When he picks up the phone for an interview with The Bulletin, Rob Ickes is at home in Tennessee, just five days removed from winning a Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy award for his playing on The Taj Mahal Sextet’s “Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa” recording.

He won the award at home, to be clear. Not at the 67th annual Grammy Awards ceremony held in Los Angeles.

“I’m kind of traveled out,” said Ickes, a master of the resophonic guitar, often called a Dobro. “It actually felt really good to get it and not have to go. It’s fun, but once you’ve done it a few times, it’s kind of a circus. But Trey went and had a blast.”

The Trey he’s referring to is his musical partner Trey Hensley, a singer and world-class guitar player who famously made his first public appearance on the Grand Ole Opry at the tender age of 11. Together, Ickes and Hensley are not only a pair of super-skilled instrumentalists, they’re also Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, the duo behind one of the best country albums in recent memory, 2023’s “Living In A Song.”

Both men are experienced award-winners: In addition to his new Grammy, Hensley has won three awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, including Guitar Player of the year in 2023. Ickes has won 23 IBMA awards and has been named Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year a whopping 15 times — more than anyone else, ever.

As you might’ve guessed, however, Ickes is not focused on piling up trophies.

“We get to work with Taj Mahal. I think he’s 82 and still crushing it. We’ve worked with Tommy Emmanuel. We’ve worked with Jorma Kaukonen. These guys aren’t spring chickens, but I love how they’re still so fired up about music,” he said.

“That’s kind of the way I am at this stage in my career,” Ickes continued. “I love playing shows. I love playing with Trey. But I really try to just focus on what I do and just continuing to get better at it. So I’m probably more excited about playing than I’ve ever been.”

Ickes and Hensley — who will perform Feb. 24 at The Belfry in Sisters — connected in the mid-2010s, right around the same time the former was leaving his bluegrass band of 21 years, Blue Highway. He was looking for simplicity, both musically and operationally, he said.

“It felt great right off the bat. I just loved the wide range of material we could do,” Ickes said. “We did some western swing and some country and some bluegrass, and I … really felt like this is what I needed to do next.”

You can hear the duo’s expansive possibilities on “Living In A Song,” a 12-track collection of tunes built from expert playing, memorable melodies, cozy production vibes and familiar sounds harvested from ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s country music. Known far and wide for their string-bending abilities, Ickes and Hensley made a point to focus on songcraft on their fourth album together.

“We both made a conscious effort to write together and write with other writers, and that was a blast. It was a lot of work, but it was a blast,” Ickes said.

“It’s fun to start with nothing and then you have this thing done at the end,” he continued. “You feel kind of like a carpenter, you know? Like you’re building something. So often, you work on music stuff and you’re just sort of feeding the fire, so it’s nice to go in there and make something.”

If You Go

Who: Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley

When: 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24

Cost: $35

Where: The Belfry, 302 E. Main Ave., Sisters

Contact: belfryevents.com