hours because

I couldn't be around people and I texted the person I'd sat in with and said that I felt sick. Oh my God. He's like he just walked out like they're like they're probably like what the fuck this rock star doesn't even say bye. She says just like walked out piece out but you're really like losing your mind dude. I can't. And now I would never do that was a year ago and I was like never again. That was absolutely horrible. Yeah, that's the same thing. I didn't know how much edible I ate and I had to walk on stage and I had like, I felt like I had a heart attack. I was like having a heart attack. I was sweating. I was having a panic attack. Yeah. And like you don't really like did it start coming on right before

you got on stage or like right when you got on stage, that's when it came on. It was before too. Like we were kind of hanging backstage ready to go on and I was like, Oh, that's the worst. I can't even talk. That's the way. That would, I would, yeah, that's, that will, that will retire me for any edible. Definitely learned my lesson there. Tell me about your relationship with your brother. You know, you guys are still close and all, or does he still play music? Or what's, what's your relationship like with them? Yeah, Sully still plays his band, AJ Lee and Blue Summit. They are playing all over the place. So AJ is someone we grew up playing with. We were like, it was like a family band plus AJ. So that was always, confusing people. We called ourselves

The Tuddles with A.J. Lee, which is like not a very good name, but it was very self-explanatory. The Tuddles with AJ? That's what was called? Yeah, the Tuddles with A.J. Lee. We just, she's a great singer, mandolin player. We met her at a festival and just kind of started playing shows, and then it was going so

a while. We started, like, booking festivals and stuff around when I was 15, 14. And so she now has her own band, and my brother plays guitar in it, Sully. And, um, So, yeah, he's out. We, like, cross paths. We'll both be at Telly Ride, Bluegrass Festival this summer.

I see him out on the road. And then when we come home for the holidays or if I'm visiting California, I'll get together with him. And I love playing with him. He's great. He's such a great guitar player. And then I have a younger brother, Michael, who played with, he played mandolin in the Tuddle band. And he doesn't play all that much anymore. He kind of, like, went the more practical route of going into, like, the tech.

tech scene. So easy. A real job. It's so easy to do that, right? When you're living out there. Yeah. Yeah, totally. It's definitely a lot more kind of like,

you know, he really wanted to have some job security. And me and Sally were more like, well, just, you know, let's see how to go. And do whatever. Yeah.

But yeah, he's great. He still plays Maniland, and he has started playing guitar and entering contests on the guitar, which, he's had fun doing but yeah we play sometimes

is it is it competitive between you guys at all or like do uh is you like how do they how do I don't know how to say this like if my brother or sister was in the same career I was

I would either be like kind of competitive or kind of angry if they get successful over me or whatever is there is there any of that kind of animosity between the siblings, like friendly competition to be the best you can be? I don't think so. I've never felt that way towards my brothers.

I know when we were growing up, they would have like little contests where they would try to like play faster than the other one. Both of them ended up being able to play extremely fast, but it was like kind of a very unmusical way to play together where they both be like playing the same song just trying to play it. faster than the other one. It's like no one's listening to each other. The music's all about listening. Yeah, you're doing the opposite of listening to the other person. You're trying to like over them. So that was kind of funny, but I don't feel like we get super competitive. And I saw like my brother did

an interview with, I think it was Bluegrass Today, which is like a bluegrass website. And it was so cute. He kept saying how I was like his guitar inspiration growing up. And I was like, Oh, horrible. Did he ever tell you that? Oh. He's proud. Public college now, publicly stated. That's sweet.

Did you message him and say, why didn't you tell me earlier? We could have been bonded more. No, we had like a family thread where my mom sent us all the article. Oh, that's so cute. Oh, that's so cute. Oh, man. So what's, tell me about your move when, you know, you moved to Nashville in 2015? Yeah.

So you moved to Nashville 2015. What was that transition like? Did you have mentors helping you out throughout that? How was like, how was your band doing before you moved to Nashville or were you touring before that? Like give me like the scoop right before you took the move to Nashville. Yeah, I wasn't touring a whole lot. I was trying to get, I would play like whatever gigs I could get.

