Shelby Means has been a grasser since her youth, born in Kentucky and raised in Wyoming. As a bassist and vocalist she has been part of two headlining acts, Della Mae, and now Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. And now she is stepping out front for her first solo single under her name.
After having worked as a band member and sidewoman both in and out of bluegrass, Shelby has picked a driving grasser for her debut solo release, Streets of Boulder, a song she wrote back in school some years ago. It shows her to be a fine singer and purveyor of honest emotion in song.
Means explained a bit about the single and the long journey she’s been on.
“I wrote Streets of Boulder in my dorm room when I was a freshman in college. As one might imagine from the lyrics, I had recently broken up with my summer boyfriend. While the feelings in the song are true, I took some imaginative liberty with the story. I hopped on the train in my mind and said goodbye to ‘love,’ all the while not sure that I even knew what love was all about yet.
Today, I am still full of questions… How did I get from my dorm room to performing in Slovakia with my college bluegrass band, to Music Row in Nashville, TN recording Streets of Boulder with some of my musical heroes?
I have huge gratitude for Molly Tuttle and my bandmates in Golden Highway who encouraged me to work on my solo music. We got to perform Streets of Boulder at a few shows in 2024, premiering it at the Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder, CO. It is such a thrill to play my original song with that band and to hear Bronwyn, Molly, and Kyle’s parts on the recording.”
Those heroes in the studio include Bryan Sutton on guitar, Ron Block on banjo, and Jerry Douglas on reso-guitar, plus her brother Jacob on mandolin. Molly Tuttle and Kyle Tuttle share harmony vocals, with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on fiddle.
It’s a strong track. Have a listen.
Streets of Boulder from Shelby Means is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers can contact her management online to obtain an airplay copy of the track.
