Sierra Hull (born 1991) is a mandolin player, singer, and songwriter from Byrdstown, Tennessee. She started mandolin at eight, signed with Rounder Records at 13, and released her first major album at 16. In 2016 she became the first woman to win IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year, and she has won it seven times since. Her 2026 album The Movements is a full bluegrass concerto.
Why Hull matters
Hull broke one of bluegrass’s longest-standing barriers when she won the IBMA mandolin award. She did it with technique that matches anyone’s and a songwriter’s sense of melody. Her playing moves from hard-driving traditional breaks to delicate, improvised solo pieces. She shows young players, girls and boys alike, that a mandolin player can be a virtuoso, a singer, and a composer all at once.
Life and career
Hull was born on September 27, 1991, and grew up in Byrdstown, Tennessee. She started mandolin at eight, made her first album, Angel Mountain, at ten, and entered local contests by 2001. At an IBMA festival she caught the ear of Rounder talent scout Ken Irwin. At 11 she met Alison Krauss, who became a mentor and invited her to play the Grand Ole Opry.
Rounder released Secrets in 2008, when Hull was 16. Alison Krauss and Ron Block co-produced it, and it reached number two on the bluegrass chart. She earned a Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music and kept touring while she studied. Daybreak (2011), produced by Barry Bales, featured seven of her songs. That year she performed at the White House with Krauss and Dan Tyminski.
Béla Fleck produced Weighted Mind (2016), a spare album built around her mandolin and Ethan Jodziewicz’s bass. It went to number one on the bluegrass chart, as did 25 Trips (2020). Her independent album A Tip Toe High Wire (2025) featured Tim O’Brien and Béla Fleck and earned three Grammy nominations, including Best Bluegrass Album. The Movements (2026) is a three-part bluegrass concerto with room for improvisation. She tours with her husband, multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses, and lives in Nashville.
Playing style
Hull has a fast, clean right hand and a strong sense of rhythm. On traditional tunes her breaks are crisp and driving, with clear melody and tasteful double stops. On her own music she plays long, flowing lines, chord melodies, and improvisations that move through unusual keys.
Her tremolo is smooth and singing. Whether she is trading breaks with Sam Bush at a festival or playing solo, her timing is steady and her tone is full.
Influences and legacy
Hull’s mentor is Alison Krauss. She has worked with Ron Block, Barry Bales, Dan Tyminski, Béla Fleck, Bryan Sutton, Stuart Duncan, Alex Hargreaves, Christian Sedelmyer, Molly Tuttle, and Tim O’Brien.
Adam Steffey played on her album Secrets, and she has played festival sets with Sam Bush. She also played on Bobby Osborne’s 2017 album Original. Like Chris Thile, she grew from child prodigy into a composer who stretches the mandolin.
Signature tunes and songs
Lord, That’s a Long Way Spitfire What Do You Say Over the Mountain.
Essential recordings
Secrets (Rounder, 2008) Daybreak (Rounder, 2011) Weighted Mind (Rounder, 2016) 25 Trips (Rounder, 2020) A Tip Toe High Wire (2025)
Awards and honors
Bluegrass Star Award, Bluegrass Heritage Foundation (2013) IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year (2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025) Grammy nominations, A Tip Toe High Wire: Best Bluegrass Album, Best Americana Roots Song for Spitfire, and Best Instrumental Composition for Lord, That’s a Long Way (2026)
Watch and listen
Hull plays Over the Mountain solo for Fretboard Journal. Listen to the tone and the space.
Hull and her band rip through What Do You Say at Grey Fox in 2023.
What to learn from Hull
Learn a fiddle tune at a slow tempo, then play it as a duet with a bass player only, the way Hull did on Weighted Mind. With no guitar or banjo to lean on, every note and every rest is exposed. You will learn more about your timing and tone in one session than in a month of full-band jams.
Sources
Sierra Hull, Wikipedia Mandolin Player of the Year, IBMA recipients by year Bobby Osborne, Wikipedia Adam Steffey, Wikipedia
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Hull took the IBMA award after Jesse Brock and Adam Steffey. Sam Bush and Chris Thile share her love of pushing the mandolin forward.