I was just, I didn't have a booking agent, didn't have like a manager really. So yeah, when I moved to Nashville, it was kind of like starting from the ground up. I had like, you know, played a fair amount just kind of around the Boston area and booked some festivals here and there. So I was trying. And then I was also teaching music at music camps, go out and teach for a week. And I had some private lesson students to, you know, help me pay the bills. And I like, I enjoyed teaching too. So I moved to Nashville and crowdfunded my first EP rise that I made.

And then from there, I started, I think I got a booking agent after that. So I'd been in Nashville for maybe a year or so before I really started being able to tour and put a band together. So yeah, it all kind of slowly built up. But when I moved to Nashville, I felt like I knew people, but I didn't like, once I got there, I was like, whoa, it's kind of hard to actually, you know, break in to the scene. And you have to be super proactive about like going out all the time, meeting new people, following up. when I moved to Boston, went to Berkeley, I felt like it was this instant kind of community that I fell into. I guess I was accepting that again, but we were no longer in college and everyone was doing their own thing. So it was harder. It took me a few years to really find my people.

Yeah. What was a, yeah, I didn't realize you went to Berkeley. So did you graduate or did you? For two and a half years. And technically I did this thing called the artist diploma that my mom really wanted me to graduate. So this was kind of like a compromise. where they have this program where you can, if you want to really just like go to music school, but maybe not get a bachelor's degree and get out there and perform instead, there's like a program

they had at the time. I don't know if they still do it, but it's basically you can kind of choose whatever classes you want, stay for a couple of years, and then you get a diploma, but it's not really like a college degree. So I technically walked at graduation, but didn't complete the full thing. I'll clap to that. Let's go. Thank you. Let's go. I was talking to Kyle too. Kyle, I'm starting to get really close with Kyle.

And he was telling me, I guess he lived in Boston too. Did you know him back then? I actually met him because he came to, I was at IBMA, so that's the Bluegrass Music Association. They put on this week where everyone goes to kind of a conference-y thing for people who like bluegrass and I met him because my family was doing a showcase at it when I was a kid and you just basically would just play in like a conference room of a hotel and hope that some booking agents or whoever would come in and see you and want to book you for a gig. But Kyle came and was like,

I'm a total and I played bluegrass. So we met him that way. And then when I went to Boston, I think I reached out to him because he had gone, I knew he was at Berkeley and he was one of the people I knew in the Boston scene. So yeah, I connected with him once I got to Boston. but I think he had already finished Berkeley so I saw him around here and there and then yeah didn't and then I think I moved to Nashville and then he ended up in Nashville too

so just kind of cross past with him for years but hadn't gotten to play with him too much until we started the band yeah it's so crazy how that like you were just like two ships passing in the night you both lived in Boston didn't really like kind of vibe with each other yet but like I didn't even know what that even before that with the family band

yeah Yeah, yeah. So I met him when I was a teenager, I guess. I was still a teenager when I moved to Boston. And then he just kind of like, I think we maybe even played a gig or two together just at this local dive bar, the Can't Tab Lounge in Boston. Yeah, can't have. So I think I played with him here and there, but like didn't see him around all the time. And then, yeah, just kind of wound up again, both in Nashville. And that was the same with Dom, who's in my band. He also went to Berkeley, I think a little before I did. And he was kind of kicking around the. Boston scene, then ended up in Nashville. Bronwyn and I were both at Berkeley at the same time, and I think she's the only one in the band who finished the full

four years. It's so crazy how many musicians are coming from Berkeley. It's like everyone either had a year. Like, no one's really graduated. You know, like, and then when you graduate, everyone calls you a nerd. You know, like, oh, man.

But it's just so fascinating. And then so you moved to Nashville. you're starting to get your feet wet a little bit. You started to get a booking agent and stuff. Who were like the people, like, who are your friends that you're kind of growing your career with through those beginning years? Yeah. So when I first moved to Nashville, I lived in this woman's basement and her name was Nancy

Cardwell. She was actually like the head of IBMA. I lived in her basement, but I was kind of far away from the people I was meeting. So I wanted to move to East Nashville. Then I randomly went on Facebook and saw Billy Strings, posted. I just met him like briefly a couple months before that. He was like me and Allie are looking for a roommate. And so I moved in with them and that was awesome because it was like not only did I get to, you know, see Billy and then across the street was Lindsay Lou.

