2024 has been a year full of blessings for Spencer Hatcher. In the last few months alone, he’s signed a record deal, released four straightforward traditional country songs, and he’s been breaking several venue attendance records along his busy touring schedule.
All of that almost didn’t happen, though. Before his label deal was announced, Hatcher fell 20 feet from his roof, suffering several injuries. Luckily, though (and to the surprise of his doctors), he sustained no head or spinal injuries. In fact, he’s on the road towards a full recovery, and he’s already back on stage. Perhaps the biggest blessing of the bunch.
We chatted with Hatcher about his deep musical roots and his love for traditional country music, all about “Cold Beer and Common Sense,” resiliency and more!
Pro Country: You come from a family where both of your parents were musicians. Did it almost seem inevitable to you that you would catch the music bug yourself?
Spencer Hatcher: It did seem inevitable. My mom was a pianist and would play the organ at church, and my dad was a guitarist and banjo player. My grandparents all sang in church, and my grandmother would help us sing old hymns. My childhood was full of music, and I always had a fascination with it. It really didn’t matter what kind of music I was singing; I just always loved singing and hearing music come together. There was no doubt in my mind that in some way or another, I was bound to have an interest in it. I never thought it would come to the degree of doing it full time and winding up with a record deal in Nashville, but I feel blessed to have grown up in the household that I did.
PC: Your bio mentions that you started playing music at just five years-old, and soon after picked up the mandolin and five-string banjo a few years later, and before reaching your teens, you were playing in your family’s bluegrass band. What was it like performing and being on stage that early in your life, and how pivotal was that early experience?
SH: It was huge. Getting in front of a crowd so early on has been very beneficial. I read a study that said the biggest fear of a majority of people is public speaking or being in front of an audience. Growing up performing really helped me conquer that fear. It’s hard to feel comfortable in front of a lot of people. I was doing elementary school choirs and singing in church, so getting that exposure early on was beneficial.
When we started the family band, we were very nervous getting in front of those first crowds. I remember the first show was at a nursing home for maybe 30 people. Me, my dad and younger brother were all sweating [laughs]. They didn’t care what we sang, they would’ve loved it anyway, but we were nervous. Eventually, you play enough shows and start getting acclimated to it.
I started playing professionally in college, which was still nervewracking. The most nervewracking, though, is when I decided to start my own country band, and I had to be the standalone frontman. I had to do all of the talking, all of the directing on stage and everything. I don’t know that you ever get over it, but I want to do as well as I can and have people think they saw a great show. We do 150 shows a year now, and there’s still nerves every time because I want it to be the best it can be.
PC: Your bio also mentions strong influences from artists like Keith Whitley, George Strait and Johnny Cash. What was it about the traditional stylings or country music that drew you in in your formative years?
SH: I grew up listening to those guys, so to me, that’s what country music is. I never listened to modern country growing up; it was always George Jones, Keith Whitley and Hank Jr. Those were my heroes back then, and they still are today. When I think about what country music is, the first thing that comes to mind is the guys from the 70s and 80s. That’s the stuff I looked up to and the artists I wanted to be like. I would love to have the career that those guys did and be able to make the music that they made. It’s real. That’s what I appreciate so much about it. They can go out on stage and recreate exactly what they created in the studio. There’s no computers or false harmonies. It’s “this is what we did, and we can do the exact same thing in a live setting.” I have so much respect for that, and I hope that one day, I can be half as good as they were.
PC: You mentioned forming your country band in 2020. After being in the bluegrass space for so many years, why did you feel that was the right time to expand into the country world, and what was that transition like?
SH: I was in bluegrass for my whole life. Those were the first crowds I was in front of, and those were the first bands I was in. During the summer after my senior year of high school and going into college, I really got into country music. I watched I Walk the Line. I’d seen it before, but I watched it one time in particular, and it just clicked. I decided I wanted to pick up the guitar. I decided that day that that was what I wanted to do. We were at the beach on a family vacation, and I spent the entire day inside playing guitar and teaching myself how to play like Luther Perkins and sing Johnny Cash songs. All through college, I was infatuated with country music. I listened to everything that I could and would study how they sang, because the singing styles in bluegrass and country music are totally different. In my opinion, Keith Whitley is one of the greatest. The tone of his voice is so pure.
