Tray Wellington Band + Asa Menlove + Guests

Tray Wellington Band plays Conor Byrne Pub on Wednesday, October 14, with Asa Menlove and Hemlock Revival opening. The show starts at 8 PM, and tickets are $18.90.

Tray Wellington is a banjo player whose work doesn't sit still in one spot. He describes his approach as genre-defying, pulling from folk, bluegrass, jazz, and contemporary roots music, and that's a fair way to put it—he's as comfortable in a traditional bluegrass circle as he is pushing the instrument into territory it doesn't usually visit. The industry has taken notice, too. He picked up the 2024 Steve Martin Banjo Prize and was named the 2019 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year, and he's been nominated twice for IBMA New Artist of the Year. If you're not familiar with the IBMA, that's the International Bluegrass Music Association, so these are the awards that carry weight in the acoustic world.

The night is hosted by the Tractor Tavern, which has been a fixture in downtown Ballard for more than 25 years. The Tavern runs a handful of venues in the neighborhood—the Tractor Tavern itself, The Sunset, Conor Byrne Pub, and Cloudburst Brewing—and also puts on the Tractor Square Dance series. This particular show is at Conor Byrne Pub, located at 5213 Ballard Avenue NW, so you'll be right in the heart of the neighborhood.

Asa Menlove and Hemlock Revival open the bill, and the whole evening is 21+. Seating is limited and first-come, first-served, so if you want a chair, you'll want to get there early. Tickets are $18.90, and the music kicks off at 8 PM.