With one month left on The Highway Knows Tour, bluegrass and Americana artist Molly Tuttle graced the stage at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, IA on Sunday, November 16. A beautiful, old theatre built in 1912, later rebuilt in 1926, and then renovated in 2004 as a performing arts venue, this establishment has hosted a plethora of big-name artists, and Sunday was no different.
Opening for Molly were Cecilia Castleman, a talented musician and songwriter who is truly one to watch, and talented Texan, Joshua Ray Walker. Not only does Joshua have an amazing voice, but also has the gift of storytelling. He frequently tossed in some anecdotes between songs. He also included the story of his cancer diagnosis back in 2023, receiving the dreaded call en route to perform a cover of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Standing center stage with her double neck guitar, the upbeat bluegrass sound of her newest single, “Everything Burns,” from her newest 2025 studio album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, blared throughout the venue. Molly Tuttle and her band members, all decked out in black, kicked off this set with a tune that amped the crowd right from the start.
On Molly’s left was electric and upright acoustic bass player Vanessa McGowan, whose sparkly black outfit complimented that of Molly’s boots. On Molly’s right was multi-instrumentalist Mary Meyer, who mastered the fiddle throughout each song it accompanied. Upstage to the trio were drummer Megan Jane and pedal steel/guitarist/bass player Ellen Angelico.
After “Everything Burns” got the crowd whooping straight away, they moved right into the song that echos the tour name, “The Highway Knows.” Still early into their set, they performed “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark,” which took on more of a pop sound, followed by the murder ballad, “Rosalee,” another song off of the So Long Little Miss Sunshine album. Eerieness dominated the house, as the haunting instrumental introduction began, leading into the lyrics of this song inspired by a true story.
Emerging from upstage, Ellen Angelico now made her way towards front and center stage, guitar in hand, to play opposite Molly for “Alice in the Bluegrass,” from the 2023 album, City of Gold. A true bluegrass tune, Ellen and Molly made it look and sound like a jam session. There were lots of instrumentals throughout this song, as well as many others on this evening’s set.
After “Alice,” band member introductions were made, and they ended the first segment of tonight’s set with “Where Did All the Wild Things Go.” This song about gentrification of neighborhoods had several distinct instrumental breaks, and even a bit of audience participation singing the word “do” to help keep a beat.
The second part of this evening’s set went into acoustic mode from the start. A few small white lights from behind, combined with some soft orange accent lights set the mood for the lovely duet of “Yosemite,” from the 2023 album City of Gold. At this time, Molly brought out Joshua Ray Walker to sing this with her. This was sadly Joshua’s final show on this tour with Molly, which added even more emotion to this number.
After Joshua’s departure from the stage, Mary and Vanessa took center stage with Molly, and it was only the trio. With Mary on her bass and Vanessa with mandolin in hand, the speedy, bluegrass sound of an old style railroad song, “San Joaquin” was performed in beautiful harmony by the trio. This was undoubtedly one of my favorite numbers that night! I truly loved it!
After the sprightly performance of “Side Saddle,” the rest of the band re-emerged, and all five took their place downstage, with Molly now switching to her banjo, Ellen now holding her guitar horizontally in lap steel fashion, and drummer Megan Jane with a washboard performed “Down Home Dispensary,” a song about the legalization of cannabis in Tennessee, from the 2023 album City of Gold.
Following this riveting performance, the lights dimmed, a soft amber glow materialized from behind, light rays were spinning and projecting slowly onto the walls of the house, and Molly was spotlighted to perform “Golden State of Mind,” another song off the 2025 album So Long Little Miss Sunshine. The lights got brighter as the volume increased throughout the song, and then faded out with the amber lights going into a strobe effect at the end.
More astonishing lighting effects were displayed all over the stage during “Dooley’s Farm,” off the 2022 album Crooked Tree. This number had it all! A deep, eerie musical introduction, combined with rings of light projected onto the stage floor. The lights from behind combined with swirling smoke effects resembled the radar image of a hurricane, enhanced the chilling nature of this song. I made it a point to give kudos to the light and sound crew at the end of the night, as they were truly deserving of such merit.
Highlighting yet another song from her newest album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, she performed “Old Me (New Wig),” which she considered to be practically the title song to this album. Upon reaching the final line of the fifth verse of the song, “I got a new wig to get you out of my hair,” she paused, whipped off her long, dark wig, and tossed it aside to reveal her beautiful, bald self. The crowd went wild with this action!
Cecilia Castleman was now brought out on stage for the number following “Old Me (New Wig)” to sing a beautiful duet of “Crooked Tree,” the title song of the 2022 studio album. It’s always special to see the supporting artists on tour make those types of appearances and have the honor to perform with the headliner.
After the final song on the setlist, “Take the Journey,” released in 2019, the entire house all rose to their feet. However, no concert would be complete without an encore performance. The trio of Molly, Mary, and Vanessa reappeared on stage with mandolin, guitar and upright bass once more to perform the first song in their encore, “Freightliner.” This incredibly fast-paced tune truly showcased the musical talent of these artists.
The second (and final) encore performance was about to begin. Molly was spotlighted once more from behind, swirling pink polka dot lights lit the house and stage floor. “I Love It,” yet one final song from the 2025 album So Long Little Miss Sunshine was a fitting finale. A beautiful, slow-tempo song put such a serene ending to a foot-stomping evening of the remarkable bluegrass sound of Molly Tuttle.
With only about a dozen shows left on this tour, I highly encourage anyone to catch at least one of her remaining performances, with the majority of them being held along the west coast in California. Her final show on this tour will be held on December 13th at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, and if you’re looking for something for New Year’s Eve, head out to The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, CA for a New Year’s Eve with Molly Tuttle!
GALLERY: Molly Tuttle at Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa (November 16, 2025)
