Tim Hensley “Long Monday” (Rural Rhythm Records / Blue Chair )

Nashville, TN — For Tim Hensley, being on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry wasn’t a new experience. He stood on those hallowed floorboards with Grammy-winning bluegrass icon Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless and with 6-time ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney, playing acoustic guitar and raising his tenor voice in song with these architects of the last 30 years of country music.

But this weekend, Tim Hensley walked onstage at the Opry to bring his own music to the country fans listening in on WSM. It wasn’t to support someone else’s vision, it was to make music of his own.

“And it was such a rush,” says the Cincinnati-born and raised Hensley, who’s known for his bluegrass roots. “To hear your name being called… to know you’re part of that tradition… that includes so many people… There’s never been a time I’ve done that Opry that wasn’t special. But nothing compares to this.”

Joining Hensley for the emotional milestone was keyboardist Wyatt Beard and co-producers Buddy Cannon and Chesney. The quartet even shared one microphone to revisit the vintage “Workin’ On A Building,” the gospel classic that was a cornerstone for Hensley’s Long Monday, Miles from the high-energy, high-impact music Chesney is known for, it only made the moment that much more.

I am so proud for Tim,” Chesney said. “If people only knew how many times we’d sing these songs backstage at our shows…. And how much this music means to me and the guys out on the road…. That I’m able to be a part of sharing so special with people who don’t have the access we do to him… to let people hear what we get to enjoy every night, because Tim is one of those real deal players who deserves to be heard.”

“Being here and getting to be part of something as special as someone’s Opry debut, well, that means the world to me… But just seeing people have the chance to understand who Tim is, what this kind of music is all about, that’s been such a wonderful thing for everyone who’s been a part of this record.”

Named for a track from John Prine’s Grammy-winning Fair & Square, Long Monday features the best of classic bluegrass (the old gospel “Two Coats,” “Shady Grove”), modern songwriters (Rodney Crowell’s “Long Monday,” Hensley’s own tender “What A Sight To Behold”), current bluegrass (“Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons,” “Lonesome Dove”). With spare arrangements and a genuine warmth, the project is a celebration of what acoustic music can be.

For Hensley, it’s been a year beyond dreams the soft-talking musician would’ve dared dream. Beyond playing the Opry for his own project, Long Monday has been singled out by The Tennessean, USA Today and Bluegrass Unlimited – and debuted in the Top 10 of the Bluegrass Sales Chart. With a summer tour with Chesney in the offering and opportunities coming along the way, Hensley – who debuted some of this music at the Ernest Tubb Record Store’s fabled Midnite Jamboree” — is in a unique place to introduce people to a kind of music that may not be front and center, but they know without even realizing.

“Man, playing the Opry for my record is a pretty crazy thing,” Hensley said in the wings after. “To go out there on my own was pretty serious, but to stand there with my friends…. The people I’ve been making music with almost ten years now, that’s really something else. You know, there’s nothing like it, and that’s – at least how I came up – what this music is all about.”

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