Slideshow: Trenton Ayers at Music Maker Studios

After two extraordinary days in the studio with Kelley Breiding, last month’s marathon recording session continued as we welcomed Hill Country blues artist Trenton Ayers to Music Maker Studios from May 18-22!

Our newest Next Generation artist, Trenton is a Grammy-nominated blues musician, guitarist, writer, producer, and guitar instructor from Holly Springs, MS. The son of longtime Soul Blues Boys member Earl “Little Joe” Ayers, Trenton started playing guitar at age 3 and was performing by age 6. By 14, he was touring nationally as bassist for the Slick Ballenger Blues Band. He has since performed in more than 20 countries with artists like The Electric Mudd and Cedric Burnside, as well as with his own band, WolfEagle.

One highlight of Trenton’s session: Watching him take full advantage of our new “Freeverb” chamber! After Freeman Vines’ passing earlier this year, we transformed his artist-in-residence workshop into a reverb chamber for use in our partner artists’ studio recordings. Between the use of Freeman’s handcrafted guitars in our sessions and this new echo chamber, we are proud to continue his legendary “search for the sound” in the heart of his hometown, Fountain, NC.

Thanks, as always, to producer Jimbo Mathus, in-house studio band Creatures of the Southern Wild, recording engineer John Kilgore, and our generous donors for making these transformational studio experiences possible for the artists we serve. Look for Trenton Ayers’ new album on the Music Maker label in 2026!