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“Are there any cowgirls in London tonight?” asks Molly Tuttle, a singer-songwriter who has won a Grammy and is revitalizing the bluegrass genre with her unique storytelling approach. She warms up the mostly calm audience at Cadogan Hall before Australian guitar prodigy Tommy Emmanuel takes the stage. By the end of her performance, the audience is energized and ready to take on any challenge.
Known for her impressive guitar skills, effortlessly transitioning between crosspicking, flatpicking, and clawhammer strums (as she jokingly acknowledges the audience of fellow guitar enthusiasts), she plays with the comfort of reuniting with an old friend. While her songs about life on the road, matters of the heart, and cannabis farmers in the Blue Ridge Mountains are usually accompanied by her band Golden Highway, tonight she performs solo – yet it is anything but a simple performance. She expertly incorporates bass and rhythm into her playing, showcasing her remarkable self-sufficiency, as she takes the audience on a journey through the landscapes of El Dorado and San Joaquin, both featured on her latest album City of Gold.
Tuttle may possess the ability to sing the high lonesome, but she delivers her songs with a wide smile, as though sharing a secret, and often punctuates them with a playful wink. Her lively performance of the sing-along tune “Side Saddle,” a celebration of independent spirit in the face of naysayers, has the warmth and closeness of a campfire jam session. Utilizing the camaraderie of bluegrass music, her initially calm audience was soon eager to join in and whistle along.
She transforms the Rolling Stones’ She’s A Rainbow, taken from her covers album …but i’d rather be with you, while still capturing the song’s happiness, she changes its initial psychedelia into a rustic, Appalachian charm. Asked to join her childhood inspiration Tommy Emmanuel at the conclusion of his show, they performed the title track from her award-winning album Crooked Tree. Observing them play their guitars in perfect unison, it’s impossible to tell who is the student and who is the master: with her unique style and skill, it’s something that cannot be replicated.
Source: theguardian.com
