Shelby Means

Musician · Laramie, Wyoming
Best known for Bass Harmony Vocals Songwriter

Shelby Means is a bassist and singer whose driving pocket has anchored two of modern bluegrass’s most decorated bands — Della Mae and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. Kentucky-born, Wyoming-raised, and now based in Charleston, South Carolina, she won a Grammy with Golden Highway before stepping out as a solo artist.

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  • Born in Versailles, Kentucky, and raised in Laramie, Wyoming, she fell for the upright bass after spotting one at a local country and old-time music contest, and formed the bluegrass band High Altitude at the University of Wyoming, taking it to a collegiate folk festival in Slovakia.
  • She moved to Nashville in 2010, toured with the David Mayfield Parade, and joined the all-female band Della Mae as bassist in 2012.
  • With Della Mae she shared the IBMA’s 2013 Emerging Artist of the Year award and a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy nomination for the 2013 Rounder release This World Oft Can Be, performing in more than 30 countries as a musical ambassador.
  • With husband Joel Timmons of Sol Driven Train she formed the duo Sally & George — named for her late grandparents — releasing the NPR-praised Tip My Heart in 2017.
  • As bassist and harmony singer in Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, she won her first Grammy when City of Gold took Best Bluegrass Album in 2024.
  • Her self-titled solo debut (2025), produced by Maya de Vitry with guests Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and Jerry Douglas, sent lead single “Streets of Boulder” to #1 on the Bluegrass Today weekly airplay chart.

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