And she was always like subletting rooms to other musicians. There were always people crashing at either our house or their house. So I went from kind of being far off and I was kind of like in Madison, but like deep into Madison where I'd have to get on like the freeway to get into town really, to all of a sudden I was kind of like in this central part where there were just musicians everywhere. So that's how I really like suddenly then I could just walk across the street to like they would have house concerts, bluegrass jams. Was Anders living out in Madison yet? I don't know. I don't think so. I never, I didn't know Anders until a few years ago. So I'm not sure. Now everyone's like moved to Madison at the time.

I was like the only one is Madison. It's like a little bluegrass coal out there now, dude. Like Vince Herman, all the whole crew. I know. Now I'm like, dang, I should move to Madison. All my friends were there now, but at the time, Madison wasn't really where people were going. Yeah, I think it, like, gentrified, like, recently, right?

Yeah, and it's, I think it is kind of starting to get gentrified there. And then a lot of the musicians have kind of been pushed out of East Nashville. And then also there's like a few really cool places in Madison like these country. Yeah, these is great. Yeah. So that's kind of brought people, a lot of people. So you're living with Billy and Allie. You had Lindsay Lou there too.

And this is how this is what I love about life, you know. And then Kyle's now in love with Lindsay. It's just like I know. I just love this whole, this whole parallel of like when you find your people. It's just like it sticks, you know? So when did that, when, so did Billy start making money and then kick you out of the house? Or like, what was that like? Or did you like move out?

Did you fall in love? Like did you get in a relationship? What was it like? Yeah. Hey, I think we all just kind of wanted to, I kind of wanted to get my own place. The house was falling apart. The day we moved out, it flooded. Oh, my God.

The pipe was worse. The basement flooded. There was black mold. in the house. It was just a little bit of like a, you know, it was kind of just like a house you have like a bunch of roommates. It's like a frat house. But not forever.

Yeah, you don't want to live there forever. So they wanted their own place. He was just getting like, it was small too. Like we ended up having way too much stuff for this house. And so yeah, it just made sense. I think we maybe lived there for like two years. And then I got my own place. They got their own place.

We were all still, I think, around the same area. But, yeah, I just kind of came to its natural conclusion. Oh, and then also, I think the people who own the house wanted to, like, renovated or something. And then that was the beginning, sadly, of people not living on that street anymore, because then Lindsay ended up having to move out. Oh, man. So now I don't know if musicians live there anymore, but it was great while it lasted. Yeah, I bet. And then when did you meet Sierra Hall?

I met her when I was, like, 11. What? Again at IBMA. So like still, I don't know my story. It's crazy, dude. It was like a nerdy thing. But yeah, I met her. They would have this thing every year that, like, it was called Kids on Bluegrass.

And it was so much fun because they would just bring kids from all over the country to the conference. Yeah. And you would kind of work all week, like putting together the show. And so Sierra did it. I did it. I met Sarah DeRose at that as well. And like a bunch of people I'm still friends with. Jared Walker and Corey Walker,

the Walker brothers who Jared plays with Billy and Corey's in East Nash grass. And so it was, I remember feeling super intimidated because I felt like all the other kids were like already like pro-level musicians. And I was kind of like, you know, still figuring what I was doing there. But yeah, Sierra was so sweet. even as a kid, I remember she just had this totally, like, mature personality.

It was like a total shredder. And, yeah, I met her there. And then we kind of kept in touch and became better friends once I moved to Nashville because she had been here for a while already. No, I got a question about that. Like, when you feel intimidated, what made you keep going? Like, you could have just quit when you saw all these like, oh, my God, look at all these virtuoso people.

I'm never going to be that way. Did you have, like, a mentor? Did your dad help you kind of like stay, stick the path, stick the path? Or did you, were you always just strong-willed as a kid? I think it just like, you know, it kind of, it felt like, I felt like giving up sometimes. And then, you know, I'd kind of get over it and just be like, well, maybe if I just practice even more each day, I could, I could be like that someday. Yeah.

