The Ellington Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce bluegrass duo Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley will be the headline artists at the Ellington Concert Series fall concert on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Barn at the Hamptons in Ellington.
The evening will also feature Poplar Bluff bluegrass band Alex Riffle and The Stiff Riffs, who will open the concert at 7 p.m., according to a press release from the chamber of commerce.
Ickes has won two Grammy awards and is a 15-time International Bluegrass Music Association Dobro Player of the Year, while Hensley is a Tennessee-born guitar prodigy who made his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 11. This unique collaborative effort between two uniquely gifted musicians a revelation to traditional music fans on several counts.
White-hot picking and stone country vocals are the driving force of the duo, but now with added grit and a nod to the rootsier side of Americana, all aided by the guiding hand of GRAMMY winning producer Brent Maher. Maher, known for his production and engineering of such diverse artists as The Judds, Faces and Ike and Tina Turner, loved the duo’s demos and signed on to produce immediately upon hearing them.
On their new Compass Records album, World Full of Blues, the duo move beyond the acoustic-centric sound of their previous two releases (including the Grammy-nominated “Before the Sun Goes Down”) and juice things up with Hammond B3 and a horn section. Guests include blues great Taj Mahal, who provides his unmistakable mojo to the title track, and country music legend Vince Gill, who joins the duo on an inspired rendition of The Grateful Dead’s moonshiner song, “Brown-Eyed Women.”
Meanwhile, Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs is a Missouri-based bluegrass band that has been performing together since 2005. Members of the band include Steve Walsh, Billy Watkins and Doug Kennedy, who have been playing music together for nearly 45 years; Alex Riffle, a SPBGMA award-winning banjo player from Poplar Bluff, who has been playing since the age of 12; fiddle player, Bobby Lewis, previously of the Bob Lewis Family band from Doniphan; as well as accomplished lead guitar player, Drew Thurmond of Stanton.
Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs has played numerous concerts and events throughout Missouri and nearby states, becoming locally well-known for their hard-driving bluegrass sound, according to organizers. The band’s repertoire, developed over the course of 45 years, includes hundreds of classic bluegrass songs, along with multiple classic rock, country and pop songs converted to the band’s own brand of bluegrass.
With only 200 tickets sold, the event will be small, exclusive and up-close with the artists.
Information and tickets about the concert can be found at the Ellington chamber of Commerce web page or on the Ellington Chamber of Commerce Instagram and Facebook pages. Tickets are on sale at http://ellingtonmo.com.
For more information about Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley check them out at www.robandtrey.com. The chamber has been able to offer this concert series through the assistance of the Taum Sauk Grant.