Quality Americana

Today we feature a wonderful duet from Wesley Hanna and Courtney Patton. The instrumentation and production highlights their strong vocals and melodies are weaved throughout. It has a genuine feel to the story that music fans have been desperate for.

“Her and my wife are like really good friends,” Hanna said about Patton. “That’s kind of how that friendship started.” 

Hanna described the waltz as a tribute to Clint Black’s “Nobody’s Home.” 

“That’s one of my favorite songs of his from growing up,” Hanna said. “I was like ‘man it’d kind of be cool to write a different take on that story, and do it as a duet from both sides, you know. The guys perspective, the girls perspective, so I wrote it as a duet.” 

Hanna said Patton was his “number one choice” and she readily accepted. The result is a timeless dancehall number that brings you back to the golden-era of country music.

Magnolia, Texas

Hanna is based in Fort Worth, Texas, where cowboys get Lone Stars at Billy Bob’s, the world’s largest honky tonk. 

“I grew up in Magnolia, Texas,” Hanna said. “The album is named after my hometown. I call it my stomping grounds. Most of the songs have some kind of ties to that area.”

It’s Hanna’s second LP as a solo artist. He got his start at Texas A&M playing in a red dirt band. 

“Back then the Texas country scene was pretty rock heavy, so we were kind of rock heavy. We started out doing covers by Cross Canadian Ragweed, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers and such,” Hanna said.

After college, He moved out to West Texas and was far removed from the dancehalls that host pickers. He took work in the oil and gas business and spent nearly a decade with music in the background. 

“It was really covid that kind of sparked me getting into it again,” Hanna said. “I started doing backyard concerts because there was nothing to do. I was like ‘man I miss doing this too much,’ and I started writing again, and that’s really what prompted me to get back into it.” 

He started out performing solo in the Stockyards and his wife Stacie joined him on upright bass. They added Michael Durkan on fiddle and now they have a band going that really keeps the classic country sound alive.

“I still have my day job,” Hanna joked. “I don’t have a label deal or anything so I still gotta pay the bills. Going from work to going out there and just burning it at both ends.”

It’s the life with his wife and two children, and experience built up from College Station and the remote oil work that makes his art seem so genuine. The times playing in church and the family barbecue as well as the stages and cantinas gave a solid foundation that translates through the art.

“I guess we kind of float in between that western swing and 90’s country sound, and that works so we can play those dancehall shows,” Hanna said. “We kind of go somewhere in between that and the songwriter stuff too. We’re just trying to navigate that.”

There’s a large group of two-steppers and songwriters throughout North Texas that can appreciate Hanna’s work. They hosted their album release show at The Post, a favorite watering hole of the local musicians in Fort Worth.

The Zone

Hanna said the recent popularity of Zack Top has helped those playing the classic country sound. They recorded Magnolia at the Zone in Dripping Springs with Pat Manske at the helm along with Cody Braun and Pablo Trujillo. Another Texas legend Lloyd Maines plays dobro on one of the tracks. Scrappy Jud Newcomb plays guitar, Conrad Choucroun plays drums and Durkan plays fiddle.

“He plays with everybody,” Hanna said about Scrappy Jud Newcomb. “He kind of commutes between Marfa and Austin. Just a great picker.” 

The album features a tribute to late country favorite Charlie Robison.

“The very last track we added was a Charlie Robison cover,” Hanna said. “Charlie is a big hero of mine. It’s been a year now, so we wanted to do something to honor Charlie.” 

They chose a murder ballad titled “Magnolia,” and spent some time with Larry Joe Tayor at Melody Mountain Recording Studio in Stephenville, TX. It’s a great representation of how the live trio performs. 

“I had two tracks named Magnolia,” Hanna joked, “so I decided to call his ‘Charlie’s Version,’ you know. It’s a copy of Taylor Swift I guess.” 

Magnolia has found its way on the Texas country airways and their working across the dancehalls and listening rooms to keep traditional country music alive.

Support the Artist

More information about Wesley Hanna can be found here.

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