Article Contributed by Mike
Published on November 15, 2025
For the third rapid-fire entry in From Roots to Branches, Bryan Sutton’s unprecedented duet series for Mountain Home Music Company, the master guitarist teams up with a surprising guitar colleague to deliver a sweetly contemplative exchange on the venerable 19th century pop song turned roots music favorite, “Grandfather’s Clock.” And indeed, while Sierra Hull is best known as a mandolin player — she’s the reigning International Bluegrass Music Association’s Mandolin Player of the Year and was just nominated for four GRAMMY awards this season, including Best Bluegrass Album — friends like Sutton have been admirers of her guitar work for years.
“I’m so happy to have Sierra on this record,” he says. “We chose the song, ‘Grandfather’s Clock,’ just because it’s a classic, beautiful melody. A lot of people know what a great mandolin player Sierra is, but I’ve always known what a great guitar player she is. This song meant a lot to us, and in fact, I’m playing my grandfather’s old Martin 0-17 guitar on this track.”
Written in 1876, “Grandfather’s Clock” was enormously popular right out of the gate, selling more than 800,000 copies of sheet music — and coining the term “grandfather clock” to describe a longcase clock like the song’s. Sutton and Hull begin with a gently legato statement of the first of the tune’s three parts before picking up the tempo, which nevertheless remains more stately than earlier versions by iconic banjo players. And from start to finish, the duo’s finely crafted virtuosity serves to elevate the sweet melancholy feel of the song itself.
“Bryan is one of my favorite musicians in the world to listen to and make music with,” Hull exclaims. “He knows how to elevate any musical situation he enters. Whether he is supporting a simple melody with pure tone and restraint or providing a wave of rhythmic brilliance and musical playfulness to ride along with, he always knows how to make things feel and sound easy. He’s one of my biggest heroes, so I’m both honored and thrilled to get to be a part of this new duets project with him!”
“Grandfather’s Clock” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
