by Dave Parsons
The Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead has seen its share of musical metamorphoses over the decades, from classical recitals in its early 1900s heyday to punk rock revivals in the ’80s. It’s not just a building, as the music hall is literally part of the oldest Carnegie library in continuous operation in its original structure in the US, and was chosen by CNN in 2014 as one of the 27 most fascinating libraries in the world to visit. You literally walk through the shallowed shelves of books to get to the pre-show room, to partake in a drink and snacks.
The Music Hall can seat just over a thousand, but its interior can amplify the human voice better than most arenas with ten times the capacity. But the triple bill on Saturday, September 13, 2025, featuring Cecilia Castleman, Town Mountain, and headliner Molly Tuttle represented something altogether different. A generational shift in American roots music that’s happening in real time, right before our ears.
The talk wasn’t just about Molly Tuttle, though her Highway Knows Tour had been on everyone’s radar since the first date was announced. It was about seeing her in this room, the one where whispers and shouts share the same ceiling. This was the legacy continuing…
First came Cecilia Castleman, still in the early chapters of her story but already carrying herself like a seasoned author. Her opening tune, Waiting on You, settled across the room like early morning mist, and being the first person to enjoy it. Lonely Nights and Pick and Lose sketched the edges wider, her voice a notebook of motel sketches and telephone-line confessions.
Her medley of Breakdown/Hit the Road Jack was a nice diversion down another path while going back to her own ink with It’s Alright, a song that was anything but alright in the best possible way. Castleman’s voice cracked with emotion as she sang about finding peace in uncertainty, and the room fell into a reverent silence. For a 21-year-old opening act, she commanded attention like a headliner, and several audience members were already pulling out their phones to look up her tour dates.
Then came Town Mountain, Asheville’s proud bluegrass insurgents who play like they were born with banjos in their hands and a streak of outlaw in their blood. Their set opened with Revelry, a hard-hitting jam that led into Lines in the Levee, which reminded everyone why the 2022 record by the same name hit so hard.
Comeback Kid and Firebrand Road kept their setlist moving right along. The band’s eight-song set built to a crescendo with I’m on Fire, a Springsteen cover that shouldn’t have worked but absolutely did. Town Mountain transformed the Boss’s synth-pop meditation into a driving bluegrass burner. By the time they closed with American Family flowing into Farewell Boy and finally Down Low, they’d proven that traditional bluegrass could accommodate modern songwriting without losing its soul.
One highlight of the night from a technical aspect was the changeover times. Going from Castleman’s solo act into the band was all of 10 minutes, and changing bands entirely from Town Mountain, into Tuttle’s Golden Highway band was 20 minutes. As a matter of fact, when looking at the set times posted in the lobby, it was not a surprise that folks were fumbling in the dark for their seats when Tuttle emerged 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
The two-time Grammy winner has spent the past few years redefining what contemporary bluegrass can sound like, and she is in full command of her artistic vision. Opening with Everything Burns, she immediately established that this wouldn’t be a typical bluegrass show. Her guitar work was rootsy and indie rock at the same time, and her voice carried both traditional purity and modern emotion.
The title track The Highway Knows followed, and it became clear that Tuttle has found something special in her solo work. Her flatpicking is as technically accomplished as anyone working today, but it’s her songwriting that sets her apart. These songs are about mental health, imposter syndrome, and modern relationships, all filtered through acoustic instrumentation.
She covered the Rolling Stones’ She’s a Rainbow, and that led into Over the Line. Tuttle’s ability to write contemporary bluegrass that doesn’t adhere to tradition. The song dealt with setting boundaries in relationships, which is a very 2025 concern, while her picking style drew from decades of bluegrass tradition. It’s this balance that makes her such a compelling artist, as she’s not rejecting the past, but finding ways to mesh the two.
That’s Gonna Leave a Mark deals with relationship wounds that might heal, but will always leave scars. It’s the kind of insight that country music used to specialize in, now updated for an age when everyone’s in therapy. It was this same balance that ran throughout her set. Remarkable was the number of 20-somethings who moved from their center aisle seats to the sides of the room to find room to dance. Some sang every word while they improvised dance moves, and others were literally taking in the vibe.
The middle section of her set ventured into more traditional territory with Rosalee and Alice in the Bluegrass, but even these songs were filtered through Tuttle’s unique perspective. Where Did All the Wild Things Go? brought balance as she mashed up fragility in her voice with flawless guitar work.
