After the release of her album, ‘Weighted Mind‘, Sierra Hull is rising high on success. She grew up in the spotlight as a bluegrass-inspired mandolin virtuoso and child protege. But now she has set her sides on becoming a star in her own right, and her album is just the start of it!
We caught up with Hull ahead of her return to the UK for her first solo tour later this month…
Thank you Sierra for taking the time to talk to us when you are so busy! We hope that we will be able to promote you as an artist to the country music fanbase of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland!
Thank you! I hope to visit there someday! 🙂
Last year you released ‘Weighted Mind’, which reached number 1 on the US bluegrass charts. Working with renowned musicians such as Béla Fleck, what did you enjoy most about making this record?
Making this album really helped me to grow as an artist. Béla really knew how to help me get the ideas from my head to a recording, and of course, made those ideas and this recording better than I ever could have made it on my own. He’s been one of my biggest heroes for years, so it was a joy to work with such a creative and inspirational person.
As a child protégé, your life has revolved around the music business and touring. Was this something you felt you had to address with this album?
I think inevitably life experience comes out through music if we are honest enough to let it. I think that was the experience for me and this album, more so than a conscious effort to write about any particular thing.
Was it scary to make an album without the backing of a band? 
We didn’t dive right into recording this album. Béla and I spent the better part of a year getting together on and off and talking about songs and working on arrangements. At first, I really didn’t expect that we’d record these songs in such a sparse setting, but after my first couple visits with Béla he mentioned the idea to me. It was only after that I really started getting excited about approaching my playing and singing in a solo setting. It was a new challenge and quickly became very freeing musically to have unlimited options.
‘Weighted Mind’ certainly is bluegrass-inspired. However, many of your songs host an array of musical inspirations. Does this album mark a move in direction musically?
I would have to say yes, though I don’t believe in assigning myself a direction anymore. I think the best thing that I can do as an artist is to really search myself for something I love and feel is real in a particular moment in time. The last recording happened to be Weighted Mind, but who knows what the next will be? — and that excites me.
What was it like to be nominated for a Grammy award for Best Folk Album?
It was so thrilling! It’s definitely something I’d always dreamed of, but never knew if it would really happen.
Who would you say were your main musical inspirations growing up?
Earliest inspirations were mostly Bluegrass based artists like Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Tony Rice, Nickel Creek, Blue Highway and Larry Sparks. Of course I loved other styles of music back then as well, but Bluegrass was my musical foundation and what I was really learning about the most in the early years.
Are you looking forward to return to the UK for your tour at the end of the month?
Oh, I am SO excited! I spent about 2 weeks with Ron Block in the UK last summer performing and recording and had the best time. This will be my first official UK tour playing my own music, so that is very exciting to me. I just love the people there and it’s such a gorgeous part of the world.
What do you enjoy most about touring?
I love performing music live for people. Sometimes the traveling in and of itself can be quite exhausting, but I do love touring. I always dreamed of traveling the world as a little girl, and I feel so blessed to get to do that and meet so many beautiful and diverse people along the way.
What are your plans for the rest of 2017?
We have a busy year ahead of touring, but I am also trying to take some time off the road later this year in order to dream up and hopefully plan the next album.
Any plans for coming to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, in the near future?
There isn’t anything on the schedule yet, but I REALLY hope so! 🙂
Make sure to have a listen to Sierra and if you can, get to one of her UK shows!