So yeah, I guess it just kind of, it made me determined in a way and it showed me what was possible. Like it was also really inspiring to see. kids my age who are so advanced on their instruments and just already writing these wonderful songs and really just kind of like getting started as like a full-fledged artist. So it was pretty inspiring and I think it was good for me to see what like kids from all around the country we're doing and get out of my bubble a little bit. Yeah, it's humbling too, you know? Like you're in Palo Alto.

Yeah, I'm a badass out here. I'm just out shredding this shit. and then you come out to this IBMA, I'm like, oh, shit. I'm a small. And all the, like, Nashville kids are like, the Nashville kids like, fuck you, Molly. I've been doing this since I was four years old. So this is very fascinating to me.

From 2015, you moved to Nashville. You do the Kickstarter for the seven songs, right? And then a year later in 2017, you got a record deal? Yeah, yeah. Then I signed it to company. Yeah. So what a, was it? those two years of your career, was it like very fast?

Like, oh my God, everything's happening really quickly? Or it was like, thank God, I've been waiting for this moment my whole fucking life. You know, like, what was it like in your head, you know? I think it always, like it did feel kind of fast. But at the same time, it was like, it's always felt like this kind of slow build for me anyway. Like, I just feel like I've been kind of working at this since I started playing and like writing my own songs and um but so much happened in like that couple years when i moved to Nashville i think when i moved to Nashville i was like i don't know if i can do this maybe i'll

be here a couple of years and then i don't know maybe i'll just like end up teaching music doing what my dad did um but at least got to try and then that those couple of years i was like well i think this is possible i can you know make i'm doing yeah and i felt so supported by the bluegrass community and All of a sudden, like, oh, okay, people are, you know, recognizing what I'm doing a little bit. What was a bigger accomplishment for you in your head was being the first woman to win guitar player of the year or winning a Grammy? Ooh, it's so hard to say because they both happen at like different. Yeah, eras in your life. I mean, IBMA was so special just because it was like, like I was saying, I grew up going to that.

And I remember going to the award show as a kid. And that felt like the Grammys, to me, I would see my heroes. Like Tony Rice would be there. Alison Krause would be there. It was so cool. And so then to feel like lifted up by that community from like beginning to go there when I was 11 to then winning the guitar player award, it was like, this is such a dream come true. And then the Grammys was incredible because that's like the whole music world. I love that I voted on by your peers.

And so it was like the same feeling, but kind of like, you know, expanded in a way. What more felt like the Illuminati, the bluegrass IBMA scene or the Grammys? Like what did you like when you see that bigger level of like, I don't know if the Lumina, I've been watching a lot of Twitter conspiracy. So maybe the Lumini thing is not the word to say. But like what felt more culty? Like, is harder to get into, like, the IBE, the bluegrass club or, like, the Grammy Club? Ooh, I think I would have to go with the IBMA.

It's like, yeah, right? I was going to say the same thing. I was going to say the same thing. Eric kind of cutthroat, like, you got to get in with, it's like a smaller, smaller scene, I think. Yeah. Well, Nashville's kind of culty like that. Like, it's very, I don't know, like, I love it. You know, maybe just because I'm Jewish, I'm like one of the only Jews that go out there and hang out.

But I feel like I go out there and sometimes like it took me like five or six years to actually finally get accepted into the Nashville community. You know, it's like, it's, it's very. They're calling it's in your town and I think that's true. I'm nine years now. So I'm like, what's going to happen in my 10th year? Uh-oh. You're about to like drink lamb's blood or something. Yeah.

Yeah. But what keeps. you, what keeps you, I have a couple questions for you and then I'll let you get back to your day off. I know you have, we both only have a couple days off in this world. What keeps you inspired to keep being great? Oh, I mean, I think for me, I'm like, I know that I feel like my, my music is, I think with each album I make, it's like I'm more proud of it.