The set’s final third included Yosemite, San Joaquin, and then the surprise. The Beatles’ classic Octopus’s Garden. Had everyone singing along softly as you could feel the music ripple along. The people on the sides were swaying with arms outstretched. As the main set wound toward its conclusion, The River Knows and Dooleys Farm were pure delights, with Golden State of Mind being perhaps the most thought-provoking song of the evening
Then came the song that changed the air in the room. Tuttle launched into Old Me New Wig, and right after the first chorus, Molly leaned into the microphone with a half-smile and reminded the crowd that the song was about resilience, reinvention, and facing the world as you are. She playfully reached up, slipped off her wig, and let the stage lights catch her bare scalp.
The gesture wasn’t dramatic, but was more an exclamation point on an evening of reflection and permission to be yourself. The audience was caught somewhat off guard, although the faithful sensed it was coming, as alopecia has been part of Molly’s story since childhood. She sang the rest of the set bald, her voice steady, and it was hard to imagine a more vulnerable moment in a concert.
She laughed afterward and called the whole thing Emo Bluegrass or fast songs about very sad subjects. The crowd chuckled, then nodded, recognizing the truth. Only Molly could put sorrow in sneakers and send it sprinting. She closed the set with Take the Journey which is exactly what the audience had done.
But, Pittsburgh wasn’t letting go just yet. They cheered until the band returned, Molly still bareheaded, coming back to take a victory lap or two. She began with More Like a River. You could see the audience collectively hanging on the words, as if it were the benediction on the evening.
In keeping with that spirit, and the fact that the crowd wanted one more, the banjo came out again, and Molly grinned widely as she drove the rhythm. The crowd stomped, clapped, hollered, and let loose, almost as if she’d granted permission to celebrate not just despite sorrow but because of it. Side Saddle deals with feeling like an outsider in your own life, and literally riding side saddle through experiences that should feel natural but somehow don’t.
As Tuttle and her band took their collective final bows, it was clear the audience had witnessed something special. What made Saturday night’s show so compelling wasn’t just the individual performances, but what they collectively represented about the current state of American roots music. All three acts—Castleman, Town Mountain, and Tuttle—are finding ways to honor traditional forms while addressing contemporary concerns. They’re not rejecting the past or chasing commercial trends, but finding organic ways to make acoustic music speak to modern experiences.
The audience reflected this evolution as well. While there were plenty of traditional bluegrass fans (flannel shirts and grey beards were well represented), the crowd also included twenty and thirty-somethings who might be equally at home at an indie rock show. When Tuttle described her music as “emo bluegrass,” she wasn’t just coining a catchy phrase—she was acknowledging a genuine cultural shift.
This show suggests that reports of bluegrass’s death have been greatly exaggerated. While the genre may not dominate country radio or sell millions of records, it’s clearly attracting artists who are finding new ways to make traditional forms relevant to contemporary audiences.
The highway does indeed know, and Saturday night in Munhall, it was leading somewhere both familiar and entirely new. In an era when so much popular music feels manufactured and focus-grouped, the authenticity on display was both refreshing and inspiring. These artists aren’t trying to be the next big thing—they’re simply being themselves, using acoustic instruments to process modern life with the same honesty that the best country and folk music has always provided.
If this is the future of American roots music, the future looks bright indeed.
Cecilia Castleman Setlist
Waiting on You
Lonely Nights
Pick and Lose
Breakdown/Hit the Road Jack
It’s Alright
Town Mountain Setlist
Revelry
Lines in the Levee
Comeback Kid
Firebrand Road
I’m on Fire
American Family
Farewell Boy
Down Low
Molly Tuttle Setlist
Everything Burns
The Highway Knows
She’s A Rainbow
Over the Line
That’s Gonna Leave a Mark
Rosalee
Alice in the Bluegrass
Where Did All The Wild Things Go?
Yosemite
San Joaquin
Octopus’s Garden
Down Home Dispensary
The River Knows
Dooleys Farm
Golden State of Mind
Old Me New Wig
Crooked Tree
Take the Journey
More Like a River (Encore)
Side Saddle (Encore)
Cecilia Castleman Photo Album
Town Mountain Photo Album
Molly Tuttle Photo Album
