The Tennessee Bluegrass Band's Lincoln Hensley says Nolichucky gave his band the chills

While bluegrass continues to merge with other genres of music, bands like The Tennessee Bluegrass Band are dialing it back to its origins. After one album, an EP, and a handful of singles into their burgeoning career, their latest title track and LP, Nolichucky, further establishes the quintet's knack for revitalizing a song.

Banjoist Lincoln Hensley spoke from his home in East Tennessee.

"We are super psyched! We'll be releasing the full album sometime in July. This is the first album we produced all by ourselves," shares Hensley about the band's second LP.

"We've got some original songs on there and some that would be considered standards."

Hensley says the band supports local Tennessee songwriters.

"We have songs on the album that were recorded fifty or sixty years ago by local East Tennessee and Western North Carolina bluegrass bands," adding, "They never got airplay, so people never discovered them.

"Sometimes there is an absolute gem of a song that didn't have the right finances or pushing behind it. We've got several songs like that on [Nolichucky]. We kind of breathe fresh life into the songs and put our own spin on them."

The title track, "Nolichucky," written by Leon Kiser, caused a visceral reaction.

"When hurricane Helene hit Appalachia last year, the town I live in was devastated. The river that runs through, called the Nolichucky, rose thirty feet out of its banks and flooded the area, killing six people."

Continuing, "The song 'Nolichucky' was pitched to us by local songwriter Charlie Powers," recalls Hensley, who says Powers wrote a song for them in the past as well as a gospel song on their latest album. "I thought ["Nolichucky"] had been written about the hurricane Helene flood, but it was written back in 1975 as a fictional song.

"Charlie came up to us and said, 'Y'all got to hear this,' and he played the [Kiser] song, and it sent chills all over us!"

Founding members Hensley and mandolinist Tim Laughlin have been with the band through its iterations since forming in 2021. The banjoist says the current lineup has strong chemistry.

"We got two brothers: Jacob Shefield and Josia Shefield. We also have Michael Feagen, who toured with Bill Monroe, playing fiddle." Unlike past lineups that needed more rehearsal, Hensley says this lineup fell right in. "From the word 'go' they were ready! It's the best lineup we've ever had!"

Hensley, who continues to gain notoriety for his banjo playing, reflects on his friendship with the late Sonny Osborne.

"He showed me a ton. He taught me almost the entire catalogue of his music." Sonny made Hensley keep a promise. "He said, 'If you get Flat & Scruggs' Foggy Mountain banjo album and you learn that note for note, I will show you anything you want to know.'

"I remember thinking, 'If I could play that, I wouldn't need to know anything!'" [laughs] 

Hensley recalls his parting lesson. "He told me, 'You can play all my stuff now. You proved that. It's time for you to start playing like you now.' "He got me to that next step. I'm so thankful that happened before he passed."

Although the Tennessee native favors the older sounds of Lester Flat and Earl Scruggs, he's happy that newer artists like Siera Hull and Billy Strings are bringing younger fans to bluegrass.

"Some of my heroes, like the Osborne brothers, were some of the biggest innovators in the world. A lot of traditional people probably looked down on them for using drums and pedal steel."

As far as plans for moving forward, Hensley says one of his goals is to get The Tennessee Bluegrass Band on the Grand Ole Opry.

"These two younger boys, Jacob and Josia, never got a chance to play the Opry, and I would love for them to experience it.

"Mike and I played the Grand Ole Opry on different occasions. I got to play with Bobby Osborne and The Rocky Top X-Press, and Mike and Tim played with Bill Monroe and Jesse McReynolds. There's nothing like it!"

Hensley says The Tennessee Bluegrass Band need the support of their fans to continue.

"The biggest support one could give us is to follow our social media and request our music to your favorite DJ, whether it's SiriusXM or Banjo Radio. Ask for The Tennessee Bluegrass Band and that will help us big-time!"