Biography
Recognized as an authority on the Dobro, also known as the resonator guitar, American musician Rob Ickes established his reputation across bluegrass, country, and jazz during the 1990s through membership in Blue Highway as well as through independent recordings. Beyond his own releases, Ickes became a frequent collaborator whose contributions appear on Grammy-winning projects by Alison Krauss & the Cox Family and within the all-star lineup that created The Great Dobro Sessions. Throughout the 2000s he maintained an active sideman schedule while assembling the jamgrass outfit Three Ring Circle and launching the yearly ResoSummit instructional event in Nashville. During the 2010s he added another prominent venture by partnering with singer/guitarist Trey Hensley on multiple duo albums, among them 2019's World Full of Blues and 2023's Living in a Song.
Ickes entered the world in San Francisco, California, in 1967 and first encountered bluegrass and old-time music as a youngster through weekly gatherings organized by his grandparents. His relatives attempted to steer him toward the fiddle, yet the instrument failed to engage him. At age 13, however, exposure to Mike Auldridge's Dobro playing with the Seldom Scene convinced him that this was the music he wished to pursue. He promptly obtained a Dobro and began mastering its techniques. In 1992 he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, hoping to build a career in the Music City.
Ickes helped form the acclaimed bluegrass ensemble Blue Highway in 1994. That same year he participated in the Grammy-winning multi-artist collection The Great Dobro Sessions, sharing the stage with Jerry Douglas, Tut Taylor, Josh Graves, Bashful Brother Oswald (aka Pete Kirby), and his idol Mike Auldridge. He also performed on the 1994 Grammy recipient I Know Who Holds Tomorrow by Alison Krauss & the Cox Family, honored for best Southern Gospel Album. Even while maintaining his commitments to Blue Highway, whose first album appeared in 1995, Ickes pursued additional endeavors. The International Bluegrass Music Association designated him Dobro Player of the Year in 1996, an honor he would claim twelve further times. His debut solo album, Hard Times, arrived in 1997 and encompassed bluegrass standards alongside a rendition of the Meters' "Look-ka Py Py." Subsequent solo outings included Slide City in 1999, What It Is in 2002, and Big Time in 2004.
Ickes helped establish the jazz-inflected jamgrass ensemble Three Ring Circle alongside fiddler Andy Leftwich and bassist Dave Pomeroy. Their self-titled debut emerged in 2006, followed by Brothership in 2010. In 2009 he joined pianist Michael Alvey and vocalist Robinella for the jazz-leaning Road Song, while also serving as accompanist and session player for artists such as Earl Scruggs, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, David Grisman, and Don Henley. To support fellow Dobro and resonator players he initiated the first ResoSummit in 2007, a three-day annual convocation of musicians, teachers, and instrument makers. In 2012 Ickes recorded the trio album Three Bells with Dobro masters Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldridge; Auldridge passed away shortly after the sessions, delaying the release until 2014. Ickes departed Blue Highway in 2015, the year he issued Before the Sun Goes Down, a collaboration with singer/guitarist Trey Hensley. The duo swiftly consolidated their partnership with The Country Blues the following year, then World Full of Blues in 2019. Between Hensley projects Ickes continued session work, appearing on Craig Duncan's Rockabilly Bluegrass (2020), Nu-Blu's Shine (2021), Alan Jackson's Happy Valentine's Day (2021), and Steve Poltz's Stardust and Satellites (2022). Living in a Song, released in 2023, marked a fourth collection of roots-oriented country material with Trey Hensley.
Ickes entered the world in San Francisco, California, in 1967 and first encountered bluegrass and old-time music as a youngster through weekly gatherings organized by his grandparents. His relatives attempted to steer him toward the fiddle, yet the instrument failed to engage him. At age 13, however, exposure to Mike Auldridge's Dobro playing with the Seldom Scene convinced him that this was the music he wished to pursue. He promptly obtained a Dobro and began mastering its techniques. In 1992 he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, hoping to build a career in the Music City.
Ickes helped form the acclaimed bluegrass ensemble Blue Highway in 1994. That same year he participated in the Grammy-winning multi-artist collection The Great Dobro Sessions, sharing the stage with Jerry Douglas, Tut Taylor, Josh Graves, Bashful Brother Oswald (aka Pete Kirby), and his idol Mike Auldridge. He also performed on the 1994 Grammy recipient I Know Who Holds Tomorrow by Alison Krauss & the Cox Family, honored for best Southern Gospel Album. Even while maintaining his commitments to Blue Highway, whose first album appeared in 1995, Ickes pursued additional endeavors. The International Bluegrass Music Association designated him Dobro Player of the Year in 1996, an honor he would claim twelve further times. His debut solo album, Hard Times, arrived in 1997 and encompassed bluegrass standards alongside a rendition of the Meters' "Look-ka Py Py." Subsequent solo outings included Slide City in 1999, What It Is in 2002, and Big Time in 2004.
Ickes helped establish the jazz-inflected jamgrass ensemble Three Ring Circle alongside fiddler Andy Leftwich and bassist Dave Pomeroy. Their self-titled debut emerged in 2006, followed by Brothership in 2010. In 2009 he joined pianist Michael Alvey and vocalist Robinella for the jazz-leaning Road Song, while also serving as accompanist and session player for artists such as Earl Scruggs, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, David Grisman, and Don Henley. To support fellow Dobro and resonator players he initiated the first ResoSummit in 2007, a three-day annual convocation of musicians, teachers, and instrument makers. In 2012 Ickes recorded the trio album Three Bells with Dobro masters Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldridge; Auldridge passed away shortly after the sessions, delaying the release until 2014. Ickes departed Blue Highway in 2015, the year he issued Before the Sun Goes Down, a collaboration with singer/guitarist Trey Hensley. The duo swiftly consolidated their partnership with The Country Blues the following year, then World Full of Blues in 2019. Between Hensley projects Ickes continued session work, appearing on Craig Duncan's Rockabilly Bluegrass (2020), Nu-Blu's Shine (2021), Alan Jackson's Happy Valentine's Day (2021), and Steve Poltz's Stardust and Satellites (2022). Living in a Song, released in 2023, marked a fourth collection of roots-oriented country material with Trey Hensley.
Albums
Living In A Song
2023
Accomplice Series, Vol. 1
2021
World Full of Blues
2019
The Country Blues
2016
Three Bells
2014
Brothership
2011
Road Song
2009
Big Time With Blue Highway
2004
What It Is
2002
Slide City
1999
Hard Times
1997
Singles
