Episode 248 First Air 06-28-26 Trey Hedrick Passing Through Shoestring Appalachia Dobbin Mine No.1 A Better Year Me Leavin’ Town (Fragment) Trey Hedrick is a modern Appalachian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose sound blends Appalachian folk, Americana, and blue-collar country. Deeply rooted in the storied hills of southeastern Ohio along the West Virginia border, his music is as textured and layered as the region he calls home. Drawing from the landscape and lineage that shaped him, Trey writes with a deep reverence for generational memory, places, and the stories that define us. That storytelling comes into full focus on his forthcoming debut album, Sing Appalachia, out Friday, October 17. Recorded in May 2025 at the Tractor Shed in Nashville with GRAMMY-winning producer and engineer Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, John Prine), the record is a testament to Trey’s belief in the power of place and honest songwriting. It also features a special guest appearance by one of Trey’s longtime heroes, Tim O’Brien — a full-circle moment for an artist who grew up studying his records. Raised in a proud, working-class family where music was as natural as breathing, Trey’s earliest memories involve instruments constantly moving through the room — a guitar, a mandolin, a fiddle — always in someone’s hands. His grandfather, a retired coal miner and a well-regarded local musician, had “such a rich and textured voice and an ability to make anything his,” Trey recalls. “Don’t just play it — mean it, make it yours,” his grandfather would say. That legacy left its mark. Though Trey spent years as a guitarist and mandolin player, it wasn’t until recently that he stepped forward as a songwriter and solo artist. “I never wanted to be someone who just talked about doing things and never actually did,” he says. “There were a lot of those guys where I grew up, and it scared the hell out of me.” His songs reflect that urgency and humility — written to feel honest, never traditional just for tradition’s sake. “I’m not here to cosplay Appalachia,” he adds. “If it sounds traditional one day and something else the next, that’s what came out when I picked up the guitar.” Even as his sound sits comfortably within Appalachian and Americana traditions, there’s a subtle freshness to it. Trey developed a deep love for flatpicking early on, drawn to the drive and precision of players like Clarence White, Tony Rice, and Doc Watson. His influences stretch far and wide — from bluegrass trailblazers like Tim O’Brien and Ralph Stanley to the powerhouse blues vocals of Susan Tedeschi, with nods to Aretha Franklin and Bobby Bland, and even ‘90s R&B and hip-hop woven in. “If something swings or grooves a little, that’s probably why,” he laughs. “I’d like to think all those influences come across in my debut album — that was kind of the point anyway.
