Quality Americana

An up-close shot of a broken cowboy boot serves as our introduction to the Long Lost Locals.

Lead singer and guitarist Nathan Hanners put together a group of long-time musicians from the Live Music Capital of the World that is uniquely Austin at heart.

Raul Hernandez with the Austin Chronicle labeled their sound “Austin-Cana.” It brings us back to the days of Edie Brickell and that fusion of Americana, Hippie Jam, Blues and Alternative that gave the city its mark.

Getting Together

The Long Lost Locals were formed in 2024, when Hanners reconnected to his high school bassist Micah Roark.

“I was like ‘you know what? Why don’t we just do a reunion gig,’” Hanners said. “We’ll do it at the Hole in the Wall. I had decided for that gig to just assemble a band of musicians that I hadn’t had a chance to play with for a while.”

Hanners reached out to longtime friends Alarmo McJunkins, Dan Holmes and Kenny Felton for their gig at the famous songwriter hangout on the Drag.

“At the time we were doing the reunion, I was going through a Little Feat phase,” Hanners said. “So we got together and we did this gig, and it was so fun that I was like ‘I can’t let that be the only time that I play with these guys.’ It just felt like there was something more we could do, you know?” 

Hanners started re-working songs that were written in the past for a trio, and started working on a new list of songs for the group that were also inspired by the Flying Burrito Brothers. By the end of 2025, Hanners had enough songs ready to hit the recording studio. 

“I was like ‘oh we’ll just knock out this EP or Album and it will take a couple of days in the studio,” Hanners said. “Of course it’s like famous last words. It had been so long since I had been in the studio, it really got me stimulated and I got obsessed with making it sound exactly like it was in my head.” 

The full album is scheduled for release in April. 

“We’re kind of just one of those bands where I think everyone contributes what they’re hearing in the moment,” Hanners said. “They’re such great musicians… I can just bring seventy percent of a song to and rehearse for ninety minutes and it’s just great.”

Growing Up in the Scene

“Slacker at Heart” looks back at the old days of Austin, where hippies and artists found cheap rent and endless inspiration.

“I was raised to be this person who really wants a slower pace of life, and I’m here hustling all the time in what is basically a bigger city now,” Hanners said about the population boom in Austin after the Silicon Valley crowd took over.

His father started the Austin Record Convention, a bi-annual event that brings together vinyl collectors for a trade show. It all started when his father worked at Discount Records that sat by the University of Texas in the 70’s. 

“I grew up with my parents knowing a lot of musicians around town,” Hanners said, “even before I was born there. My Dad wasn’t a musician, but he was a music super fan.”

Music fans would buzz around his living room as a child, trading albums. Through the house visits, Hanners got connected to the blues players that gave Antone’s its name.

“I used to go see the Angela Strehli Band when I was six or seven years old,” Hanners said. “That band was like legends of the Austin blues scene and music scene.” 

As a teenager, Hanners started jamming with Pat Whitefield and formed a few forgotten blues bands that played around the infamous TC’s Lounge. He’s still performing weekly on 6th Street with the Southsiders, a group of long-time blues artists lead by Marcus Tharpe. 

“Becuase of his job at the store, he met a whole bunch of record collectors in town and some friends decided to start a record swap meet one year,” Hanners said. “I think it was in ‘81, and they rented out the Zilker Clubhouse, which is still there actually.” 

It was a group of collectors that didn’t have their own storefront to trade from, and it quickly grew and moved over to the Palmer Auditorium.

“That’s the first record show I remember,” Hanners said. “My whole childhood, that’s where it was. In my lifetime it went from records, to cassettes, to CDs… for a while there when records kind of slouched the show got a little bit smaller, but then the records came surging back. This year is the 45th anniversary of that show.” 

Hanners joked that he’s “on the hook” to get a vinyl album ready for his record convention friends. It’s a dream that’s been decades in the making that’s finally at the finish line.

On the Island

Hanners was later influenced by international artists after a move overseas.

“When I first moved to Japan, my wife and I didn’t know anybody,” Hanners said. “I’d never even been there before.” 

Hanner’s wife got a job offer as a school teacher for ex-pats, and he was working a remote job that was perfect for the move. They settled in Kobe just outside of Osaka and quickly found that they had a scene of musicians that loved Texas blues. 

“Pretty quickly I realized I wasn’t going to be able to stop playing guitar,” Hanners said. “Even if I thought that would be a good idea. I was seeing these guys busking in the street and I was chatting with them, and making friends and sitting in.” 

He quickly realized music was the key to forming a social group in a foreign country. There was a local music writer Brad Quinn that played bass, and they formed a trio for the local bars. 

“Some of the songs that I’m even recording now come from that period,” Hanners said. “We actually made a seven inch 45.” 

Hanners also connected with the local Kobe Blues Society that had a mix of locals and foreigners, and through that met Paul Jackson who had played with Herbie Hancock. 

“They put together concerts at different venues that I never would have been able to arrange on my own,” Hanners said.

They started working on a full length album in Japan, but it was never finished. As Hanners got back to America, kids came into the picture and responsibility took over. Now some of these songs have been re-recorded with fresh ideas for the Long Lost Locals.

“I’m glad that I’ve never stopped,” Hanners said, “and it sounds obvious and dumb to say that, but it’s so easy for life to pull you away from the things that are your creative outlet. It’s been a good feeling to start to hit the release button on these tracks.”

Support the Artist

The Long Lost Locals recorded at Point West with Stuart Sullivan at the helm. Micah Roark plays bass, Alarmo McJunkins is on pedal steel, Dan Holmes plays Hammond B3, Kenny Felton keeps the pace and Chris Nine supported on backing vocals.

More information about the Long Lost Locals can be found here.

Get your ticket for the next Austin Record Convention here.

Subscribe with your email below for your Song of the Day.