Tray Wellington Band w/ Javier Quiroz and Kohlrabi Soup at The Aquarium

Growing up in western North Carolina’s Ashe County, Trajan “Tray” Wellington heard a lot of music. From the first time he heard the banjo as a young teen, he was hooked. Even before he graduated from East Tennessee State University’s renowned Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country program, Wellington had earned acclaim as the banjo player with Cane Mill Road. The group performed across the country and won a 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award while the group took Momentum Band of the Year honors. A well-received 2020 EP, the formation of his band and signing with Mountain Home Music Company that same year marked Wellington’s path forward.

In advance of his full-length debut, Black Banjo, Wellington began releasing singles while leading banjo workshops at the prestigious Merlefest and Gray Fox festivals. He performed on the IBMA’s 2020 World of Bluegrass Main Stage and acted as host for the Momentum Awards ceremony. In May 2022, Black Banjo earned a glowing review in the Wall Street Journal that concluded: “This is a record that breaks right through subgenre boundaries. If bluegrass is about spotlighting virtuosos, here’s a new one people will be checking in on for some time to come.”

w/ support from Javier Quiroz Live and Kohlrabi Soup