Last Friday evening (July 12), the small, approximately 100×80 foot park in downtown Erwin, TN, known as The Gathering Place, overflowed with local townspeople and quite a few musicians from both near and far. Lincoln Hensley, banjo player and leader of the Tennessee Bluegrass Band, was honored by his hometown of Erwin and Unicoi County when the performance stage in the tiny downtown park was officially dedicated as the Lincoln Hensley Stage.
Last September, Unicoi County Sheriff Michael K. Hensley (not closely related to Lincoln) went before the county commissioners and proposed naming the stage after the 26-year-old banjo player who grew up in Erwin and watched Sheriff Hensley and Chief Deputy Frank Rogers play bluegrass music on that stage when Lincoln was a young boy.
While still in Erwin High School, Lincoln was fortunate enough to meet and be mentored by bluegrass greats such as Bob and Sonny, The Osborne Brothers. In the early summer of 2021, he formed a band and was searching for a band name and Sonny Osborne said, “Why don’t you call it The Tennessee Bluegrass Band?” Since then, the band has become popular performers at bluegrass music festivals throughout the East Coast.
When Lincoln was first told about what Sheriff Hensley had done, he said, “It’s a complete honor to have anything in my hometown named after me, but especially the stage where I first heard bluegrass music as a kid.”
The engraved plaque presented to Lincoln on Friday evening reads:
Unicoi County Tennessee recognizes Lincoln Hensley “For his exceptional musical talents and achievements”
By Proclamation of the Unicoi County Commission, it is agreed and proclaimed that the stage where musical concerts and events are held at The Gathering Place Park in Unicoi County Tennessee be named: “Lincoln Hensley Stage”
Presented this 12th day of July 2024 by Garland “Bubba” Evely, Unicoi County Mayor.
The Tennessee Bluegrass Band, comprised of Lincoln on banjo and Tim Laughlin on mandolin, now features Michael Feagan on fiddle, and two youngsters, Jacob Sheffield on guitar and Josiah Sheffield on bass fiddle. They were the opening performers on the stage at the dedication, but Hensley invited as many of his early mentors as he could round up to be there and perform with him and the band during the two-hour show.
Notable bluegrass musicians and teachers such as fiddler Bobby Hicks, Lincoln’s first banjo teacher Edison Wallin, fiddler Adam Larkey, bass player Ron Shuffler, banjo players Jerry Keys and George Buckner, and several others, were on hand for the event.
Regarding the band’s new members, the Sheffield brothers, Lincoln said he first heard them last year at the Abingdon Virginia Fiddlers’ Convention.
“They played on stage right before The Tennessee Bluegrass Band was to be the entertainment for the evening, and I noticed the tone of Jacob’s singing and the harmonizing between him and his brother. I wrote Jacob’s name down to remember it,” Lincoln said.
“He was playing mandolin, but he also won second place in the guitar contest, and I thought he would be a great fit for the band,” he added.
“I like the way they can switch parts for different songs. They know harmony very well. I know they are going to be a great addition to our sound because of their musical and vocal abilities,” he said.
G. Nicholas Hancock recorded the dedication and the music played and sung with his photos in the gallery below.
