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Bronwyn Keith-Hynes has long been renowned as a prolific instrumentalist, earning two IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards as well as a Grammy for her work with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. But on her latest album I Built a World, the Charlottesville native unlocks an impressive new sound: her voice.  “This is the first album I’ve ever sung lead on. Singing is something I’d always thought I’d do at some point and in 2020 I had the time and space to finally find my voice,” Bronwyn says. Even as the pandemic halted touring and so much else, vocal lessons kept her focused. “It’s funny,” she jokes of the timing, “you put a mask on me and suddenly I want to sing.” I Built a World marks her first vocal album, but Bronwyn has been a musician since before she can remember. “Apparently, I saw two girls busking on the street playing fiddles when I was three,” she explains with a laugh, “and I pointed to them and said, ‘I will do that.'” As a child, music lessons gradually transitioned into public performances, with a particular emphasis on Irish music after her family relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia. And her lifelong musical education continues to shape her work today. A background in dance makes her a captivating and energetic live performer. An on-stage collaboration with fellow Charlottesville native Dave Matthews taught her how a crowd could feed your energy. And attending Berklee during the early years of its American Roots Music program offered inspiration from classmates like Sierra Hull and Alex Hargreaves—as well as an introduction to Tuttle and most of Bronwyn’s Golden Highway bandmates.  “My favorite bluegrass musicians today are the ones who are rooted in traditional music, but don’t really see any boundaries,” she says. “It’s as if they draw from a traditional bluegrass vocabulary, but use it to say what they want to say.”  Now, as her own entry in bluegrass history expands from celebrated instrumentalist to bandleader and frontwoman, Bronwyn isn’t just crafting a career in the image of genre greats like Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas; she’s bringing them along for the ride. Both Bush and Douglas are featured as players on I Built a World, and they’re not the only of Bronwyn’s musically-inclined pals and heroes to make an appearance.  Darrell Scott sings on “Angel Island,” a Peter Rowan tune. Country fans may recognize Dierks Bentley singing harmony on “Trip Around the Sun” and Brit Taylor on “Answers”. Longtime pal Tuttle and Bronwyn’s fiance Jason Carter (an accomplished fiddle player himself) also appear as vocalists on multiple tracks. And rounding out the band are Bryan Sutton on guitar; Dominick Leslie, Bronwyn’s Golden Highway bandmate, on mandolin; Wesley Corbett and Scott Vestal on banjo; and Jeff Picker on bass. Indeed, community is the axis on which I Built a World spins. Long before she tapped talent for the studio, Bronwyn sourced songs for the album from her musical network in Nashville and beyond. “A lot of the songs are gathered from my friend group and community here in Nashville,” she says. “I reached out to friends and just people whose music I liked and asked, ‘Is there any chance you have anything that you’re not planning on recording?'” Many did. Not all of the songs were new territory, though. In fact, she’d been holding onto the title track for years after hearing it on the radio while driving through Kentucky. She contacted the artist, Matthew Parsons, for his blessing to record it, and the song set the tone for the entire project. “‘I Built a World’ is about daydreaming, about building worlds in your mind. I was definitely a kid who did a lot of that. But as an adult, I feel like music still can take me to that place,” she says. She hopes listeners can take a little bit of that dreaminess with them. “Each song on this album is its own little world, its own story, a space and a place in your mind that you can travel to and explore. Whatever you’re needing or wanting to feel, you can go to that place here. I hope you enjoy the journey.”

Equally comfortable picking pristine progressive bluegrass and electric jamband solos, Kyle Tuttle is a rare and virtuosic banjo player known for his work with GRAMMY-winning guitarist Molly Tuttle, and former Yonder Mountain String Band mandolin player Jeff Austin.  His third album Labor of Lust, is very different from his first two albums. On his new record, Tuttle explores a wide range of sounds and possibilities for the banjo, while his songwriting gives insight into a tumultuous time in his own life; losing a mentor and going through a divorce.  “A life in professional music, or performance of any kind really, is often painted in glamor… but the man behind the curtain can exist in a difficult duality.  An attempt at putting a saddle on success can eat a person up and wreck the things they hold dear.  In reality, any pursuit of the love of the masses can easily become a Labor of Lust.” Growing up in Georgia, Kyle Tuttle first began singing and playing folk songs with his grandparents. After studying at Berklee College of Music and moving to Nashville, TN, Tuttle played in the band of Yonder Mountain String Band mandolinist Jeff Austin until Austin’s death in 2019. Now playing full time with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, (Kyle) Tuttle has been busy touring while finishing his newest album, Labor of Lust.  The album was recorded over two sessions in Nashville with engineers Daniel Rice and Megan McCormick, and features a stacked cast of musicians including Golden Highway bandmate Dominick Leslie, The Infamous Stringdusters Travis Book, singer/songwriter Lindsay Lou, and many others.  Sonically, the music moves from straightforward bluegrass (Trailer in Boulder Canyon), to electric funk-jams (Ghost), to song-based folk numbers (Turn On Your Radio). Kyle has also worked closely with Jamgrass legends Larry Keel, Travelin’ McCourys, Leftover Salmon, Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings, Railroad Earth and many more.

Caestecker Experience Passes are available for this show.  Please visit the Caestecker Public Library, 518 Hill St. Green Lake, WI to check out FREE tickets for the show.  Caestecker Library patrons with a valid library card can attend a performance at Thrasher Opera House in Green Lake. Each family may receive tickets for up to two (2) shows per season, with a maximum of four (4) tickets per selected performance date. Seasons run from January to May and June to December. Tickets may not be resold and have no cash value. Thrasher Opera House reserves the right to deny entry. Experience passes can be checked out at the library during the week of the show—no holds allowed.