Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tuttle began playing guitar at age 8, and at age 11 played onstage with her father Jack Tuttle, a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and instructor. At age 15, she joined her family band The Tuttles with AJ Lee. Her siblings Sullivan and Michael, and mandolist AJ Lee are also in the band. In 2006, at age 13, Tuttle recorded The Old Apple Tree with her dad, an album of duets. In 2011, the Tuttles self-released their Introducing the Tuttles album, and the Endless Ocean album in 2013. 2012 was a breakout year for Tuttle. She –
While studying at the Berklee College of Music, in 2014, Tuttle met and joined the all-female bluegrass group the Goodbye Girls. They combine bluegrass, jazz, and Swedish folk music. Other members are Allison de Groot, Lena Jonsson, and Britanny Karlson. They released an EP Going to Boston in 2014, and the album Snowy Side of the Mountain in 2016. The band has also toured Jonsson's home country Sweden several times. Tuttle also recorded Molly Tuttle & John Mailander, a duet EP with fiddler John Mailander. In 2018, she joined Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull, and Becky Buller in a supergroup. The quintet performed at the Rockygrass festival in Lyons Colorado on July 27, 2018. Initially known as the Julia Belles, the group later became known as the First Ladies of Bluegrass. Additional gigs were booked at Analog at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville on Sept 18, 2018 and the IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 28, 2018. The First Ladies of Bluegrass are featured on the first single from a full length CD by Missy Raines titled Royal Traveler released in 2018 on Compass Records.
Solo career
In 2015, Tuttle moved from Boston to Nashville. Her EP Rise was released in 2017 after a crowdfunding campaign. She wrote all of the songs on the 7-song album, which was produced by Kai Welch. Guests included Darrell Scott, the Milk Carton Kids, Kathy Kallick, and Nathaniel Smith. She formed The Molly Tuttle Band, which includes Wes Corbett, Joe K. Walsh, and Hasee Ciaccio. In 2017, Tuttle signed with Alison Brown's Compass Records. Molly was selected by Buddy Miller to join his "Cavalcade of Stars" section of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on the Rooster Stage on October 6, 2018. Tuttle released her debut albumWhen You're Ready via Compass Records on April 5, 2019.
