Tryon Fine Arts Center is proud to continue the 2016-2017 Main Stage series with award-winning  singer, songwriter, and mandolinist Sierra Hull on  Jan. 14, at 8 p.m.

Sierra Hull has been recognized from age 11 as a virtuoso mandolin player, astonishing audiences and fellow musicians alike. Early in her career she played the White House, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and became the first bluegrass musician to receive a Presidential Scholarship at the Berklee College of Music.

Now a seasoned touring musician nearing her mid-20s, Hull has delivered her most inspired, accomplished, and mature recorded work to date − no small feat. With four albums under her belt, Hull’s latest effort, “Weighted Mind,” is a landmark achievement, not just in her career, but in the world of folk-pop, bluegrass, and acoustic music overall.

With instrumentation comprised largely of mandolin, bass, and vocals, this is genre-transcending music at its best. Hull speaks eloquently in her challenging and sensitive originals, her heartfelt vocals, and once again breaks new ground on the mandolin. “Weighted Mind” was recently nominated for a Grammy award.

In 2016, Hull was named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Mandolin Artist of the Year, the first female in the award’s history to do so.

Preceding the performance, there will be a rare opportunity for a master class led by Hull. Mandolin players of all skill levels are invited to hone their skills and deepen their appreciation of the music. Students may bring their instruments and share the stage or audit the class with Sierra for a fee. No instrument is required to audit the class. The master class will be offered on the Veh Stage from 1-2 p.m.

Tickets for the performance are available by calling the TFAC Box Office at 828-859-8322 or online at tryonarts.org.

Sierra Hull is presented by 2016-2017 Main Stage Series sponsor Parsec Financial and event sponsors WNCW and the Kirby Innovative Events Fund at Polk County Community Foundation.

– article submitted by Michelle Fleming