Album Review: Trey Hedrick - ‘Sing, Appalachia’

I had the opportunity to check out Trey Hedrick’s latest, Sing, Appalachia which dropped earlier this year! Hedrick is a naitive Appalachian from Ohio like me. Listening to his record made me yearn for the hills and trees of Southeast, Ohio. Hedrick hails from Wilkesville, Ohio and comes from a musical family.

While he is fresh on the scene as a musician from a discography standpoint, you can tell he’s a seasoned musician. He picked up a guitar at a young age and while me may be early in his career from releasing music professionally, he’s wise beyond his years. Hedrick’s vocals are silky smooth, and he effortlessly moves over his register against a palate of acoustic guitars, banjo, and fiddle. He shows off his Americana chops early on Sing, Appalachia with “Dobbin Mine No. 1”.

Hedrick displays his versatility on tracks like “Leavin’ Town” which lean a bit more country in nature, similar to early Garth Brooks work. “Leavin’ Town” also featured some great electric leads over a nicely paced melody. Hedrick’s vocals on “Loretta” are simply next level, as he flutters vibrato in all the right places with just enough flair. The electric leads on this, combined with the fiddle, with Hedrick’s vocals make this a winner. Its roots-tinged flavor was extremely appealing to me.

Another highlight of the record for me (and also for him), was his work he did with two-time Grammy award winning musician Tim O’Brien, who sings on “Shoestring”. However my absolute favorite track on the record was the title track, which he chose to land the record with. I love so much that Hedrick chose to arrange the album the way he did. Far too often in music today, albums act as a collection of assorted singles, kind of like a conglomerate

rock, an assembling of different parts. However, on this, Hedrick has taken great care to tell the stories of his upbringing, people like his grandfather who was a lifelong coal miner. Simply put, I you’re remotely into country, bluegrass, or Americana, you’re going to love Sing, Appalachia!

Rating - 9/10