Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley are enjoying a very warm reception for their new album, The Country Blues. The mix of bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country is winning fans and generating radio play in all three genres, and getting them all sorts of notice in the wider music media.
We caught up with Rob earlier this week, just as he and Trey were preparing for a flight to Denmark and a set at The Tonder Festival, the big annual Danish folk music fest. Other US performers include Jason Isbell, Avett Brothers, and Tim O’Brien.
From Denmark they head to Ireland to play at the Guinness Bluegrass Festival in Dunmore East this weekend. As Rob put it, “how cool is that?”
That is followed by another week of shows in England, finishing up at the Didmarton Bluegrass Festival on September 2.
The Europeans have definitely been lapping up this talented duo’s work. They were in France earlier this month to perform at the La Roche Bluegrass Festival, with another week of shows in Switzerland.
And Rob was especially proud to note that they had a feature article in this month’s Guitar Player magazine.
The Country Blues finds Rob and Trey exploring a wide stylistic range beyond their bluegrass roots, and incorporating a full band sound on many of the tracks. But Rob said that their live shows still feature the duo format with which they launched.
No matter how far they go with their new approach, we’ll always remember them as bluegrass boys who made good.
You can hear samples from the new album online.