And I feel like I still have so much left to do. I love kind of, you know, I love all styles of music and I want to really explore, like, what I can do with my skill set, my guitar playing, songwriting, singing. I kind of felt like this reset after the pandemic where before that I didn't really know what I wanted to do next. And then I was writing all these bluegrass songs. I was like, I really want to make some music that is so true to the music I grew up listening to and like where my roots really are. And now I'm kind of back in that place of like, I just want to explore, explore different styles, different sounds. And so I'm excited for making something that's fresh and like different from my last couple projects. And hopefully it's my best thing yet.

But I'm back in that songwriting space, which I love because it feels like there's so many like endless possibilities. Yeah, totally. I was a, I was talking with Bill about that. Like the difference between practicing guitar and. being in the mindset to have a vest. Like, I don't know, I believe in like this vessel opening when you're songwriting. You know, it's like sometimes it's not there. And then when it's there, like you have to absorb as much of it as you can, you know?

Yeah, for sure. So what's, what are you writing about? What do you think about in your head right now that's, that you're talking about in your songs? Ooh, a lot of kind of, well, a lot of my songs are inspired by, you know, kind of like different places I've been right now. I feel like last couple songs I wrote were really had kind of inspired by like the southwest, which I find is such a cool area of the country. And then also just being on the road, having that like wanderlust that I've always felt of like loving to travel.

Yeah. Yeah. I write a lot with my partner catch. I love, honestly, he's my favorite person on the planet, dude. Yeah, and he's been on your podcast. He was telling me. Oh, he's so brilliant. I like, how do you keep up?

I mean, you're a brilliant person too. but that man is crazy. I know. He never slows down. It's crazy. And I loved how he supported the gun violence, and that was really important to me to hear him talk about that. But I love what you guys are like Jay and Beyonce of Nashville.

It's so cool to see. No, it's really cool to see. Like, what did catch teach you about love and life and growing and keeping a career around? I feel like just having like a partner. who really believes in you, like, for me, like, brings out the best in me. And he's like, a lot of the songs we've written together are, like, things that I wouldn't have thought were even worth writing about. Like, we went and visited my grandma on her farm and then we came back and wrote, like, my song, Flatland Girl about, like, my grandparents' farm. And I just

never thought, like, like, now looking back, I'm like, that is a cool story and, like, part of why I, who I am. But stuff like that, I feel like he pulls out of me in a way. What do you teach you about songwriting? A lot. I think he's like such a great lyricist and he just has like an endless flow of ideas. It's kind of helped me, you know, open up to that a little bit more. Like I feel like I kind of get in my head sometimes when I'm writing. Yeah. I'm a little like I have to like think about it a lot.

He's more kind of like spits out ideas and verbalize systems. So I try to do, try to be more like that too because I think that's helpful. Oh my God. to have a scholar like that on your corner to like just make you feel comfortable with like splurring out just like random thoughts because like you've lived a crazy life too dude don't like you really have like I'm you're you're very inspiring molly and um i just want to yeah thank keep speaking out keep speaking on keep being uh the person we all know you can be and um what so what do you like better playing guitar or writing songs

I think playing guitar comes more easily to me. But writing songs is really where I'm like, I feel like a song can reach so many people. That to me is like what I resonate with the most is like hearing a lyric or like a melody that I just love and resonate with. Guitar, definitely I feel super like there's a few good guitar players. I absolutely love. But I feel like songs are just universal.

and, you know, it kind of speaks more people in a way. Yeah, totally. I was always thinking about that. Like, what was your first moment you finally said, I feel like I'm a good songwriter? What was the song? Ooh, I was, I think I've been like, I don't know, I've always felt kind of like self-conscious about songs.

But then when I made my record Crooked Tree, I felt like there was someone I felt really proud of like that, like my song, Crooked Tree that I wrote with my friend Melody. That one I remember when we wrote, I was like, hell yeah, I love this song. Yeah. Isn't that song about alopecia too? Yeah, it kind of is. And she has had like similar experiences to growing up.

She had scoliosis. So like her back was crooked and she had to wear a back brace in school. And so we both feel like crooked trees. And that was kind of the first song. I've tried so hard to write a song about my experience with alopecia. and that was the first one I wrote where I was like, I'm really proud of this. This is kind of like sums up a lot of why I think music is important,

why I want to keep getting out there and playing shows and performing, spreading the message. Yeah, and don't do it if you're burnt out. You tell the managers and the labels that you need some time off, Molly. We don't want you to burn out. You do. Yeah, totally. I'm going to take my own advice as well on that.

