Sierra Hull

Tara Mills & Jim Stelling

Tue, Feb 2, 2016

*SOLD OUT* Sierra Hull

with Tara Mills & Jimmy Stelling

About Sierra Hull: Sierra Hull, the singer and mandolinist and former child prodigy who signed with Rounder at age 13, and distinguished herself by becoming the first bluegrass musician to receive a Presidential Scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music, has announced the release of her first new album in five years.  Weighted Mind will be released on January 29, 2016.

 

15-time Grammy winner Béla Fleck produced the recording, which features eleven compelling new compositions written or co-written by Hull, and one traditional tune for which she and Fleck provided a new arrangement. While Hull’s ethereal voice and fluid playing take center stage here, she receives ample support from bass marvel Ethan Jodziewicz. Béla Fleck’s banjo adorns the elegant “Queen of Hearts/Royal Tea,” and Alison Krauss, Abigail Washburn, and Rhiannon Giddens add enchanting harmonies.

 

Though she is best known for her work as a mandolin player, on these songs, Hull reveals her abundant gifts as a composer and lyricist. Themes of loss and restoration run through the album, starting with the muscular opening number, “Stranded,” and continue on the stirring “Compass,” on which she declares, “I’ve thrown away my compass, done with the chart...I’ll just step out, throw my doubt into the sea, for what’s meant to be will be.” The gentle, dissonant title track ponders existential questions, while the haunting “Birthday” and “Fallen Man” offer somber reflections on strained relationships and impossible choices. The album closes on an optimistic note, with the sweetly assertive “I’ll Be Fine,” and the uplifting, philosophical closer, “Black River.” Fleck, Giddens, Krauss, and Washburn all guest on this track, on which Hull reflects, “A thousand years is but a day, and maybe in a thousand years, I’ll find my way.” 

About Tara Mills & Jimmy Stelling: Inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the rich musical traditions tied to them, Tara Mills describes her music as, ” original mountain americana;” an original blend of folk, bluegrass, and americana.

Writing and singing most of her life, it wasn’t long before Tara picked up a guitar and taught herself how to express the melodies in her head through her songs and hauntingly beautiful lyrics. Influenced by bluegrass, old country, and traditional mountain folk, she creates an original sound that captures true human feeling and emotion.

Based out of Charlottesville, VA, Tara plays and writes in a couple of different musical projects.  In Tara’s current project, Tara Mills and Jimmy Stelling, she combines her lyrics and voice with Tennessee native Jimmy Stelling to create a very powerful yet driving original sound described as a mix of modern day folk, bluegrass, and americana.

Jimmy Stelling is the son of Geoff Stelling, founder of Stelling banjos, and plays in the successfully touring band, The Hackensaw Boys, out of Charlottesville, Virginia.  Jimmy’s unique drive and tasteful melodies on the banjo compliment and harmonize to the sweet songs and emotion the two capture while playing. 

Tara Mills and Jimmy Stelling have played at many music festivals including DelFest, The Festy Experience, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Red Wing Roots Music Festival, Campout East, Camp Barefoot, Misty Mountain Music Festival, The Crozet Music Festival, The Blue Ridge Oyster Festival, Mountain Cove Music Festival, and many other venues, radio and television broadcasts, and on the internet.

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  • Doors

    6:00 PM
  • Show

    8:00 PM
  • Price

    SOLD OUT

    GA Seated

SHOWINGS

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