Sierra Hull Becomes The First-Ever Female Artist To Get Her Own Signature Gibson Mandolin

Mandolin Virtuoso Sierra Hull

Courtesy of Gibson

It’s been a busy year for Sierra Hull who has spent much of it criss-crossing the country on tour. Now, with 2025 drawing to a close, she’s finally been able to catch her breath and look back at some of the monumental things that have happened.

“It’s been such a fun year and yeah, I feel like I’ve been here, there, and everywhere two or three times over,” she says with a laugh. “But I’m starting to slow down a bit now and think about some of the amazing moments that have happened. There’s definitely been some ‘pinch me’ kind of things.”

It started in February with the long-awaited release of her first album in five years.

A Tip Toe High Wire is a deeply personal body of work showcasing Hull’s unique style of blending both traditional and progressive bluegrass. The record, which features her touring band, is the first independent album of her career.

“I’d been working on it for a while, as well as touring in recent years and doing some other collaborative projects, so I was excited to finally get the album out,” she says. “And it’s an exciting chapter for me to do it independently. I signed with Rounder Records when I was 13 years old and all of my records have been there. It was the label I dreamed of being on and I’m so grateful for the opportunity, but it’s kind of an empowering moment at this point in my career to be able to have ownership of my music and be in the driver’s seat with a team of people as passionate about putting the music out, as I am.”

In September, Hull took home the IBMA Award (International Bluegrass Music Association) for Mandolin Player of the Year. She’s won the category a record setting six times.

Then, in October, the GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist and mandolin virtuoso, became the first-ever female artist to have her own signature Gibson mandolins.

“Sierra Hull is one of the most gifted mandolin players and singer-songwriters of our time,” noted Mat Koehler, Vice President of Product at Gibson, in making the announcement. “She has redefined what’s possible on the mandolin and across the many genres she explores. Her signature models reflect her passion for the instrument and her uncompromising approach to tone and feel.”

For Hull, it was an honor to spend the past two years working on the project with Luthier David Harvey. It was Harvey who signed the Gibson mandolin she has played since 2009.

To celebrate the release of the Sierra Hull F-5 Master Model and the Sierra Hull F-5G mandolins, she performed at the Gibson Garage in Nashville. She was accompanied by her husband, Justin Moses, also an award-winning multi-instrumentalist.

Hull still finds it a little awe-inspiring to see her name on the new models.

“The F-5 Mandolin as we know it exists because Gibson created it in the 1920s,” she says. “When you think of the bluegrass-style mandolin, Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass played his July 9 Lloyd Lorr-signed Gibson mandolin and that’s what everybody wanted. Quality of the instrument aside, there’s this legacy that comes with what Gibson represents to all of us mandolin players. It’s the mandolin my heroes played. So, it’s incredible to have my name on one of these instruments.”

Hull’s bluegrass roots run deep. The Tennessee-native grew up in the small town of Byrdstown, which she points out just so happens to be located in Pickett (as in pick-it) County.

“Oh, the irony,” she says with a smile.

Surrounded by music, she got her first instrument when she was just eight years old.

“I got a fiddle for Christmas and it was a bit too big for me at the time. I don’t think my family realized you could get the tiny kid-sized one. Even when I reached out my hand completely, I still couldn’t reach the end of it. But my dad had just started playing the mandolin. So, he put the mandolin in my hands and taught me my first tune. I fell in love with it and never looked back.”

With a passion to learn and a clear musical gift, Hull soon got her own mandolin and became a driven and dedicated student. In just a year, she was already known for her ability to play. In fact, about that time she not only met, but actually got the chance to ‘jam’ with one of her biggest mandolin heroes.

“I got invited to the IBMA for the Kids on Bluegrass and got in line to meet Sam Bush. It’s funny since we’ve been talking about Gibson because it was at the Gibson Showcase. Sam did a signing and I actually still have the photo from it. While I was there, someone said, ‘Hey Sam, we heard this girl can play. You should pick a tune with her.’”

Sam Bush did exactly that.

“He sat there and jammed with me for like an hour,” Hull says. “Who does that? I was nine years old!”

It’s one of the things Hull loves most about bluegrass, the warm, welcoming sense of community between those who cherish the music.

“That’s the kind of world you step into with the bluegrass circle,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re nine or you’re ninety, you can sit together and share a love of the music, the tunes, and the catalogue.”

Her love of traditional bluegrass is where it all began for Hull and remains an integral part of who she is as a musician. But she also likes to color outside the lines.

“I learned so much of the traditional music and that language as a musician, it’s part of my musical DNA,” she says. “I couldn’t outrun it if I tried. But I do love all kinds of music. And I’ve had a lot of heroes who’ve stepped outside the bounds of bluegrass and shown me that it’s possible whether it’s’ somebody like Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, Chris Thile, or Sam Bush, Mr. Newgrass himself!”

Hull’s latest album highlights her many talents from vocals to songwriting to musicianship, as well as her ability to master the old and explore the new. The album’s title A Tip Toe High Wire comes from a song called “Spitfire” she wrote about her grandmother. But clearly she and Hull are kindred spirits.

“There’s a line in there that says, ‘Queen of a tip toe highwire.’ And it’s about that bold kind of person who is not afraid to just step out and be themselves.”

And yet, even as she enjoys exploring other genres, Hull says she’s never very far from her traditional roots.

“I live a very different life than Bill Monroe would have lived, but I’m from the part of the world where I know those people,” Hull says. “Those are ‘my people.’ I grew up right on the Tennessee/Kentucky line, so, it’s my connection not only with the music, but as a person, too.”

She believes there’s room for all variations of the music. It’s evident from the wide-ranging ages of those who come to her shows and line-up for meet-and-greets.

As she signed autographs at the Gibson store in October, Hull, who remembers what it was like to meet her own hero, Sam Bush, not all that long ago, found herself on the other side of the table, as she spoke with a young, aspiring mandolin player. Hull took time to watch a video of the 11-year old playing the mandolin and offer words of encouragement.

She says it’s rewarding to see it all come full circle. It’s also impressive to see the next generation deep in preparation and ready to carry the bluegrass torch forward – when the time comes.

“I meet so many kids out here who are as excited about the music as I was. It’s a beautiful thing to see all these young kids get excited about playing mandolins and banjos and fiddles. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.”

To learn more about Sierra Hull, her latest album, or check out her tour schedule – visit sierrahull.com.