Bluegrass musician Tray Wellington fell in love with the sound of the banjo at age 14 and has been playing ever since.
“I liked the sound of it,” said Wellington. “The tone was really intriguing to me.”
His talent has been recognized on an international level as he was recently named one of the two International Bluegrass Music Awards Momentum Instrumentalists of the Year and his band, Cane Mill Road, was named the IBMA Momentum Band of the Year.
Wellington is excited to announce he is working on a solo project, an EP titled “Uncaged Thoughts.” He said the EP will draw on his musical experiences over the years, with a mix of covers and original songs.
He said the EP will draw on his musical experiences over the years, with a mix of covers and original songs.
He has performed with big artists such as Bela Fleck, Scott Vestal and Tony Trishcka and banjoist Vestal will be contributing to the EP. Patrick McAvinue (fiddle), Thomas Cassell (mandolin), Will Cassell (guitar) and Johnny Calamari (bass) will also be featured on the EP.
“I’m excited about it,” said Wellington. “I think it’ll be a fun project.”
The music-loving culture in Tennessee is something the North Carolina native said has helped him gain confidence in his vision for his music.
“In high school, saying you want to play music for a living is a funny thought, but in East Tennessee music is a very big part of culture, and so it’s more widely accepted to say I want to be a musician full-time,” he said.
Growing up, Wellington was exposed to a wide variety of genres including blues, gospel, country and rock. He later took up banjo when he joined Mountain Music Club in middle school, having previously played the electric guitar.
When he was 16 years old, he joined Cane Mill Road, a progressive bluegrass band featuring members Liam Purcell, Casey Lewis and Dylan Lawrence.
Wellington said the band mostly focuses on bluegrass, but also touches on jam, rock and jazz as well.
“Personally, I’ve always been drawn to multiple types of music,” said Wellington. “I’m really into jazz and rock music at the moment. I try to draw from as many sources as possible.”
Cane Mill Road has released multiple albums including “Gap to Gap,” “Five Speed” and “Let’s All Do Some Living.” In 2018 they played at MerleFest and the Bluegrass & BBQ festival at Silver Dollar City.
Though he is still performing with Cane Mill Road, Wellington’s solo EP, “Uncaged Thoughts,” is currently his biggest project.
