FreshGrass Foundation and Whippoorwill Arts Announce Artist Awards: Molly Tuttle, Keith Little Each Receive $25,000 Grant

Courtesy Richlynn Group

Berkeley, CA, February 9, 2018 (Press Release)…Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalists Molly Tuttle and Keith Littleare announced as honorees of the Whippoorwill Arts/FreshGrass Artist Awards celebrating musical accomplishments, extraordinary talent, community spirit and creative souls. Tuttle and Little will each receive a $25,000 unrestricted grant, awarded by the FreshGrass Foundation and made possible by generous donations from Whippoorwill Arts.
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Little says, "I'm delighted to receive news of the Whippoorwill Arts/FreshGrass Master Artist Award! It's a great honor which I accept with gratitude and grace, both on behalf of those pioneers who've gone before me and smoothed the way, as well as for those who will soon be taking their first steps on a path to a life of artistry. Being filled with a profound sense of duty and purpose in this rare opportunity for accomplishment, I look forward to sharing my inspirations and hopefully inspire others to find their unique voice and a song to sing."

Tuttle adds, “Receiving the Whippoorwill Arts/FreshGrass Emerging Artist Award is an unbelievable honor. This award will give me freedom to expand my creativity in new ways and, as I'm gearing up to record my first full-length solo album, will open up so many exciting possibilities for my music. I'd like to send a heartfelt thanks to Whippoorwill Arts and FreshGrass for creating this incredibly generous award to support musicians.”

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Courtesy: Richlynn Group

Honorees were selected by a committee of roots musicians and music industry executives. The awards will be formally presented at a special event co-hosted by Nell Robinsonand Jim Nunally of Whippoorwill Arts and Chris Wadsworth of the FreshGrass Foundation. Presentations will be announced at a later date.

Molly Tuttle and Keith Little are both natives of Northern California. Tuttle won the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award for Guitarist of the Year, becoming the first woman to win the award. Her latest album is titled Rise. She now lives in Nashville. Little lives in the Sierra Foothills where he is known as "the bluegrass voice of gold country." He has performed on Grammy Award-winning recordings The Grass is Blue and Little Sparrow by Dolly Parton. Along with leading The LittleBand, he operates Slate Mountain Music. 

“We at the FreshGrass Foundation are excited to be working with Whippoorwill on these new grants as we share the same vision and mission of supporting both established and emerging roots music musicians, and we are honored to welcome both Molly and Keith into the growing family of FreshGrass grant recipients,” says Chris Wadsworth.

Nell Robinson of Whippoorwill arts adds, "We want to inspire others to support artists directly. Income streams are drying up for musicians, from government grants to the music market, roots musicians are struggling to make ends meet and, at the same time, focus on their craft. We may go back to the days of individuals personally supporting musicians and artists. We need these artists, they heal us, and their music and work help us make sense of our internal worlds. If you love music, respect musicians, let’s find creative ways to nurture their creativity,” 

“At the core of almost any great band are great musicians. Looking to the rich history of music and, often, unsung musicians who came from, or who are now rising in, California, we honor Keith and Molly. Not only does California provide the country’s fresh produce and silicon computer chips, but also amazing world-class influential Americana artists,” says Jim Nunally. 

ABOUT WHIPPOORWILL ARTS
Whippoorwill Arts was founded to nurture and express our creativity and that of those whom we respect and love from the roots music community. We believe in the power of collaboration and have been inspired to reach out to other organizations and artists to create together, including FreshGrass Foundation for our new Artists Awards. Other projects include Music Home Project, Banjo Boy Coffee, and the Nell & Jim Band which has performed at festivals and venues across the U.S. and Canada. 

ABOUT FRESHGRASS FOUNDATION
The FreshGrass Foundation is dedicated to preserving, promoting and creating innovative grassroots music. The foundation publishes No Depression, the quarterly journal of roots music and online hub for roots music fans; awards grants and commissions to emerging and established writers and performers; and produces the annual FreshGrass, an annual festival of bluegrass and roots music in North Adams, Massachusetts.
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