Quality Americana

San Marcos’ red-dirt picker Hank Weaver released “Lonely is My Only Friend Tonight” this month. The classic style throws it back to those country ballads that topped the charts in the early 2000’s from artists like Cody Canada and Stoney LaRue.

Weaver recorded the single with well-traveled local producer David Beck. The new recording has a homegrown feel that captures the heart of the college town.

“A lot of these songs kind of sound more true to where we’re at and the area,” Weaver said. “David Beck is a master of a lot of things, but serving the song is one of them.”

“Lonely is My Only Friend Tonight” was co-written with Slaid Coulter, who’s also performed alongside Weaver.  

“I’ve been writing a lot more with other people,” Weaver said. “That song was kind of the first co-write I had done that actually worked really well. That’s definitely been one of my favorite songs I’ve got to be a part of.”

North Texas

Weaver was raised in Bell, Texas, a small town just north of Dallas where he started playing guitar at a young age. His songwriting started as he was heading off for college in San Marcos.

“My dad wrote songs and really showed me a lot of great music from a young age,” Weaver said. “Anything from Bob Wills to the Sex Pistols, you know, Neil Young, Beatles, Townes Van Zandt. I was just raised listening to a lot of good songs.” 

His mother showed him Stax records and all of the great rhythm and blues and psychedelicia she heard in Chicago.

Texas State University

“When it came time to decide where I was going to go to college, I had always heard about Cheatham Street Warehouse,” Weaver said. “I was looking at where all my heroes came from, and I really kind of decided this is what I wanted to do.”

The Cheatham Street Warehouse was opened in 1974 by Texas State alumni Kent Finlay and local reporter Jim Cunningham. It hosts one of the longest running songwriter nights in the Hill Country and is legendary for its weekly concerts with Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Strait. 

“When I came down here I was just very eager to be a part of a community that appreciated songs,” Weaver said. “I got pretty lucky.”

Weaver formed his band from the musicians he met at the warehouse. He’s planning to graduate from Texas State next year.

“I went to every songwriter night for about a year consistently, that’s kind of where I met everybody,” Weaver said. “It was just such a good environment.”

Weaver has been playing the main stage at Cheatham Street, along with honky tonks and dancehalls across the state with his friends Cameron Albright and Ashton Naylor. 

“Those have been two of my really good friends that I’ve done a lot of music with, wrote songs with,” Weaver said. “We’ve really been blessed to play a lot of really cool shows and stay busy and write with a bunch of different people.” 

Weaver’s band worked alongside Beck and Dee Stribling on the instrumentation. More singles will be released throughout the coming months.

Support the Artist

More information about Hank Weaver can be found here.

Photo by Elic Goicoechea Photogrophy

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