photo by Lauren Hartmann
In this series, Joselyn explores what it takes to make the leap from campground picker to professional performer. In this fifth installment, we hear from Sierra Hull, whose many accolades as a mandolinist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader include two Grammy nominations and six-time IBMA’s mandolin player of the year.
Joselyn Sky: Who were your biggest musical influences when you were starting out?
Sierra Hull: It was my dad who really got bit by the bluegrass bug, when I was about 7 or 8 and started going to jams. He started getting me and my brother into it. It was my dad first, who was showing me some stuff and really got me going.
Then, the local players. A few of them stand out in my memory that I would see every week, who would welcome me into the jam circle and teach me stuff. I learned a ton from them. They became heroes of mine in a sense.
But then, simultaneously, I was listening to all this great music. I remember my dad having a Tony Rice album, Church Street Blues, that we fell in love with when I was really young. Larry Sparks, Ricky Skaggs, I got my first Alison Krauss album when I was about 9, and that was a huge moment that led us to get the Nickel Creek album, and hear Chris play for the first time. So many people that I could point to that I was listening to as a young kid who were inspiring me.
Did you have any mentors who gave you memorable advice?
My dad always instilled in me that I needed to work hard … I think that’s important for any young person to remember, if you think it’s what you want to do for a career. I think he knew pretty early on, because I was so serious about it, that this is what I wanted to do. So he was always quick to encourage me. He’d say things like, “One of these days, Alison Krauss is going to call you to come play and you’re not going to be ready.”
It was this kind of encouragement, but in a realistic way. It’s not just going to come to you, you’ve got to work hard. But if you work hard, good things will also come. That always stands out to me, because the beauty of music is to continue the journey, and to continue trying to learn and work hard, to be the best that we can be.
What is your pre-show routine?
Growing up a bluegrass kid, nobody ever really taught me much about warming up on the instrument or my voice. So I’ve really made an effort early in the day to do some vocal warmups, in the late morning or around lunch. Then, before hitting the stage, do some more vocal warm-ups … I just try to make sure that I ease into it, that I’m always trying to stretch. Because—not to sound like an old fart here—but when you’re your age, it’s a little bit easier to just think, “Oh yeah, well why not? I’ll get out and start playing or go to a jam and start singing harmony on full blast.” But when you get to a place where this becomes your life and your career, it’s not the same as, “Well, I think I’ll sit out the jam this time because I’m not feeling like singing.”
I really want to try to be the best I can be from one show to the next. And not have the first show on the tour be where I have all of my voice, and then the last show be where I can barely get through it. So, just for the sake of longevity. I’m still plenty young enough that if I can instill these good habits, hopefully by the time I am in my 60s, if I want to still be doing this, that hopefully I still have the mechanics to be able to do it. We don’t always learn that in bluegrass. So it’s something I’m trying to work on.
How do you engage with the audience and energize a room during a performance?
I’ve done a better job of not feeling like I have to make every crowd respond the same way. I think sometimes you want to meet an audience where they are. I’ve also realized that just because someone is going crazy or is super energetic, it doesn’t always mean that they’re loving it more than the person that’s quietly observing and really listening.
It’s hard, because I think as an audience, we get from artists what we give them. If you’re hyped and you’re having a really excited energy toward what’s happening on stage, there’s no doubt you’re gonna get a different kind of show from me. If you’re giving me that kind of energy, there’s a certain kind of thing that’s gonna happen within the spirit of the musicians on stage. So, I think that’s a beautiful thing that I love being able to lean into when I feel like an audience has given me that …
I feel like every audience is different, and sometimes there can be a calmness in just accepting this is the kind of show that it is, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean that they like me more or less, it’s just the energy of the given moment.
How do you approach playing for bigger audiences versus smaller ones?
There’s beauty in both things. It’s hard to beat a smaller audience; there tends to be a certain amount of connection that you can have, because you can really feel the people right there with you. So a lot of times with a smaller audience, I find it a little bit easier to just talk about the songs and communicate. But sometimes with a bigger audience, you’re trying to keep this huge group of people engaged with you. So for me personally, a lot of times when it’s a bigger audience, I tend to want the show to flow musically a little bit more from one scene to the next. A little bit faster with the speed, so usually less talking with a bigger audience for me.
How would you advise a young musician to go about recording their first album?
There’s no reason to feel like you have to rush whatever the first thing is. There’s a beautiful thing about being able to document the moment in time of where you are, but also not to feel the pressure that you only get one chance to make your first record.
You want to make sure that it’s something you can be really proud of. Something that when you’re not only my age, but older, that you can look back on and still go, “Cool, I know I gave that my absolute best in that moment.” Now listen, I go back and I hear my first album and I’m like, “Oh my God, I sound like such a baby, it’s ridiculous.” So you’re probably going to feel that way, no matter what. I don’t know if anybody goes back to their first record and goes, “Wow, how great is that?’ But I can also look back on it with a sense of pride and know that I gave it the best I had to give in that moment.
What are the benefits of working with record labels versus not?
This release is the first time that I won’t have worked for the record label. So I don’t have nearly as much experience doing it without a label as I do with a label. But I think it looks different for everybody. One size definitely doesn’t fit all. When I was a kid, Rounder Records—who I have made all my records with up until this point—was the label I wanted to be on. I’m really grateful that I got the experience of being there.
I can’t really compare my first record with a label to my first record as an independent artist. Not only am I in such a different place in my career now than I was then, but the industry is way different. Streaming music wasn’t a thing at all. If you wanted a new album, you had to go find it somewhere. You went to a store and you bought it, which is kind of a radical thought today … The support you need to put out an album looks a lot different.
So far, I’m excited about the independent side of things because I feel like more than ever it’s important to own your music and own your masters, and that’s important for me right now at this point in my career.
In our modern-day world, what has been the most effective way of promoting your music?
There’s probably no escaping that social media is the place where we connect with fans. I think that it’s harder than ever in some ways because—I don’t know if you’ve noticed this—things I really want to see from the artists I love are not the things that the algorithms always let me see. Sometimes I might see what they had for breakfast, but I don’t get to see if they’ve got a new song out or a tour announcement. Because a lot of times, those are the things that algorithms are intentionally holding back and wanting you to put money behind. So it’s kind of a two-sided coin because in one way we’re more connected than ever before, but there’s still kind of gatekeepers and things that make actually being able to promote music still feel a little tricky at times. But I would say social media is still probably the number one spot that most artists are trying to spread the word about what we’re all doing out here.
What is the first thing that comes to mind as a piece of advice for someone looking to make a career as a performing musician?
You’ve probably heard this saying, ‘When preparation meets opportunity.” You could practice and be the best player, singer, there ever was, writer, whatever. But if you don’t have any opportunity, you’re just kinda sitting there with all your talent, but there’s nowhere to put it. The same thing is true though, you could have all this opportunity, but you haven’t worked to be undeniable when the situation comes.
I think that there has to be a combination of both hard work, but also making sure that you’re out there trying to meet people. If this is something you really want to do, creating connections with people, and sharing the love of the music you have. That’s the wonderful thing about existing in the bluegrass world, because those connections and community roots all run so deep. Everybody’s always willing to give their time and knowledge to each other… Being somebody who is willing to give back to their community too. I think all those things have to go hand in hand. But more than anything I always say, if you want a seat at the table, work hard and you’ll get one. Work hard and be a good human.
