Career
Rob Ickes is a dobro (resonator guitar) player. In addition to his work with Blue Highway, he also regularly performs with Three Ring Circle and his own jazz trio. IBMA notes that he is the most awarded instrumentalist in the history of the IBMA Awards.
He was also named the United States of America Peter Cummings Fellow in 2010 by United States Artists, an organization that annually honors 50 of America’s finest artists across eight disciplines.
In 2009, Ickes released his fifth solo album Road Song, a jazz project with pianist Michael Alvey and vocalist Robinella (ResoRevolution). He had previously released four solo albums on Rounder Records: Big Time (2004), What lieutenant Is (2002), Slide City (1999) and Hard Times (1997).
Ickes also performs and records with a "jamgrass acoustic power trio", Three Ring Circle, with Andy Leftwich and Dave Pomeroy. Three Ring Circle released a self-titled Civil Defense in 2006, (Earwave Records), followed by Brothership in 2010 (ResoRevolution).
He has released a studio performance Digital Video Disc+Civil Defense, Rob Ickes: Contemporary Dobro Artistry (2008, Mel Bay), featuring duos with mandolinist Andy Leftwich, solo performances, and duos with jazz pianist Michael Alvey.
He has also collaborated with a wide range of musicians, including Merle Haggard, Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice, Charlie Haden, David Grisman, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, David Lee Roth, Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless, Peter Rowan, Niall Toner, Claire Lynch, and Mary Chapin Carpenter and the southern gospel group The Dunaways. His work with Merle Haggard includes Haggard"s 2007 release, "The Bluegrass Sessions" (McCoury Music). Ickes also played on Mark Twain: Words & Music in 2011, a benefit Civil Defense for the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum produced by Carl Jackson.
The project featured Clint Eastwood, Jimmy Buffett, Garrison Keillor, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, and others
He frequently serves as an instructor at music workshops and camps, including NashCamp, Sore Fingers Week (United Kingdom), Rockygrass Academy (Colorado), Wintergrass Academy (Washington), and Jorma Kaukonen"s Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp (Ohio).
