THE British release of the new solo debut seven track EP by a rising star on the American bluegrass music scene is celebrated with a gig at Presteigne next Thursday night, May 3.

Molly Tuttle, the softly spoken 24-year-old and the first woman in the 27 year history of International Bluegrass Music Association Awards to be nominated and win the Guitar Player of the Year title, will be appearing with another American bluegrass performer Rachel Baiman at St Andrew’s Church Hall at 7.30pm.

Described by Premier Guitar as “among the most brilliant guitarists in this new generation”, her songs ‘Save This Heart’ and ‘Lightning in a Jar’ have already been added to the influential Americana playlists Acoustic Love and Afternoon Acoustic streaming platforms.

Molly performed at the Celtic Connections festival in Scotland in January and she returns to the UK to co-headline this tour with Rachel Baliman, with the local appearance being another coup for the small border town, adding to the string of contemporary American musicians who have played at venues in the town in the last few years.

Tickets are £7 and can be purchased from Courtyard Antiques or by calling 01544 267163.

A full length album from Molly is expected later in the year but for now there is the EP , which is entitled ‘Rise’. Recorded in Nashville, her songs reveal the scope of her diverse influences and builds a bridge from bluegrass to Americana music exploring what her six-string guitar can do.

The EP opens on a light happy note with guitar, banjo and a little fiddle as Molly gets over her sleepless nights with ‘Good Enough’, which is followed by a quieter song ‘You Didn’t Call My Name’ set in the city and with a familiar feel to it.

There’s a fuller band sound to the angst ridden ‘Save This Heart’, while a lovely slow intro opens up into a wider landscape with some extremely nice vocal and banjo on ‘Lightning in a Jar’.

The catchy ‘Friend and a Friend’ perks spirits up again with a fine fiddle break, is followed by the lively instrumental ‘Super Moon’ and the final ‘Walden’ with Molly’s delicate singing complemented with harmony vocals by Darrell Scott, and banjo picking and fiddle by Wesley Corbett and John Mailander.

Not just for devoted bluegrass or country fans, this is an extremely pleasant set of songs to have on hand to listen to.