In March of 2020, I was looking at potentially moving to Nashville or staying in Johnson City. Once Covid hit and everything started shutting down, I moved back home. I was back home at the end of March, and on April 2nd, I had posted my very first video of me singing a country song. It was “Honky Tonk Angel” by Conway Twitty. I was terrified, but it turned out alright. I just kept on doing it, until I posted a cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” as my fifth video, and it went viral. It did about 1.5 million views overnight. I started gaining attention online as a country artist. I started getting phone calls about doing shows and singing country music. August 7th of 2020 was my very first country show. It was just me and my younger brother on stage in front of a packed little pizza joint. That was scary [laughs].
PC: What was it like to see the overnight traction the “Folsom Prison Blues” cover received and to have your first viral moment?
SH: It was unreal. I will never, ever forget it. That video went viral on July 13. I’d posted it on Facebook, and I almost forgot to post it on TikTok. It was 8 o’clock that night, and I was out in our pool and figured I should probably post it on TikTok. I posted it and went back swimming. By the time I got out of the pool, I had about 8,000 notifications. The video already had around 5,000 views, 1,000 likes and a couple hundred comments. Every single time I refreshed the video, it would jump by hundreds of views. It was the most insane thing I’d ever seen. I started going crazy. I was hollering, clapping and dancing. It was so exciting. When I went to sleep, the video was at 15,000 views, and when I woke up the next morning, it had surpassed one million views. When I went to sleep, I had 24 followers, and I had over 10,000 the next morning. It was a dream come true. Instantly, I started planning the next video I was going to do, which ended up being “Friends in Low Places,” which turned another 500,000 views.
PC: Did you have any social media experience before that, or were you having to learn as you went?
SH: I’ve never been too big into social media. Before I started posting videos of me singing, I rarely posted. Maybe one post per year. I didn’t know or care much about social media. Once that started, I had to get good pretty quick. I’ve wound up speaking on business board panels at IBMA talking to people about using social media as a marketing tool. I was really blessed to be put in the position that I was at that time, which allowed me to start a career.
PC: Just a few months ago, you fell 20 feet from your roof, fracturing your pelvis in three places, breaking three ribs and suffered a pulmonary contusion of your right lung, but luckily avoided any head or spinal injuries. With a few months now having past, how are you doing with your recovery?
SH: I’m doing really well. It’s been pretty remarkable. The doctors told me at my last visit that I’m healing faster than most people they see. They said it’s time to start getting back to normal. At this point, I can pretty much only walk. I can’t start running or lifting heavy weights yet, but over the next month, I can start adding weight and lightly jogging. That fall should have without a doubt taken my life, but I’m back up and walking about a month and a half later, and I just played my first show where I was standing the entire time. It was a four hour show. I feel so blessed. It’s been a remarkable recovery. I didn’t expect to perform until the end of November, but I’ve done five or six shows already. I’m very thankful.
PC: In the moments, days and weeks after the fall, was there ever any fear that your music career could be in jeopardy due to your injuries, or was there a resilience that you knew you’d be back on stage?
SH: I’ve always had the mentality that nothing will slow me down. The only way that I’ll fail is if I quit. Quitting was never an option. Those thoughts did pass my mind the moment it happened, though. When I was laying there on the ground, I didn’t know how bad it was, but I knew it wasn’t good. I just started praying. I asked the Lord to allow me to continue to perform. I didn’t care about the pain or the injuries, I was just praying that I wouldn’t be paralyzed and that I could still perform. I was airlifted to a local hospital. It was a 25-minute flight, and it was a 25-minute prayer.
Once everything was stable on me and we got a decent grasp on what had happened, there was no way I was going to let it stop me from performing. Naturally, I was going to slow down a little bit, but God has looked over me and told me that I am going to make a full recovery, and that’s the path I’m on now.
PC: Soon after the fall, you signed a record deal with Stone Country Records. What has their belief in yourself and your talent meant to you, and how exciting was it to share the news that you had signed a record deal?
SH: It’s been unreal. It’s been the biggest blessing in my life. Stone Country Records is one of the greatest record labels in Nashville. The entire team is amazing. Benny Brown is a monster in the industry, and the team with the label is phenomenal. For me to be able to be a part of what they have is amazing.
I had to keep it quiet that I was signing with the label for a month or two. I had just gotten hurt when we announced the signing. The amazing thing about it was that they could have shelved me and seen what they could do if I got better. These guys were calling me saying that they didn’t care about the business, they wanted to know how I was and what the doctors were saying. They cared about me and my wellbeing more than the business we were doing. They told me to focus on getting better. I don’t think there’s another record label like that in all of Nashville. They’re the greatest people. I’m very honored to be on their team now.
