“I knew we had to work out a way to keep playing music,” Swallow Hill Instructor Deborah Collins says when asked how she stayed connected musically during COVID-19 related closures. As a songwriter, band leader, music teacher, and mother of two, music took a backseat...
Clay Kirkland is coming back to Colorado! Many of us know Clay as a beloved harmonica instructor and player. Though he now resides in Missouri, Clay remains one of Swallow Hill’s great ambassadors and we are looking forward to his upcoming visit. On July 29 at Four...
Heather Howerton is Swallow Hill’s new Marketing Director. She is joining us as we prepare to once again open our doors for in-person concerts, classes, workshops and more. Our CEO Paul Lhevine is thrilled Heather is coming on board to lead dynamic marketing for the...
Swallow Hill has been awarded a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant by the Small Business Administration in the amount of $2,175,000. With this amazing influx of dollars the 42-year-old music nonprofit organization will be able to set aside funds for its long-term safety...
Swallow Hill is thrilled to announce Alicia “Bruce” Trujillo will begin in July as our new Concert Director. Bruce joins us from Colorado Public Radio’s Indie 102.3 (formerly OpenAir) where she is celebrated for highlighting new and local music, while acting as an...
State of the Hill April 26, 2021 The light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter with every passing day. With a year of closure well under our belt we are now in the process of getting ready to slowly come back to in-person programming with renewed energy and...
Equally comfortable picking pristine progressive bluegrass and electric jamband solos, Kyle Tuttle is a rare and virtuosic banjo player known for his work with Grammy-winning guitarist Molly Tuttle, and former Yonder Mountain String Band mandolin player Jeff Austin. His third album Labor of Lust, is very different from his first two albums
On his new record, Tuttle explores a wide range of sounds and possibilities for the banjo, while his songwriting gives insight into a tumultuous time in his own life; losing a mentor and going through a divorce. “A life in professional music, or performance of any kind really, is often painted in glamor… but the man behind the curtain can exist in a difficult duality. An attempt at putting a saddle on success can eat a person up and wreck the things they hold dear. In reality, any pursuit of the love of the masses can easily become a Labor of Lust.”
Growing up in Georgia, Kyle Tuttle first began singing and playing folk songs with his grandparents. After studying at Berklee College of Music and moving to Nashville, TN, Tuttle played in the band of Yonder Mountain String Band mandolinist Jeff Austin until Austin’s death in 2019.
Fresh off a full time gig with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, (Kyle) Tuttle has been busy touring while finishing his newest album, Labor of Lust. The album was recorded over two sessions in Nashville with engineers Daniel Rice and Megan McCormick, and features a stacked cast of musicians including Golden Highway bandmate Dominick Leslie, The Infamous Stringdusters Travis Book, singer/songwriter Lindsay Lou, and many others. Sonically, the music moves from straightforward bluegrass (Trailer in Boulder Canyon), to electric funk-jams (Ghost), to song-based folk numbers (Turn On Your Radio).
Kyle has also worked closely with Jamgrass legends Larry Keel, Travelin’ McCourys, Leftover Salmon, Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings, Railroad Earth and many more.
