Molly Tuttle, Rising and Revealing

One way of gauging an artist’s ascension in the ranks of popularity, on a local basis, is through the process of venue-scaling. Take wizardly guitar flat-picker and charismatic vocalist Molly Tuttle, for example. Last year, this trailblazing and yet tradition-stoking bluegrass artist played with her band Golden Highway in the 900-seat Campbell Hall, after first playing at the SOhO nightclub and then the 700-seat Lobero Theatre.

This Sunday, December 7, she bumps up to the Arlington Theatre, the grand and picturesque 2,000-seater, as part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures season. Things are looking decidedly up for Tuttle, as they should.

A Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album (for her delicious Crooked Tree) and two current Grammy nominations in the wings have helped to empower Tuttle’s rising status, and she comes back with new and re-jiggered fervor on her new album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine. Her essential good-natured sunshiny presence has not left, but she has expanded into new production and personal terrains on the album, the cover of which is a collage of photos sampling her wig collection, as someone who has had the hair loss condition alopecia areata since she was 3 years old. Tellingly, the center shot finds her in a natural state, without wig or hair.

A sense of more personalized statements threads through her new songs, as on “Old Me (New Wig)” and nodding to her home state on “Golden State.” Although the album leans into the winds of pop textures more than previous work, with slick-ish production and tailored hooks, her acoustic guitar sound remains, and she gets plenty of chances to show her fretboard stuff when it comes time to solo.

On another front, radio response to the “new Molly” has been kind: Her Taylor Swift–y tune “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” hit the top of the Americana chart and hung around for four weeks. Next time, the Santa Barbara Bowl?

You put on a smashing show at Campbell Hall a year ago, and at the Lobero and SOhO back before that. Now, you logically move on up to the “big house” in town, the Arlington Theatre. Does that rise reflect the general upward mobility of your musical life and public profile?

It’s been an exciting few years, and I love getting to see how the music continues to reach more people. Santa Barbara has been a city I’ve enjoyed playing for years now, and looking back at the progression of venues we’ve played and more and more people coming out to the shows is really cool and encouraging.

Has that trajectory and also the evolution of your career taken you by surprise?

I’ve been working at this for many years and performing since I was a teenager, so it feels like there has been this gradual build to my career, which makes all the hours of practice, performing, and traveling to shows feel so fulfilling. I just hope I can continue on this path as long as possible.

When you started out, did you expect to pursue a life in the specialty world of bluegrass and “newgrass,” and find there to be a bigger audience for what you were doing?

I grew up playing bluegrass music but also playing a range of other genres and listening to all different types of music, so when I started writing songs, I didn’t really know how to classify what kind of music I wanted to make. I now love weaving in and out of bluegrass material and more contemporary sounds in my shows. It’s been really cool to see how bluegrass has reached a whole new audience and has gained popularity all over the world. 

So Long Little Miss Sunshine is another strong album in your discography, and congratulations on two Grammy nominations for it. The album also takes some new turns, including more pop-production stylings — but with plenty of tasty guitar picking. Did you have that in mind going into the project, or did it evolve as you went?

We were really intentional about making it a guitar-centric album, and that became the thread that tied it all together amid these other sounds we were playing with. My guitar playing is such an integral part of who I am as an artist, so we felt that even though the album was a stylistic departure, highlighting that aspect throughout the album would give it my own unique sound. 

The cover of your new album depicts you in various personae and various wigs, but placed around a central straightforward, “no pretense or pose” image in the center. Does that cover represent what you wanted to do on this album, in terms of making a personal and honest statement, making plain your alopecia areata and also emotional subjects?

The cover idea came about when I was looking over the lyrics on the album to find inspiration for the visuals, and I read the line, “I got a new wig to get you out of my hair.” I thought having all these different hairstyles and characters would be a fun way to represent the different stories and sounds on the record as well as representing my personal journey with self-expression, which is a big theme throughout the album.

I thought it was important to feature a picture of me without my wig for the first time on one of my album covers, because it shows how far I’ve come in my journey with alopecia, and also it reflects that this is a personal album. 

One of the songs that impressed me is “Golden State of Mind,” about your home state of California, among other things. Are you a proud product of Northern California in some way?

I love Northern California, and every time I visit, I feel inspired to write songs. The natural beauty is so grounding to me, and my perfect day would be spending hours walking in the redwoods or along the coast.

“That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” is a bona-fide hit, hanging out at the top of the Americana chart for four weeks. Was that a heady phenomenon for you to be “top of the chart”?

It was such a great surprise to me that that song stayed atop the Americana chart for so long! People are always telling me they heard it on their local stations, which is amazing. 

And on this The Highway Knows Tour, you are debuting a new and all-female band, versus your Golden Highway band. How did this band come about?

After I made my new record, I knew I would need a specific instrumentation on tour in order to present the songs as they are on the record. I started asking around and ended up forming a band with some amazing multi-instrumentalists that can weave in and out of my more acoustic material into some of the more electric sounds on the new record.

It’s been really fun to be able to create a show that features material from all of my different albums and takes people on a musical journey that spans different genres and dynamics. It ended up being an all-female band by coincidence, which was cool, too.

There seems to be so many wonderful pickers and fiddlers, and singers, in the field of post-bluegrass and Americana at this juncture. Do you feel a kind of solidarity with that scene, and are there particular artists on your short list of favorites?

I have so many favorites. I love when I get to play with friends like Sierra Hull and Billy Strings. I’ve been on festival bills this year with some amazing artists like Sierra Ferrell and Lukas Nelson and have gotten to jam with them as well. It feels like this big, supportive community, and I feel fortunate to be part of it. 

Are you happy with the state of things in your musical life at this point, and are plans brewing for what’s next?

I’m always excited for what’s next and thinking about my next project. This fall has been super busy and felt like a whirlwind, but when the dust settles, I’m gonna be ready to get back to work on some new music, ’cause that’s always what I’m itching to do. 

See Molly Tuttle at the Arlington Theatre (1317 State St.) December 7, 7 p.m. For more information, see bit.ly/4rkafzV.