PC: Soon after you signed your record deal, you released a three-pack of songs called “Cold Beer and Common Sense.” Given the recency of the fall and your long history of making and performing music to that point, what emotions came to you as release day was approaching and finally came?
SH: There were a lot of emotions. That morning, I woke up very excited. There was a lot of work prior to those songs coming out, but we were all so proud of the work we put in. It was by far the greatest work I’d gotten to be a part of to that point. When release day came, I was excited for people to hear what we’d been working on. It was an exciting day, and I’ve gotten nothing but great feedback. People say it’s real country music again. My goal has always been for people to see me as a real country artist, and that’s what I’ve heard since these songs came out.
PC: The song “Cold Beer and Common Sense” was released at the height of a divided nation. How timely did you and your team feel the release of that song was, and what do you hope people take from the song’s message?
SH: It was a very timely song, and it has a very strong message. The song had been floating around Nashville for a little bit, but once we got ahold of it and recorded it, the election was coming up and we wanted to release it accordingly. It was perfect timing with the election, the debates and all of the separation around that time. People were picking a team, and everybody was arguing. I felt that it was a perfect time to release “Cold Beer and Common Sense” because it’s about getting along, regardless of what side of the fence you’re on. People can agree to disagree. There’s no reason on Earth why people on different sides can’t sit at a table and get along. This song can help people open up their eyes and show them that it’s not all about who’s right and who’s wrong.
PC: “Has Anybody Ever” is a sweet, late 80s/90s inspired love song that is our favorite song of the batch. Can you talk about how you heard the song and what drew you to cut it?
SH: That song was sent to me. I liked the words in the song. I knew it was a song that a tremendous amount of people would be able to relate to. Everybody’s had that love in their life.
Once that song came out, a lot of people reached out to me with their own stories. That was what I was hoping for with the song. What we were able to do in the studio amazed me. We had so many talented people that were able to create the feel of the music. I’m really proud of that one.
PC: You recently released a cover of George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s Christmas tune, “Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus,” with Aubrie Sellers. Can you talk about how the song was picked and how much you enjoyed collaborating with Aubrie on the track?
SH: I love that song. The first time I ever heard it was in November of last year. I’d started listening to Christmas music. I was outside working, and the song came on. I knew it was George Jones, but I had no idea what it was. When I find a song I really like, I get infatuated with it. I obsess over it and listen to it until it’s old and I can’t listen to it anymore. That was one of those songs. I decided to film a video of it and sing it myself. I put it up on social media around Christmastime last year. Once I signed with the label, we had the idea that with the timing of the signing, we’d need a Christmas song. They went through and looked at a bunch of different songs, and somebody ended up going on my social media and liked that song. They thought it’d be cool and that it could be done as a duet. Once they told me they got Aubrie Sellers on it, I was really excited. She’s phenomenal. She’s such a pro at everything she does. I felt honored to have her as the duet partner on the song to fill in Tammy Wynette’s spot. We made the song our own and paid tribute to an amazing song that was last done in 1973. It was actually the first song that we recorded for the record label. It was July and we were singing a Christmas song [laughs].
PC: We’ve heard that there is more new music coming down the pipeline. What information, if any, can you give about any upcoming releases? What can people expect to hear?
SH: I probably can’t say too much, but there will be a lot more great, real country music. I want to keep things real. That’s what we’ve got coming with the rest of the music.
PC: You regularly stay busy on the road, with a good handful of performances still lined up for the rest of the year. How much do you enjoy hitting the road hard and staying as busy as you can on stage?
SH: I absolutely love it. Without a doubt, I’m happiest when I’m on stage. I’ve been blessed to have so many shows. The more the shows are growing, we’re starting to see records being broken in the venues. This year, the venues are at max capacity a few hours before I’m even at the venue. That’s not something I thought I’d ever get to see. To play shows where everybody is so happy and loves country music; there’s nowhere I’d rather be. That makes 150 shows a year is hardly a struggle.
PC: With all you have experienced in 2024, between the fall, signing with Stone Country Records and your releases for the label, how are you going to look back at this year?
SH: The biggest blessings of my life have come this year. Between surviving the fall, releasing the music and reaching an all-time high for shows and winning two local awards; it’s been a dream. So many great things have happened, and through the label, I’ve gotten to meet so many great people and record music I never through I would get to record.
As far as falling, people would say it’s a negative thing, but I’d say it’s a positive. I was able to strengthen my relationship with God. I feel so blessed. This entire year has been a giant blessing. The key to it all is never quitting.
*All images by The Riker Brothers*
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