Yeah, we all need to take it. I tell that to build too, you know. I feel like he's really chilling out now. Like he's taking a lot of time, more time off this year and stuff. Oh, that's great. I'm really happy that he's doing that. He worked insanely hard. Oh, my God.

I was so worried for him the last two years. I'm like, bro, you are working crazy hard right now. Yeah. Yeah. But I think about that with you too, Molly. I see you everywhere, too. You're out there in the streets, just getting out there. Yeah, we're all just doing it's so hard.

The music industry just takes so much Addy. And if you're not willing to, to do all the work, they're just going to find someone else. And that's what I think is fucked up. It's just like, they're just like spit you out when you're done working. That's why we've got to take care of our mental and take care of each other. Yeah, totally. We'll start our own cold, Molly.

We'll start our own cold, Molly, Donald. So I was always thinking this, you know, it's like, what kind of advice would you give, like, a young person who has alopecia? Ooh. I think, well, we would just say, like, don't. be too hard on yourself. And it does take a long time. Like I've, people sometimes with alopecia will tell me, like, how did you get to be so confident with it? Or like, how did you become so, like, accepting of this? And I think, in a way, I was fortunate

that it happened to me when I was so young. I was three. And now I'm 31. So people might think, like I'm super, I'm like totally fine with this, but I've had no Harrison for like 28 years, I guess. Yeah. And it took me until my 20s to even start, like, you know, I went to therapy for a long time. I took like extreme baby steps of just like emailing someone and saying, like emailing my college roommates and saying like, by the way, I have Alopecia. That was like a big deal to me when I was 19. Yeah.

Or like telling a close friend. was super scary for a while. And then I would just kind of like go somewhere by myself without wearing a wig, like where nobody knew me. That was scary. So every kind of step I took it, it gave me so much confidence, but it was like absolutely terrifying and hard to get myself to do. I bet.

So I think like slowly chipping away at it, it doesn't have to be like a linear path. Like there's still, you know, days where I'm like, I want to wear a wig. today to go to the grocery store. I don't want to like go out without it. And I think that's fine too. There's no shame in any of it. There's no shame in wearing a wig.

There's no shame in not wearing a wig. Doing anything in between. But yeah, and then just like having fun with it too. Yeah. Make jokes about it. Be lighthearted. Have fun. Like it does open up more style.

Oh yeah. You can be whoever you want, dude. I just have his afro. I'm fucked. Halloween costumes are endless that you can do. Yeah, you crush a Halloween. Oh, I bet you crush Halloween. I bet you just crush it at Halloween. Yeah, so I think just remembering that there's like a fun side to it too.

And it's really, it doesn't have to be so serious. Yeah. We're always so worried about the things we don't have. We should be worried about the things we have. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Maude Tottle, you've been a breath of fresh air. Thank you so much for being on the show.

So hopefully we could, yeah, hopefully we could, you know, hang out. I'm in Nashville all the time. Maybe we could all catch a beer or something and. I would love that. And hang out. We won't eat edibles. We don't want panic attacks. I feel very, yeah, I'm glad to meet someone else who feels the same way.

Oh, God. I will never, ever do it again. I had to call, I took, I had a panic taking an edible. I had to call my friend just to, like, lay in bed with me. And, like, just like, I just, I just want you to check my. heartbeat every couple. I'm like freaking out, dude. I'm like, damn, we're strong.

All right, my last question, Molly, and I'll let you go. You know, when it's all said and done, what do you want to be remembered by? Ooh, I think just my music. I hope people continue to listen to my music for, I don't know, after I'm gone, I hope it still kind of connects

with people. Yeah. I love it. Molly, keep doing the Lord's work. Keep falling in love with my boy. He's the best. He's the best. He honestly, he is the best.

And tell him I say hi and keep the dream alive and I'll talk to you soon. Thanks. Yeah, talk you later. Larry, Molly.