Artist - Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway Railbird Festival 2023 1

Over the last decade, Bluegrass has seen it's popularity rise to lengths not seen since the days of Flatt & Scruggs, or even Bill Monroe. Molly Tuttle, alongside her pals Billy Strings and Sierra Hull, can be thanked for that. They have inspired a new wave of like-minded, freewheeling individuals to pick up a banjo or fiddle and write the good write, in the spirit of creative collaboration.

Joining Holler for a special live session at Railbird Festival 2023 on a hot Kentucky Sunday, Tuttle, joined by her band Golden Highway - Shelby Means on the upright bass, Dominick Leslie on the mandolin, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on the fiddle and the Pit Viper-sporting Kyle Tuttle on the banjo - huddle around the microphone to let rip on three buoyant bluegrass bops that will transport you to a sunny field in Kentucky well before the toke you just had's even had chance to kick in.

Performing three songs from their 2023 album, 

, Tuttle and the band dive straight in with a politicised plea for legalisation. 

"Most of us here live in Nashville - Shelby's our one South Carolinian in the band - so this is an appeal to the state of Tennessee" Tuttle explains before they shoot into 'Down Home Dispensary'. Immediately kicking into a bluegrass jingle for a campaign trail, the band bunch and jump around the microphone, throwing in harmonies left right and centre that would have any legislator pay attention.

What's most evident, particularly within the close confines of the session, is the unspoken synergy Tuttle has found with her like-minded friends in the band. "We're going to do one now that, actually, Shelby and I started writing together" Tuttle notions before kicking into another 

 highlight, 'Next Rodeo'. As much as Tuttle leads the group, their union as five supremely talented musicians opens up all manner of opportunity for collaboration, something they have made the most of in the sheer calibre of their loose and liberating performance.

Closing on the gift of 'Where The Wild Things Are', the group encapsulate the sheer joy and spirit they can produce into this one ditty. "I wrote this one while thinking about a wild festival scene, kind of like where we're at now. You go out into the campground and there's nothing but people getting dirty in the dust and lines of Porta Potties." Tuttle observes. "This was also kind of inspired by Kyle and his Pit Viper glasses" she jokes, as Kyle looks over his shades and stares down the eyes of the camera lense. 

It shows that, if there's anything that encompasses what Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are about most, it's togetherness. You'll find it hard to find another band that are having as much fun doing what they do as a group than these five, and it's a pleasure to witness.

This is Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway for the Holler Railbird Sessions, performing their songs 'Down Home Dispensary', 'Next Rodeo' and 'Wild Things'.

Holler Presents Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway for the Holler Railbird Sessions, performing their songs 'Down Home Dispensary', 'Next Rodeo' and 'Wild Things'.

Holler Railbird Sessions: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

You'll find it hard to find another group that are having as much fun doing what they do than these five, and it's a pleasure to witness.

Holler Railbird Sessions: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway Videos | Holler

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Author - Ross Jones 2

Charles Wesley

Artist - Charles Wesley Godwin Holler Railbird Sessions 1

Charles Wesley Godwin is unquestionably a favourite of ours here at Holler.

The West Virginia-native has quickly cemented himself as a exceptional songwriter, with two stellar full-length albums in 2019s 

He's also a first rate performer, the energy he brews during his live shows  with his band The Allegheny High consistently enrapturing festival crowds and his own fans at headline shows, and while in support of his buddy and collaborator, Zach Bryan.

Joining us in the sweltering Kentucky heat at Railbird Festival 2023 in Lexington, Godwin not only gives us a blast of one of his fan favourites, but a taste of new music to come.

First and foremost, Godwin is a really versatile songwriter. He'll have you toe tapping as he does to the up-tempo gust of 'Hardwood Floors', while shedding a tear to the stripped-down sentimentality of 'Dance In Rain'. It's all before he has us reckoning with ourselves on 'The Flood'.

Even without the vigour that The Allegheny High produces live, Godwin keeps your attention with his deep, observant eyes and hearty bellow. He oozes talent, and is a set to become a beloved staple of the genre for many years to come.

Performing his songs 'Dance In Rain', 'Hardwood Floors' and 'The Flood', this is Charles Wesley Godwin for the Holler Live Sessions.

Holler Presents Charles Wesley Godwin for the Holler Railbird Sessions, performing his songs 'Dance In Rain', 'Hardwood Floors' and 'The Flood'.

Holler Railbird Sessions: Charles Wesley Godwin

Holler Railbird Sessions: Charles Wesley Godwin Videos | Holler

Artist - Dalton Dover Holler Live Session 1

"I love it, let's go" Dalton Dover calmly gestures as he tunes up his guitar, all in preparation for his Holler Live Session at The Betsey Trotwood pub in London, England.

Dover has quickly become of country's most promising new acts, based on the strength of a stretch of heart-pounding singles that he's released, starting with 2021's 'You Got A Small Town'

Not only a killer vocalist and a free-flowing guitarist, Dover delivers fist-pounding anthems that range every emotion - from the elation of finding comfort from somewhere or someone to the heart-wrenching struggle and self-doubt in your decisions in love, life and everything in between.

