2024 was a huge year for bluegrass fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. She introduced the world to her voice with her album I Built a World in May. Then, she and her husband Jason Carter said their vows in the hallowed Circle on the Grand Ole Opry stage. In November, she joined Molly Tuttle and Sierra Hull to accompany Dierks Bentley during his CMA Awards performance. Most recently, she learned that I Built a World brought her a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.
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Earlier this year, Keith-Hynes sat down with American Songwriter to reflect on the huge year that was 2024. She discussed her reaction to her Grammy nod, getting married at the Opry, and more.
How Bronwyn Keith-Hynes Reacted to Her Grammy Nomination
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is no stranger to the Grammy Awards. As a member of Molly Tuttle’s band, Golden Highway, she shared the Best Bluegrass Album win for City of Gold. However, this is her first Grammy nod as a solo artist.
“I was driving to my friend’s house and I knew the Grammys were being announced that day but I wasn’t taking it seriously because I didn’t think there was a chance I would be up for it,” she recalled. “Then, I got a text from a friend while I was on the freeway like ‘Oh my god! Congratulations!’ but they didn’t say what it was for. I was like, ‘Wait a second,’ but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Then, another person texted me ‘Congratulations’ but still didn’t say what it was,” Keith-Hynes said.
“I was on the freeway and I couldn’t pull off. So I was just like, ‘I’m really hoping this is what this is for but I’m not sure.’ Once I finally pulled off the freeway, my manager gave me a call and gave me the news. I started crying. It was totally amazing,” she said of her reaction when she got the news.
I Built a World Is Her First Vocal Album
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is a world-class fiddler with a golden voice. Surprisingly, though, I Built a World was the first album on which she sang. During our conversation, she talked about what made her decide to make the leap.
“Well, when we got off the road in 2020, during the pandemic, that’s when I started taking singing a little more seriously,” she recalled. “I had all this free time and I started thinking, ‘Well, what have I always wanted to do and not felt like I had the time to do?’ I was always focused on fiddling and trying to get better at the fiddle. That was my career path. I was like, ‘I’m going to try to be the best fiddler I can and play with people.’ 2020 just kind of broke the mold and I decided if I couldn’t do that anymore onstage, I would do this thing that I’ve always kind of wanted to do,” she added.
Her downtime during the pandemic planted the seed but her time on the road with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway gave her the push she needed. “I got the gig with Molly in 2021 and started touring hard in 2022. That was also part of the inspiration, getting to play every night with this amazing female bluegrass singer and frontwoman. After a year of that, I was super inspired to make my own record,” she explained.
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on Her Electrifying CMA Awards Performance
Dierks Bentley recorded a bluegrass cover of “American Girl” for a Tom Petty tribute album last year. In November, he brought Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull onstage to accompany him. She explained how the collaboration came about.
“I’ve known Dierks for several years. The Molly band got to open for him a few years ago. We did a bunch of dates and he would get us up to sit in with him every night. But I’ve kind of known him a lot longer than that through my husband. They’re old friends,” she explained. “Dierks has always been a supporter of bluegrass music. You’ll see him around at Telluride and stuff. I guess he was just wanting to bring bluegrass to the CMA Awards and I’m very thankful he thought of me for that,” she said. “I thought it was so cool that he got the three of us up there. I feel like it was a very different part of the night. It was something that doesn’t always happen there. It was a dream gig and so fun,” Keith-Hines added.
A Grand Ole Wedding at the Grand Ole Opry
Weddings are always memorable occasions. However, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and Jason Carter’s wedding was one for the history books. They tied the knot on the Grand Ole Opry stage on October 15, 2024.
“We were trying to think of places that were special to both of us and kind of trying to think of unconventional wedding venues. The Opry was the first thing that came to mind but it seemed like such a long shot. Jason was like ‘That would be amazing if we could do that,” Keith-Hynes said when asked how her wedding at the Opry came about.
“Jason plays with the Del McCoury Band and Del is a Grand Ole Opry member. So, Jason has been playing the Opry for a few years. And I’ve been playing it a fair amount the last couple of years. So, I guess they kind of knew us. Jason was playing there one night and asked the stage manager if it was a possibility and they were really supportive right from the get-go,” she explained. “They were like, ‘Well, we can only think of one other person that’s done this.’ I think a staff member had gotten married a while before on the stage but nobody else had ever gotten married on the stage. They were like, ‘For you guys, let’s try to make it happen,’” she added.
There Was a Catch
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and Jason Carter ran into a minor hiccup while planning their Grand Ole Opry wedding. They had to be off the stage before 9 AM. Fortunately, they were able to navigate the minor roadblock and make lasting memories.
“The crazy catch was they do these tours and the tours start at 9 AM every day and they go all day. That’s kind of their bread and butter. So, they couldn’t move the tours but they told us if we wanted to do it on the stage we would have to be done by nine in the morning. So we did an 8:30 ceremony,” Keith-Hynes explained.
“At first, it was not what I had imagined but the more we thought about it, we were like, ‘Well, neither of us drinks so having a morning wedding could be cool. We could do kind of a brunch wedding and skip the whole getting drunk party vibe.’ That’s what we did,” she recalled.
“We had a quick ceremony on the stage at 8:30 in the morning. Then we had a backstage reception in Studio A which is where they filmed Hee Haw back behind the dressing rooms. It was really fun. It was amazing,” she said of the memorable morning. “Then, we went back and played there that night. Like, what else were we going to do that night? We were leaving for our honeymoon but there were no flights to Maui that evening.”
The early hour didn’t affect the turnout. “We had about 200 guests, I think. I was like, ‘We’re going to be the most hated people in Nashville, inviting all these musicians out this early,’” Keith-Hynes recalled with a laugh. “But they all came. I actually had family members come from Ireland, some people that had never been to America before came over and I was so honored that they came. It was so cool,” she said. “I think my Irish relatives really charmed a lot of the guests and they were like looking for celebrities. They got to meet Dierks Bentley and Molly Tuttle and they were thrilled.”
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes will embark on a solo tour in 2025 and is already working on her next album.
Featured Image via IVPR
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