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Sunday, 9 November, 2008 2:22 PM
CMA New Artist Spotlight: Sierra
Hull
Photo
by Jim MCGuire
Rounder
recording artist Sierra Hull.
| By
Bob Doerschuk |
| ©
2008 CMA Close Up News Service |
Sierra Hull has played
on the Grand Ole Opry, won instrumental contests, performed at Carnegie
Hall and shared the stage with Sam Bush, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs
and other artists - not bad for a 16-year-old, though those who've
known her for a while aren't surprised at the trajectory of her
young career.
Born in Byrdstown, Tenn.,
Hull was 8 when she began picking the mandolin. Two years later,
in 2002, she self-released Angel Mountain and made the first of
many appearances at annual International Bluegrass Music Association
(IBMA) conventions.
Throughout Secrets, her
Rounder Records debut album, which she co-produced with Ron Block,
Hull builds from a foundation of technique, not to dazzle but to
convey the essence of all 13 songs, two of which she wrote and one
a co-write. She sings in a warm timbre, sweetening the melody with
a honeyed brush. When confronting a lyric that might require more
life experience, Hull applies an innocence that appeals in a more
nostalgic way to the seasoned listener.
Her work on mandolin
and guitar reflects a similar restraint, except in moments when
a few fireworks illuminate. On "Smashville," for instance,
her solo flows gracefully, speeding up over occasional rapids but
more often glistening with a linear beauty and endless inventiveness.
Surrounded on tracks by members of her band and high-profile guests
such as Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice and Stuart Duncan, she already
sounds at home among the giants of her genre.
IN HER OWN WORDS:
CD IN YOUR STEREO
"Through the Window of a Train, by Blue Highway."
PHRASE YOU SAY OVER
AND OVER AGAIN
"You know what I mean?"
LUCKY CHARM
"I ate Lucky Charms for breakfast, if that counts."
FAVORITE FOOD WHILE
ON TOUR
"Probably chicken, although I will try and eat almost anything."
WHAT YOU HOPE PEOPLE
WILL SAY ABOUT YOU 50 YEARS FROM NOW
"That I made a difference in the music world in some way, that
I was a kind person and that I lived a life pleasing unto God."
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
"Alison Krauss, Sam Bush and Chris Thile."
FIRST START IN MUSIC
"I started playing mandolin at age 8."
On the Web:
www.sierrahull.com
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