"I'm about to sing y'all my first ever song that went to country radio, and this song right here is called 'Giving Up on That'". 

A 2010s country-influenced heavy hitter, the song loses none of the emotional weight that burns through it's reverb-heavy studio recording here in the pub. If anything, it glows even brighter from Dover's raw and powerful vocal delivery.

Crossing the never-ending tightrope between being a sinner and a saint, the flaws and aspirations that Dover expresses through his music are as evocative as those expressed by the Luke Combs' and Jelly Roll's of the world, a sincere and unposed songwriter etching his very being into three chords and the truth.

"A lot of people have been saying that this is part two of [Joe Diffie's song] 'Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox', but I'm gonna let y'all judge it for yourself", Dover suggests before delving into his second song, the unreleased 'Bury Me In This Bar'. 

As he suggests about the whiskey in the song, such an opinion isn't too far away - it's a hedonistic, tall-boy sinker, with one heck of a big chorus. Even just on the acoustic, Dover rips into its smokey, southern rhythm, treading through a swampy beat as he bellows from his throat.

It shows the different sides to Dover's songwriting and character - at once a deeply-candid and contemplative person, while also a unfettered, rip-roaring artist not yet even at the peak of his powers.

Performing his songs 'Giving Up On That' and 'Bury Me In This Bar', this is Dalton Dover for the Holler Live Sessions.

Holler Presents Dalton Dover for the Holler Live Sessions, performing his songs 'Giving Up On That' and 'Bury Me In This Bar'.

Holler Live Sessions: Dalton Dover

The session shows the different sides to Dover's songwriting and character - at once a deeply-candid and contemplative person, while also a unfettered, rip-roaring artist not yet even at the peak of his powers.

Holler Live Sessions: Dalton Dover Videos | Holler

Artist - Adam Doleac Holler Live Session 1

Adam Doleac's sound and has indisputably changed in the years since he made his debut in 2017. 

From the soaring country-soul of early hits like 'Whiskey's Fine' to the synth-country that peppers his 2022 debut record 

Doleac has found his place by constantly mixing it up - concocting a cocktail of emotions that, more than anything, shows his flexibility and maturity as a songwriter.

Arriving in London for the first time for his Holler Live Session, the candidness of a stripped-back set such as this allows Doleac to exhibit just how all the songs he writes all possess something in common; heart.

"This first one I'm going to play for you is called 'Coulda Loved You Longer'" Doleac begins. "I wrote this song about my wife - who's here with me today - but also, being in new places and meeting new people, I often feel that way about people I love, or places I love; I wish I could've been there sooner. I'm sure I'm going to feel that way about London".

MacKinnon Morrissey, Doleac's wife, watches on from the side of the bar room. She is the soul that nestles within his songwriting; the love he has for her pours out of his music, actually making his songwriting more accessible and relatable to any situation. 

What's most telling though is how life and love allows Doleac to grow creatively; he thinks outside the box and takes influence from loved ones in a more tangible, expressive way.

"The story behind this one is one of my favourites actually" Doleac continues as he introduces his second song. "I'd just met my girlfriend, now wife, and she was walking down the stairs. My little brother was in town, and he'd only seen her in workout clothes, he hadn't seen her dressed up before" 

"So, she was all dressed up - we were taking him out for his birthday - and she came walking down the stairs, he turned around and said 'damn, you look famous! Normally, I'm supposed to be the famous person or whatever, and I liked that it turned it on her and she looked famous".

"The story would also be better if I was the one telling my girlfriend that she looked famous" he laughs, "but it was my brother - that's the truth - and that's how i got this title. It ended up being my first gold record as a country artist, so thank you for that!"

While some of the sounds on Doleac's debut record may be different from his earlier recordings, when he plays an older hit like 'Whiskey's Fine', you recognise the lineage that's led him to writing something like 'Drinkin' It Wrong' or even 'Close That Tab'. His songs have become tall boys of country soul with a little zesty tequila-pop on top, and we're going to keep on sippin'.

Performing his songs 'Coulda Loved You Longer', 'Famous' and 'Whiskey's Fine', this is Adam Doleac for the Holler Live Sessions.

Holler presents Adam Doleac for the Holler Live Sessions in London, England, performing his songs 'Coulda Loved You Longer', 'Famous' and 'Whiskey's Fine'.

Holler Live Sessions: Adam Doleac

The Mississippi native's songs are tall boys of country soul with a little zesty tequila-pop on top, and we're going to keep on sippin'.

Holler Live Sessions: Adam Doleac Videos | Holler

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Live sessions and music videos from the world of country, Americana and roots from Holler.

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Holler Railbird Sessions: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Holler Railbird Sessions: Charles Wesley Godwin

Holler Live Sessions: Dalton Dover

Holler Live Sessions: Adam Doleac