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As a small child, Sierra Hull fell in love with bluegrass music during car trips with her family.

Riding to church, they would listen to groups such as Alison Krauss and Union Station and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.

So, when Hull decided to pick up an instrument, it came as a surprise to no one that she chose the mandolin.

"My dad played the guitar, and I had a great uncle who played the mandolin a little bit," says Hull, a Tennessee native. "I got the urge to try it, too, and I just kind of fell in love with it and started playing it all the time."

Hull discovered she had a natural ability with the instrument, and by the time she was old enough to drive, she'd released her first bluegrass album, "Secrets."

Now, she juggles a busy touring schedule between her classes at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She brings her band to Greensboro's Carolina Theatre Friday.

Achieving success at such an early age has made Hull stand out among her peers. But she remains humble and hopeful about her ability.

"I feel like I've been so blessed to do the things I've gotten to do," she says. "I feel there's so much farther to go ---- a lot of things I'm not even close to doing yet."

Hull and her band play a style of bluegrass that falls between the old-time mountain music and new-grass.

"We're a bluegrass band but we're not completely traditional, and we're not completely contemporary; we're somewhere in the middle of that," she says. "We like to do some of the traditional stuff, but I also love singing some of the softer, prettier, more contemporary stuff, too."

Their work, and Hull's playing in particular, has garnered critical acclaim and kudos from some of the genre's biggest acts. Hull's idol, Alison Krauss, said of her, "Sierra is a remarkably talented, beautiful human being. Success could not come to a more worthy person. I adore her."

"It's hard to even explain, really, because having anyone you admire say something nice about you is such a good feeling" Hull says. "And to have her say something like that means a lot because she's such a huge influence, and the albums she's made really move and inspire me."

She's found inspiration at Berklee, too. Working around a hectic touring schedule that has her taking midterms early and studying on the road, she's learning about the craft of making music.

"Berklee is really just an amazing school," she says. "They're so accepting of so many different types of music."

Though she released her first album and toured the nation before even graduating high school, Hull still has plenty of goals she'd like to achieve.

"For me, ultimately, I really want to be part of a band and lead a band that is playing a lot and constantly working on new material," she says. "Right now it's very hard to have that kind of time to rehearse every week, and it's hard, because that's my favorite part.

"I want to continue making records, and I'm excited to work toward something and continue working to get better. I long to be playing as much as possible with a band that I love."

 

Contact Jennifer Bringle at jenniferbringle@gmail.com.

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