Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor at Monterey Golden State Theatre
The last thing I expected to photograph on my road trip through some of California’s iconic National Parks was a concert. But stranger things have happened. My wife and I were stopped for a couple nights in Monterey to go to Big Sur. Sitting in the hotel room she asked if there was any live music we could check out while we were here. I pulled up Google and searched and sure enough, the following night Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor were wrapping up their mini tour as a duo at the historic Monterey Golden State Theatre. Got online and grabbed the last two tickets available, and somehow managed to get a last-minute media pass as well.
The theatre seats only around 1000 so it was a lovely, intimate venue. Not a bad seat in the house. Through even more luck we ended up sitting in the front row in the balcony. The acoustics were perfect.
Molly and Ketch, recently engaged, put on a fantastic show. Ketch joked that this was a fundraising tour for their upcoming nuptials. The show was a mix of Molly’s songs, Ketch’s songs, cover songs and songs they had written together. They had a brief intermission but all in all the show lasted around 2 hours or so.
Ketch played everything from fiddle to guitar to banjo, but the highlight of the night was his harmonica playing, at time playing two different harmonicas at the same time. Molly of course is known as a guitar virtuoso, but she also did a couple numbers on the banjo, which she also excels at. Their voices blend perfectly together.
Towards the end of the show, they brought out Santa Cruz legendary dobro player, Patti Maxine.
This was an amazing night of music and we were so lucky to see them both in such an intimate venue.
Find more information here: https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com or here: https://www.ketchsecor.com
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: Show Review: Old Crow Medicine Show at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center and here: Show Review: Molly Tuttle at Knoxville’s Summer Sessions
Full Setlist below:
Set 1
Down Home Dispensary (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
I Hear Them All (Old Crow Medicine Show)
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
She’s a Rainbow (The Rolling Stones)
Over the Line (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Yosemite (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Thank God I’m a Country Boy (John Denver)
Sally Goodin (traditional)
Caroline (Old Crow Medicine Show)
Big Backyard (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Old Me (New Wig)
Dooley’s Farm (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Set 2
She’ll Change (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Crooked Tree (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Tell It to Me (traditional)
Alice in the Bluegrass (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
8 Dogs 8 Banjos (Old Crow Medicine Show)
My Side of the Mountain (Old Crow Medicine Show)
Rosalee San Joaquin (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway)
Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show)
Encore
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
Will the Circle Be Unbroken? (William MacEwan)