Molly Tuttle & Infamous Stringdusters Kick Off TuttleDust Tour With Extended Collaboration In Seattle

Grammy-winning bands Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and The Infamous Stringdusters began a run of five shows together in the Pacific Northwest on Friday night at The Moore Theatre in Seattle. The Stringdusters brought out Tuttle and Golden Highway mandolinist Dominick Leslie for the final three songs of their set and the evening’s “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” encore.

Molly Tuttle and bandmates Leslie, fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, bass player Shelby Means and banjo player Kyle Tuttle took the stage first in Seattle. The quintet’s performance included songs from 2023’s City Of Gold and 2022’s Crooked Tree, which earrned Tuttle and her band two consecutive Grammy Awards for Bluegrass Album Of The Year.

The Infamous Stringdusters — banjoist Chris Pandolfi, fiddler Jeremy Garrett, guitarist Andy Falco, bassist Travis Book and dobro player Andy Hall — delivered a career-spanning set at The Moore Theatre. The jamgrass quintet mixed beloved originals such as “Let Me Know,” “It’ll Be Alright” and “Let It Go” with a diverse string of covers including takes on The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” and the Phish classic “Possum.”

Molly Tuttle and Dominick Leslie emerged late in the ‘Dusters’ frame for “Moonshiner.” Tuttle sang the traditional song featured on her 2014 collaborative EP with John Mailander. Dominick Leslie, Jeremy Garrett and Andy Falco each took solos before Falco and Tuttle traded licks to pave the way for a transition into the instrumental bluegrass classic “Salt Creek.”

The Infamous Stringdusters weren’t done with their guests yet as the seven musicians teamed on “Fork In The Road,” the title track from the band’s 2007 debut studio album. Molly Tuttle and Dominick Leslie were also on stage for the traditional “Going Doing The Road Feeling Bad” to punctuate the night. Tuttle and Falco shared lead vocal duties on the song that was often covered by the Grateful Dead.

Watch The Infamous Stringdusters and Molly Tuttle join forces in Seattle via fan-shot video below:

The TuttleDust Tour now moves on to Oregon. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and The Infamous Stringdusters perform in Jacksonville tonight before wrapping the run with a two-night stand in Portland on August 6 and 7.

The Infamous Stringdusters Setlist (via Max Berde)

Set: Rise Sun > Let Me Know, When The Nightbirds Cry, Gravity > Just Like Heaven, Somewhere In Between, Down The Road, Wake The Dead > Possum, Let It Go, It’ll Be Alright > Back Home Again, Moonshiner* > Salt Creek*, Fork In The Road*

Encore: Going Down The Road Feeling Bad*

* – with Molly Tuttle and Dominick Leslie