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Sierra Hull

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Sierra Hull
Hull in 2009
Hull in 2009
Background information
Birth nameSierra Dawn Hull
Born (1991-09-27) September 27, 1991 (age 33)
GenresBluegrass
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Mandolin, guitar, vocals
Years active2007–present
LabelsRounder
Websitewww.sierrahull.com

Sierra Dawn Hull (born September 27, 1991) is an American bluegrass singer, mandolinist, and guitarist.[1]

Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13[2] and released her debut vocal album, Secrets, in 2008 at the age of 16. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart.[3] Her second album, Daybreak, was released on March 8, 2011.[4]

Biography

Sierra Hull was born and raised in Byrdstown, Tennessee and attended Pickett County High School before accepting a Presidential Scholarship[5] to study at the Berklee College of Music.

Hull began playing the mandolin at the age of eight and put out the album Angel Mountain at 10. She was soon playing jam sessions with other musicians in her family, and by 2001 she was entering local talent contests. Her parents, Stacy and Brenda Hull, took her to numerous bluegrass festivals and it was during an International Bluegrass Music Association festival that she came to the attention of Rounder Records chief talent scout Ken Irwin.[6] At age 11 she was mentored and befriended by Alison Krauss, herself once a child prodigy on the fiddle.[7] Hull and Krauss, along with Dan Tyminski, performed at the White House on November 21, 2011.[8]

Hull at MerleFest in 2017

She has a brother, Cody, and is a distant cousin of former United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull.[9]

Hull has already received five International Bluegrass Music Association nominations in the past three years.[citation needed]

Hull received the Bluegrass Star Award, presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, on October 19, 2013. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music and bringing it to new audiences while preserving its character and heritage.[10]

Touring

Hull performed with the band Highway 111 at the Gettysburg Bluegrass festival in 2005. She continued to tour, even while she attended Berklee College of Music.[11]

Recordings

Secrets

Hull's vocal debut album on Rounder Records, released in May 2008, was co-produced by Alison Krauss and Ron Block which follows a self-released CD Angel Mountain, in 2002. The production by Hull and Ron Block paid tribute and honored the tradition and style of bluegrass music. The album contained 3 original songs penned by Hull. She was just 15 when she recorded the album and released at 16.

Daybreak

On her 2011 second release on Rounder Records, the 20-year-old has composed seven of the 12 songs and it was produced by Alison Krauss & Union Station bassist Barry Bales. The album features collaborations with Bryan Sutton on guitar and Randy Kohrs on dobro. Guest singers include Dan Tyminski, Shawn Lane and Ronnie Bowman.

Features

Hull was a guest vocalist with lead singer James Adkins on the male-female duet "Love Song,"[12] featured on the 2015 self-titled album from Americana group, Big Virginia Sky.

Weighted Mind

Released on January 29, 2016, Weighted Mind, Hull's third LP, was produced by the highly regarded banjo player Béla Fleck, who encouraged Hull to consider recording it solo.[13] Hull, however, decided to enlist an accompanist, bassist Ethan Jodziewicz, who is featured on every track. The album also includes vocal contributions by Allison Kraus, Abigail Washburn, and Rhiannon Giddens.

NPR reviewer Jewly Hight called Weighted Mind a "stunning coming-of-age album," adding that "Hull has joined the rarefied company of Nickel Creek expats Chris Thile, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins, pedigreed virtuosos whose youthful, searching musical minds have taken them into postmodern singer-songwriter territory and beyond."[14]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart
positions
US Grass
[15] 		US Heat
[16]
Angel Mountain
  • Release date: 2002
  • Label: self-released
 — —
Secrets 2 —
Daybreak
  • Release date: March 8, 2011
  • Label: Rounder Records
 5 —
Weighted Mind
  • Release date: January 29, 2016
  • Label: Rounder Records
 1 5
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other singles

Year Single Artist Album
2007 "Hullarious" Sierra Hull An American Tradition
2008 "Just As I Am" Sierra Hull Billy: The Early Years
2010 "Gospel Plow" The Lovell Sisters, Bearfoot, Sierra Hull & The New Generation Jam MerleFest Live
"Big Sciota"
2011 "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" Sixties Invasion featuring Sierra Hull Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Music videos

Year Title Director
2011 "Easy Come, Easy Go"[17] David McClister
"Someone Like You"[18] Brad Paul
"Chasin' Skies"[19]
"Tell Me Tomorrow"[20]
"Daybreak"[21] David McClister

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated Work Result
2010 IBMA Awards Recorded Event of the Year (with various artists) Proud To Be A Daughter of Bluegrass Won
2016 Mandolin Player of the Year Sierra Hull Won
2017 Won
Recorded Event of the Year
(with Bobby Osborne and various artists)		 "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" Won
Grammy Awards Best Folk Album Weighted Mind Nominated

References

  1. ^ Ledgin, Stephanie (2004). Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass. Praeger. p. 116. ISBN 978-0275981150.
  2. ^ Steve Leggett, "Sierra Hull Biography", Billboard.com, retrieved March 15, 2011
  3. ^ Secrets - Billboard.com, retrieved March 15, 2011
  4. ^ Caramanica, Jon (March 9, 2011), "Music Review – New York Times", The New York Times, retrieved March 15, 2011
  5. ^ Berklee Media Relations, "2009–2010 Presidential Scholars", Berklee College of Music website, retrieved March 15, 2011
  6. ^ Edward Morris, "Teen Sierra Hull Is Turning Heads", CMT.com, retrieved March 15, 2011
  7. ^ Steve Leggett, "Sierra Hull," Allmusic. Retrieved: March 1, 2013.
  8. ^ John Lawless, "Sierra Hull, reporting from the White House," Bluegrass Today, November 30, 2011.
  9. ^ David McGee, "The Latest Gifted Hull", The Bluegrass Special, retrieved March 15, 2011
  10. ^ "Bluegrass Heritage Foundation official website". 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  11. ^ "Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, Strings, newsletter of the Pineridge Bluegrass Folklore Society, October 2005
  12. ^ "Big Virginia Sky releases debut, self-titled album!". Big Virginia Sky. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  13. ^ "Mandolin Cafe - Sierra Hull - The Weighted Mind Interview". Mandolin Cafe Forum. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Review: Sierra Hull, 'Weighted Mind'". NPR.org. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Sierra Hull Album & Song Chart History | Billboard.com". Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  16. ^ "Sierra Hull Album & Song Chart History | Billboard.com". Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  17. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sierra Hull: Easy Come, Easy Go". Country Music Television. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  18. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sierra Hull: Someone Like You". Country Music Television. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
  19. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sierra Hull: Chasin' Skies". Country Music Television. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  20. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sierra Hull: Tell Me Tomorrow". Country Music Television. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  21. ^ "CMT : Videos : Sierra Hull: Daybreak". Country Music Television. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
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