From his home in Marion, Kentucky, Cutter Singleton feels blessed to be a part of something that’s just so special. At 17 years old, he is a member of a rising bluegrass band that has performed at the Grand Ole Opry and has a new album in the works produced by “Miss Country Soul” and Grand Ole Opry legend Jeannie Seely.
While he’s not from a particularly musical family, Cutter and his brother, Cash, have been exposed to traditional bluegrass all their lives. That’s probably inevitable, living in Kentucky. However, there are some deep musical roots on both sides of their family. “My grandfather on my mom’s side played the dobro – he was mostly a porch picker,” says Cutter. “My great grandfather, on my dad’s side, played in a country and Western band in the 1950s and 1960s, performing mainly at local service station parking lots and dance halls.”
Cutter recalls riding in the car with his mom and dad when he was only four years old and hearing “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” on the radio. “It stopped me dead in my tracks. I call it a bluegrass intervention. I told my mother I wanted a banjo for Christmas.”
His mom took him seriously, and Cutter not only got his banjo but he took lessons from Jack Martin in Paducah. Kentucky. “Jack played bass for Bill and also James Monroe, and then dobro for Lester Flatt,” says Cutter. Jack sent him to take more lessons from the world-famous five-string banjo picker Haskel McCormick in Nashville. “When Earl Scruggs had a bad car accident in 1955, Haskel, who was just 17 years old at the time, played banjo with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys,” says Cutter. “He made a lot of connections during that time, including some that would land him a studio session on a Johnny Cash album, a banjo position for Lester Flatt and The Nashville Grass in 1971, and then another banjo position touring with Marty Robbins in 1975.”
A few years after Cutter began playing seriously, his younger brother, Cash, joined him. “He saw that I was getting a lot of attention,” laughs Cutter. “But he also has a real love for the music.” Cutter plays guitar and sings in the band, while Cash plays mandolin and sings high tenor. “He’s truly my best friend, and he shares my passion for this.” The boys started working as a group with Brennan Cruce, a bass player who happens to live across the Road. “He’s like a big brother to us,” says Cutter.
Rounding out the band is banjo picker Logan Lobdell, who was recommended to the boys by Rhonda Vincent. “He’s from Vero Beach, Florida, and he has been a godsend to us.” Siblings Noah and Lily Goebel recently left the band for other pursuits, steering away from bluegrass music, and Cutter says he sends them both the very best wishes. “I am so fond of the great memories and friendship we will always share.”
Playing in an in-demand bluegrass band while still in high school can be challenging, but Cutter says his school system has supported their music career. “They have helped us so much.” When they first started as a group seven years ago, they played 25 shows in a year. “The teachers have worked with us so we can make up our lessons when we return.” This year, they will perform on more than 80 dates.
Now that Cutter has graduated high school, he is pursuing the bluegrass entertainment business as his full-time career. “We continue to get support from people like Rhonda Vincent, Bill Anderson, and Jeannie Seely, who have become good friends.”
A dream came true for the boys when they made their first Grand Ole Opry appearance with Jeannie Seely on April 06, 2024. “Jeannie has played the Opry over 5,000 times, but she made our first time so special. And it was so moving to learn that two charter buses full of people from our hometown of Marion, Kentucky, showed up in Nashville to see us perform at the Grand Ole Opry. It was the thrill of a lifetime and something I’ll never take for granted.”
There’s no doubt that Cutter is an old soul. “I like music from different genres, including bluegrass, country, western swing, rockabilly, and even 60s rock and pop! I believe having a wide range of listening helps to keep our sound new and different but with touches of familiar sounds that pay respect to our heroes that have come before us. One of my favorite songs is Neil Sedaka’s ‘Laughter in the Rain.’”
Cutter is a collector of country and bluegrass memorabilia, and he is proud of his Rex Allen Nudie’s Rodeo Tailor’s suit made in 1959, a Porter Wagoner Wagonmaster’s suit worn by Don Warden, and a pair of Little Jimmy Dickens’ rhinestone stage pants. “I even have one of Lester Flatt’s red string ties, the license plate from his bus, and a Shure S-55 microphone that he and Earl left behind at a theater in 1957. I love collecting these pieces because of the hard work, sweat, and determination that those artists put into their passion for entertainment and music, and these items of memorabilia are the survivors that carry those stories that our heroes can no longer tell.”
With a nod toward traditional bluegrass groups, the band always dresses to impress. “Even from an early age, I realized how much that meant. It shows we care enough about our audiences to want to present ourselves the best way we can. When you dress ‘show biz,’ it tells people they are there for a show, and through our stage wear and what it represents, I am very honored by the way we carry ourselves.”
Cutter is quick to say they are not tribute artists. “We play some traditional bluegrass tunes but do it in our own Cutter and Cash style.” Their first single was “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.” “That song was suggested to us by Jeannie Seely. She envisioned it as a high-tempo, upbeat version, and I thought it would never work, but when we went home and did it the first time, it clicked.”
When their new album is released, it will feature ten tracks. “We have three Grand Ole Opry
members on the album, and two are big bluegrass stars,” says Cutter. “And one is in the Country Music Hall of Fame,” he adds, looking back and seeing how many people have been so kind to them. “I hope that through our success, we can pay it forward in the future, the same way so many have done for us.”
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