Sierra Hull in Nashville

About the artist

Sierra Dawn Hull (born September 27, 1991) is an American bluegrass singer, mandolinist and guitarist. Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13 and released her debut album, Secrets, in 2008 at the age of 16. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart. Her second album, Daybreak, was released on March 8, 2011. Sierra Hull was born and raised in Byrdstown, Tennessee and attended Pickett County High School before accepting a Presidential Scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music. Hull began playing the mandolin at the age of eight and put out the album Angel Mountain at 10. Hull was soon playing jam sessions with other musicians in her family, and by 2001 she was entering local talent contests. Her parents, Stacy and Brenda, took her to numerous bluegrass festivals and it was during an International Bluegrass Music Association festival that she came to the attention of Rounder Records chief talent scout Ken Irwin. At age 11 she was mentored and befriended by Alison Krauss, herself once a child prodigy on the fiddle. Hull and Krauss, along with Dan Tyminski, performed at the White House on November 21, 2011. She has a brother, Cody, and is a distant cousin of former United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Hull has already received five International Bluegrass Music Association nominations in the past three years.