Monday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show gave fans a rare treat: Sierra Hull on acoustic guitar performing “Spitfire” from her latest album, A Tip Toe High Wire. Rare in that she’s most known for her mandolin playing, as she was the first woman to win Mandolin Player of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards (IBMA), a category she’s won six times to date. “Spitfire” follows her grandmother’s story of tragedy and perseverance from verse to verse, showing off the award-winning instrumentalist’s deft songwriting skills. “Young love one month a wife / River took him under, took his life / She cried ‘Oh Lord, how can I be a widow before eighteen,” Hull sings over her own accompaniment in the song’s opening lines. “She was a beautiful, fiery woman who loved her family in the deepest of ways,” Hull says of her Granny. “When I need to find some extra strength in my own life, I remember her resilience.”
“Spitfire” is from Hull’s A Tip Toe High Wire—titled after the chorus of “Spitfire”—released March 7th. Self-produced with longtime friend and engineer Shani Gandhi, A Tip Toe High Wire is not only Hull’s first album in five years and the first to feature her skilled and seasoned touring band—Shaun Richardson (guitar), Avery Merritt (fiddle), Erik Coveney (bass), and Mark Raudabaugh (drums)—but it’s also her first album to be released independently.
Listen to A Tip Toe High Wire here: https://music.empi.re/
Up next for Hull: Fresh from the Viva El Gonzo Festival where, in addition to her own full band sets, she guested with Goose on a two-song sit-in for Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and The Wood Brothers’ “Atlas,” Hull and band take the stage at Hollywood Bowl tonight as part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour of which she’s on through May. Then, it’s headlong into festival season with stops at Railbird, Earl Scruggs Music Festival, and more. A full tour routing can be found below.
On tour:
May 16 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl ✶
May 17 - Felton, CA - Felton Music Hall
May 18 - Wheatland, CA - Toyota Amphitheatre ✶
May 20 - Nampa, ID - Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater ✶
May 22 - Spokane, WA - ONE Spokane Stadium ✶
May 24 - Ridgefield, WA - Cascades Amphitheater ✶
May 25 - Quincy, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre ✶
May 31 - Lexington, KY - Railbird Music Festival 2025 #
June 28 - Sisters, OR - Big Ponderoo 2025 #
July 17 - Trumansburg, NY - Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival 2025 #
July 19 - Oak Hill, NY - Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2025 #
July 24 - Bethlehem, NH - The Colonial Theatre
July 25 - Hiram, ME - Ossipee Valley Music Festival 2025 #
August 1 - Ninilchik, AK - Salmonfest 2025 #
August 8 - Morgantown, WV - Hazel Ruby McQuain Amphitheater
August 10 - Lowell, MA - Lowell Summer Music Series
August 30 - Mill Spring, NC - Earl Scruggs Music Festival 2025 #
September 10 - Las Vegas, NV - Bender Jamboree 2025 #
September 17 - Nashville, TN - Fogg Street Lawn Club
September 19 - Chattanooga, TN - IBMA Bluegrass Live 2025 #
September 21 - North Adams, MA - FreshGrass MASS MoCa
October 30 - Live Oak, FL - Hulaween (with The Infamous Stringdusters) #
✶ Outlaw Music Festival Tour w/ Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Billy Strings, and more
# Festival
For all tour dates and ticket information, please visit www.sierrahull.com.
