Bryan Sutton Taps Sierra Hull For Playful “Grandfather’s Clock” Guitar Duet

Bryan Sutton has released the third entry in his From Roots to Branches duet series for Mountain Home Music Company. This song features the great Sierra Hull on a new version of “Grandfather’s Clock.”

The recording brings together Sutton with Hull on guitars, spotlighting a side of Hull often overshadowed by her award-winning mandolin work. Hull is the current International Bluegrass Music Association Mandolin Player of the Year and a four-time Grammy nominee this season, including a nod for Best Bluegrass Album. Sutton tracked the tune on his grandfather’s Martin 0-17.

Written in 1876, “Grandfather’s Clock” became an immediate hit, selling more than 800,000 copies of sheet music and popularizing the term “grandfather clock” for longcase timepieces. Sutton and Hull open with a relaxed, legato reading of the melody before moving into a quicker but still measured tempo.

Hull calls Sutton “one of my favorite musicians in the world to listen to and make music with,” praising his ability to “elevate any musical situation” through both subtle support and rhythmic drive. She describes the project as an honor and credits Sutton as one of her musical heroes.

Sutton has recorded hundreds of sessions for artists such as Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, and Luke Combs, alongside a long-running reputation among bluegrass, newgrass, folk, swing, and flatpicking fans. After early work in southeastern studios and a key stint with Ricky Skaggs’ return to bluegrass, he became one of Nashville’s most in-demand studio guitarists while releasing acclaimed solo projects and teaching thousands of students online.

The western North Carolina native has earned 10 International Bluegrass Music Association Guitar Player of the Year awards, the most in the honor’s 35-year history. His recent collaboration with Billy Strings, Live at the American Legion (2025), extended his influence to a younger bluegrass audience.

Approaching the 20th anniversary of his 2006 duet collection Not Too Far From the Tree: A Collection of Duets with Heroes and Friends, Sutton envisioned a new series built around peers and younger players rather than mentors. That concept became From Roots to Branches, announced in summer 2025 in partnership with Mountain Home Music Company and launched while Sutton toured with Strings in support of Live at the American Legion. The new “Grandfather’s Clock” duet with Sierra Hull marks another step in that evolving project.