On a sunny Sunday afternoon just outside of Nashville, Tennessee earlier this summer, BGS linked up with award-winning guitarist, songwriter, and jaw-dropping flatpicker Trey Hensley to kick off a new series of Yamaha Sessions. Hensley, a GRAMMY nominee and the reigning IBMA Guitar Player of the year, pulled his custom Yamaha FG9 R out of its road case to shred through a cover of a classic Jimmy Martin number, “Hold What You Got.”
Hensley is a picture perfect modern demonstration of how bluegrass trailblazers, like Martin, blurred the lines between country, old-time, bluegrass, and beyond. His voice reminds of honeyed country singers like Randy Travis, while his blisteringly quick picking and remarkable articulation are built on Tony Rice and Clarence White building blocks – but simultaneously, those techniques are as forward-looking and contemporary as his peers, Billy Strings, Jake Workman, and others. Hensley pulls limitless tone and warmness from his Yamaha FG9 R, even while approaching the song with near-aggression, ripping through acrobatic triplet licks and leaning into ugly delicious chromaticism in every solo.
It’s a three-minute, bold and energetic bluegrass ride, “Hold What You Got” as only Trey Hensley could render it – complete with references to J.D. Crowe’s iconic banjo licks from the original cut. Punctuated with a bluesy and full open E chord, Hensley closed out the first of two new, exclusive Yamaha Sessions we’ll share from the guitarist over the coming weeks. Next, we’ll debut a track performed by Jack Schneider to continue the series. Stay tuned!
Discover more about Yamaha Guitars and their FG series here.
Video Credit: Steve Voss, Solar Cabin Creative
