Take Rob Ickes, the most decorated musician in IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards history with 15 IBMA Dobro Player of the Year honors, and 2023 IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Trey Hensley, a Tennessee-born guitar prodigy identified as “Nashville’s hottest young player” by Acoustic Guitar magazine, and you have Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, a very special powerhouse GRAMMY®-nominated acoustic duo that has electrified the acoustic music scene.
Noted for their guitar prowess (Ickes & Hensley were invited to perform at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023 in Los Angeles alongside some of the world’s greatest guitarists), white-hot picking (as Acoustic Guitar puts it: “hot-shot guitar picking…steel-string bluegrass with all the intensity of rock ‘n’ roll”), world class musicianship, soulful stone country vocals and top-shelf songwriting, Ickes & Hensley cleverly meld bluegrass, country, blues, rock, jam grass, and more to create a signature musical blend that defies restrictions of genre.
Ickes & Hensley were influenced by repertoires as diverse as The Allman Brothers Band, Earl Scruggs, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The duo has collaborated with Vince Gill, Taj Mahal, Tommy Emmanuel, Little Feat, Marty Stuart, Steve Wariner, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Leftover Salmon, Rodney Crowell, David Grisman, Jorma Kaukonen, and Hot Tuna, among many others.
Among many others, Rob & Trey have received praise from the likes of legends such as Marty Stuart (“In this ever-changing world of Country Music, it’s comforting to know that the real deal still exists”) and Merle Haggard (“I’m sure I don’t make a true ‘critic’ since I’m already such a fan, but this album from Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley is a wonderful piece of work. And my songwriting side is truly overwhelmed. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”)
Ickes, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, former founding member of bluegrass “supergroup” Blue Highway and highly sought-after Dobro master, has graced the recordings and concerts of artists such as Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice and many more. Ickes was a key member of Willie Nelson’s all-star band for the GRAMMY®-nominated 2023 Willie Nelson album, Bluegrass.
Hensley, a native of Johnson City, Tennessee, made his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 11, performing with Marty Stuart and Earl Scruggs (thanks to an invite from Stuart), and has since appeared on stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Peter Frampton, Charlie Daniels and Old Crow Medicine Show. Hensley was chosen to perform in December 2022 as part of special 2-night-only engagement with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and many special guests celebrating the 50 Anniversary of Will The Circle Be Unbroken at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
Ickes & Hensley are frequent performers at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and those performances can be heard worldwide on the WSM-AM broadcasts online. Their reach nationwide is vast via television: PBS’ award-winning David Holt’s State of Music; RFD-TV’s Emmy-nominated TV series, My Bluegrass Story (they each had their own episode), PBS’ WoodSongs and Circle All Access’ Opry Live and radio: NPR’s Mountain Stage and WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour (on 537 radio stations around the world).Their new critically acclaimed, song-centric Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley album, Living In A Song—produced by GRAMMY® Award-winning producer/engineer/songwriter Brent Maher (The Judds, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner)—highlights the songcraft of Ickes & Hensley like never before.
