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Trey Hensley

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Flatpicking guitarist and singer best known for his duo with dobro player Rob Ickes — hard-driving bluegrass runs delivered with a country vocalist's phrasing.

Trey Hensley is a guitarist and singer born in Johnson City, Tennessee, and raised nearby in Telford. He started out singing in a gospel group at age six and later took up guitar after hearing Charlie Waller and Jimmy Martin play at a festival. Within months of learning the instrument he was invited to perform "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy" on the Grand Ole Opry with Marty Stuart and Earl Scruggs, at age eleven.

That early break led to further connections. Hensley performed with Johnny Cash and members of the Carter Family at the Carter Family Fold, and Cash introduced him to Tom T. Hall, who produced his first album, First Time Out, in 2003. He recorded further bluegrass records with his band Drivin' Force, opened shows for artists including Charlie Daniels and Ricky Skaggs, and played a White House dinner and a private event for wounded soldiers in 2008.

As a flatpicker he favours fast, hard-driving lead lines rooted in bluegrass tradition, but his singing leans toward country and Southern rock phrasing. After moving to Nashville in 2013 he formed a duo with dobro player Rob Ickes, drawing on blues and rock material alongside standard bluegrass repertoire.

The duo's records are cut live in the studio with minimal overdubs. Their debut, Before the Sun Goes Down (2015), earned a Grammy nomination; it was followed by The Country Blues (2016) and World Full of Blues (2019), which brought guest turns from Vince Gill and Taj Mahal. The pairing has picked up recognition from the bluegrass community.

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