Trey

Burnart

Hall

Writer / Producer / Instructor / Musician

vocalrestrecords@gmail.com

Trey Burnart Hall is a writer, musician, producer, educator, and community organizer. Originally from Botetourt County, Virginia, he has been based in Richmond for over a decade, where he serves as the lead podcast editor and producer of VCU’s literary magazine, Blackbird. His creative writing has been published or forthcoming in the Academy of American Poets, Sonora Review, Cold Mountain Review, and The Oregon Hill Review Trey is the recipient of the Catherine & Joan Byrne Poetry Prize (2026), VCU English Writing Award for Graduate Poetry (2026), and the VCU Claudia Emerson Scholarship (2025 & 2026).

Trey was a panelist in the Literary Podcasting: A New Sonic Space panel at the 2026 AWP Conference, alongside Carvell Wallace, Dawnie Walton, and Jessica Hendry Nelson. He chairs the Parallel Listening Series at Gallery5 and hosts the EarthFolk Old-Time Jam. Trey founded Vocal Rest Records in 2020.

His production work and collaborations through his label have been nominated for the Folk Alliance International Album of the Year, shortlisted for the Newlin Music Prize, archived in the Library of Congress as part of the 20th anniversary of the Richmond Folk Festival, and featured in NPR Live Sessions, Bandcamp Daily, and more.

His archival photography project, Wickline Speed Shop, has been exhibited internationally.

His academic work has been published in the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education and presented at the Postsecondary Disability Training Institute and Southeastern Writing Center Association.

He works as the VCU Writing Center Assistant Director and lives in the Southside of Richmond with his partner, Gray, and pup, Waylon.

Photograph by Parker J. Pfister, taken at The Marshall Depot.