It’s early evening in Asheville, North Carolina, and Sierra Hull, the singer, songwriter, and mandolin virtuoso, is standing in Studio A on the third floor of the Citizen Vinyl record-pressing plant in downtown.
Although the room is filled with state-of-the-art recording equipment, the space itself is sacred ground: In 1939, the “Father of Bluegrass,” mandolinist Bill Monroe, first introduced his new sound live on WWNC radio during the “Mountain Music Time” program — not long before he headed to Nashville to become a star on the Grand Ole Opry and forever change the course of American music.
“There’s a certain inspiration you get from just thinking about it,” Hull tells Rolling Stone. “His music has meant so much to me, both directly as a fan, and also in the shared culture of the bluegrass community. If he didn’t exist, I don’t think I’d be doing this.”
Much like Monroe, Hull, 33, is a rebel. While bluegrass purists may argue that expanding and updating the traditional “high, lonesome sound” would be sacrilegious, the truth is that current marquee stars like Hull, Molly Tuttle, and Billy Strings are complementing and building upon the bluegrass foundation that Monroe created.
“I feel like I carry [bluegrass] with me through everything I do in music,” Hull says. “I love it as much as anybody. I don’t want to see it fade away. But I don’t think that’s going to happen, because so many people love it. It’s deep-rooted in your soul.”
Last week, Hull furthered the bluegrass preservation mission with the release of her latest album, A Tip Toe High Wire. Rich in string-music sounds, it also includes elements of indie folk and pop. Hull says it’s all part of her journey in trying to find her version of bluegrass music. The album title nods to the fine line that Hull walks, keeping one foot in tradition and the other in the progressive quest. “I really want to push my own boundaries of what I can do as a musician,” she says.
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Raised in Byrdstown, Tennessee (population: 798), Hull was handed a mandolin at just eight years old. She immediately took to the instrument and became a musical prodigy, sitting in at local jam sessions and learning songs during family gatherings in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
“So much music I grew up loving is from right here in this part of the world,” Hull says of the Asheville region. “The whole emotional scope of [A Tip Toe High Wire] feels a little bit like trying to channel what I’ve learned in this full circle kind of thing.”
A Grammy nominee, Hull is the first woman to win Mandolin Player of Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards (IBMA) since the ceremony’s inception in 1990. To date, she’s won the category six times.
“It was clear to me early on that I really wanted a serious career. I wanted to be able to make records,” Hull says. “There was never a time in my life where I thought, ‘This isn’t what I’m going to do.’ Sometimes the route getting there can look different and surprise you, but you’ve got to remain open and inspired.”
A Tip Toe High Wire is the first fully independent release for Hull since departing her longtime label Rounder Records, with whom she signed at age 13 and released four studio albums together. “We go through chapters, so every chapter naturally should feel different,” she says. “I don’t ever want to feel like I’m just doing the same thing over and over again.” (Hull stays true to that idea in the song “Let’s Go,” which she performed live in an exclusive video for Rolling Stone.)
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Hull is candid about how she felt it was time to go on her own. She was committed to being in total control of her career and have ownership of her music. “I had this moment of pause and I could look back over a career that had spanned, thus far, from my teenage years through my twenties,” Hull says. “The thirties are a different place to be, a different place to land. And there’s something that feels really secure about being this age, because I’ve got all these years of having done it now.”
Hull looks at the change of her creative and professional self as a way to have more direct connection with her fans, where “there’s nothing between me and delivering music to them.” She’s not “anti-label,” however, but more about setting out on her own terms.
“It’s very empowering, and a little bit scary,” Hull admits. “But with great responsibility comes great reward. I’m excited for this chapter.”
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She’s also positioning herself as a musical force not only in bluegrass, but in various genre circles. She’s recently played alongside names like Slash, Sturgill Simpson, Turnpike Troubadours, Cory Wong, String Cheese Incident, and Dierks Bentley. Hull’s in-demand status validates something Bill Monroe was known for saying: “If you can play my music, you can play anything.”
“It’s more than genre, it’s just a deep love of music that’s the real connector for all of us,” Hull says. “If you find music you love and you’re interested in or find an artist that inspires you, why shouldn’t you be able to come together and create something?”