Season 3, Episode 5: Sierra Hull

The mandolin player was an artist-at-large at this year’s festival in Quincy, California.

By Team JamBase Jul 13, 2023 • 11:00 am PDT

Season Three of The JamBase Podcast continues with an interview with multi-talented mandolin player Sierra Hull. JamBase editor Andy Kahn recently caught up with Hull backstage at High Sierra Music Festival for an insightful “The Art Of The Sit-In” discussion.

After meeting at Blue Ox in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Kahn re-connected with Hull six days later at High Sierra in Quincy, California. The setting at HSMF was perfect for “The Art Of The Sit-In” given Hull’s role as artist-at-large and the many collaborations that entailed.

When the interview took place Hull had already appeared on various High Sierra stages with the likes of The Infamous Stringdusters, Katie Pruitt and Eggy, and shortly after the chat she was onstage with frequent collaborators Cory Wong and the Del McCoury Band. Hull also sat-in with Steve Poltz and Neal Francis, participated in a songwriters workshop and stopped by a Grateful Dead tribute set. Hull pulled back the curtain on what it was like pulling off all of those sit-ins from both a performance and a technical perspective.

Hull also talked about collaborating with her friend and mentor Béla Fleck, with whom she is on tour with now. The interview also touched on challenging sit-ins, like a recent incident with The Fearless Flyers at Bonnaroo, the difference between sitting-in with bluegrass musicians and other types of performers and additional aspects related to live collaborations. Hull also discussed working on a new studio album, writing new music and much more.

This episode is sponsored by Section 119, a clothing and apparel company that specializes in licensed merchandise for the Grateful Dead, Phish and other bands. Shop officially licensed Grateful Dead and Fishman donut apparel including button-downs, board shorts, ties, bowties, pockets squares, ponchos, suits, shirts, hoodies and accessories featuring distinctive logos and artwork. Section 119 also offers officially licensed merchandise for Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Jerry Garcia and David Bowie. Visit Section 119 at section119.com and sign up to receive 10% off your first purchase.

Stream Season Three, Episode Five and other past episodes of The JamBase Podcast via all major podcast services including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcast.