Influenced by Jazz, Tray Wellington Breaks Down Barriers on 'Black Banjo'

Tristan Scroggins

February 26, 2024

The Bluegrass Situation

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Growing up in the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Tray Wellington discovered the banjo as a teenager. Now in his early 20s with a full-length debut album titled Black Banjo, Wellington subverts the musical expectations he has felt as a Black musician by presenting banjo in a jazz-tinged, progressive style.

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Tray Wellington leans against a blue wall picking his banjo

Photo Credit:

Dan Boner

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Tray Werllington, Black Banjo, Jazz, Country

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