Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley album The Country Blues out now

Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley album 

The Country Blues out now

"Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley can seriously burn up the fretboard with some of the most amazing counrty playing you'll ever hear anywhere."— PopMATTERS

"'Friend Of the Devil' is a great high-energy performance of a true American classic! I love the way they opened up the song for some hot pickin’!” — David Gans, Musician, author, host of Tales from the Golden Road on SiriusXM and The Grateful Dead Hour

"You come to expect incredible musicianship from Rob and Trey and they deliver again.  But you are amazed at how great they really are."— Bill Bowker, KRSH

"One of my favorite records of the year and if you are going to cover an Elton John song you better make it your own and Rob and Trey did!" — Chris Wienk, WEXT

“In the ever changing world of country music, it’s comforting to know that the real deal still exists.” — Marty Stuart

Nashville, TN July 8th, 2016 —  Some things you know are just meant to be, but it was still welcome news for Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley when their debut duo album, Before The Sun Goes Down, earned a Grammy nomination for the Best Bluegrass Album. And with the release of their new project, THE COUNTRY BLUES on July 8th, the pair build on the first one’s strengths to take their unique musical conversation to an even higher level.

(8 July 2016) Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley
 The Country Blues (Compass Records)

11 Tracks/ Time: 48:53 Country/ Americana

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Fun pervades the 11 tracks, even when the subject matter’s as mournful as the post-romance desolation of Hank Williams’ classic “May You Never Be Alone.”

It continues through the powerfulSonny Boy Williamson blues shouter, “One Way Out,” the mixed regret and determination of Merle Haggard’s “I Won’t Give Up My Train,” into the grassy dexterity of their original, “Everywhere I Go is a Long Way From Home.” 

They mix it up with insouciant funk of “Pray Enough,” imported from the Wood Brothersand the southern rock of Charlie Daniels on “Willie Jones.” Then there’s the jazzy tour de force instrumental, “Biscuits And Gravy,” written by Ickes as a kind of tribute to pedal steel master Buddy Emmons and even a nod to the Grateful Dead in “Friend Of The Devil,” a dazzling staple of the duo’s live shows. That organic approach served them well throughout the recording sessions with regulars Mike Bub (bass) and John Alvey(drums) and a select handful of instrumental and vocal guests that included the likes of Ron Block, Vince Gill, Aubrey Haynie, Carl Jackson, Shawn Lane, Andy Leftwich, Robinella and John Randall Stewart. 

Pop Matters - Stream Premiere: The Country Blues is exactly what it sounds like: gently lilting country, occasionally veering into rippin’ territory but largely staying in a more pensive mood. It’s downcast, but it’s downcast in the nevertheless optimistic way the best folky country can be. It’s fiercely focused on both tribulations and overcoming them, much like the music of the greats covered here—there’s some Merle Haggard, there’s some Sonny Boy Williamson. It broaches the divide between emotional complexity and simple joy and pride, and for that it should be commended. PopMatters’ Sarah Zupko wrote that “Ickes and Hensley can seriously burn up the fretboard with some of the most amazing country playing you’ll hear anywhere. In fact, they are so good that they could almost take on Ricky Skaggs with their passion and precision.

“We’re loving the diversity of material on this album, and were real proud to have recorded everything live,” say Ickes and Hensley.

FOCUS TRACKS:

1. Leave My Woman Alone

2. Ballad Of A Well Known Gun

3. That's What Leaving's For

4. Everywhere I Go is a Long Way From Home

TRACK LISITING:

1. Ballad Of A Well Known Gun

2. Everywhere I Go is a Long Way from Home

3. That's What Leaving's For

4. Pray Enough 

5. Leave My Woman Alone 

6. I Won't Give Up My Train

7. Biscuits and Gravy 

8. Friend Of The Devil

9. May You Never Be Alone

10. Willie Jones

11. One Way Out 

European Tour Dates

August 5, 2016 - 6:00 pm; La Roche Bluegrass Festival (La Roche Sur Foron, France)

Aug 11, 2016 - Guitar- Repairs Urs Winkler, Gams, SG

Aug 13, 2016 - 5:00 pm; Bluegrass Family Festival (Stetten, Switzerland) 

Thurs, Aug 25 & 26, 2016 - Tonder Festival in Tonder, Denmark

Aug 27 & 28, 2016 – Guinness Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival, Dunmore East in Waterford, Ireland

Aug 30, 2016 - Frodsham Conservative Club, Cheshire, UK (74 Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire WA6 7AU)

ROB ICKES has been playing bluegrass with his much-decorated band Blue Highway for over twenty years, during which time he has been adjudged Bluegrass Dobro Player Of the year fifteen times. Rob has played on countless sessions, recording with artists such as Merle Haggard, Dierks Bentley, Patty Loveless, and Alison Krauss.

TREY HENSLEY is bursting at the seams with freshness and musical excitement. His resonant baritone voice is rich, expressive, and equally at ease with classic bluegrass, traditional country, and original compositions. Raised in Jonesborough, Tennessee, Trey began playing guitar and singing when he was 10 years old. Invited by Marty Stuart and joined from the wings by Earl Scruggs, Trey Hensley landed on the Grand Old Opry when he was only 11.

www.robandtrey.com