The Hackens Boys – CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the country rock band, The Hackens Boys, shares one of their stories from being on the road. You can check out the story, after the break.

Toward the middle of 2018, we decided to set everything aside and really focus on writing and recording new original material. It was the first time that we had truly written together in a collaborative effort opposed to individual ideas in the past that one or two of the guys would bring to the table. The great thing was it led to several months of quality bonding time as a band and also the release of a full-blown 15-Song album in the Spring of 2019 (King of Wild). Coming out of the studio we were the tightest and most confident we had ever been as a unit.

Our first show fresh off recording was with Dylan Scott at a venue called Phase 2 in Lynchburg, VA. Dylan had a number one hit with My Girl in 2016 and followed that up with a song called Hooked which made it to number two on the charts in 2017 so he was doing very well and the show was sold out. At the time Dylan was traveling with another up-and-coming Country artist (who has since done very well with a top 10 single of her own) so it was a three-act lineup for a packed house.

During our line check when the Sound Tech asked us to go ahead and play something full band. We were so excited to play something new and original that we absolutely went all out for this soundcheck. I mean we are talking high energy, full stage presence, the whole nine yards. After all those months of writing and recording it was finally time to show the world what we had been working on and it was so exciting to hear it through a real PA system in a large venue. Give me chills just thinking about it!

Following our soundcheck, we returned to our bus to unwind before the show. We get a knock on the door and it is the Sound Tech from the venue along with the tour manager for the second act. We were riding so high of course we were expecting to get some compliments or future opportunities; however, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Because of our high energy “performance” they requested that we take the stage without Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Drums in fear that it would upstage the act to follow. Seriously?!?! After all of that lead-up and anticipation, we were being reduced to an acoustic act because we went too hard in soundcheck?!?! Unbelievable. The tour manager’s exact words were “I’m sorry guys. Next time you are in Nashville give me a call and I’ll make it up to you”.

So at the end of the day, the show went as well as it could, based on the instruments we were allowed to use. Our Bass player and Drummer sold merchandise during the performance and were glorified Roadies for the rest of the night. Lesson learned. Sometimes it might be a good idea to play your cards close to your chest during Sound Check. It will be a running joke with us forever that this must have been the greatest sound check of all time! On a positive note, the next time we performed at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville we were able to make contact with the tour manager who pulled the plug on us. He made good on his promise and bought us all a round of shots backstage after the show. All’s well that ends well!

Keep up with the band on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Upcoming Shows:
4/3 – Richmond Raceway – Richmond, VA
6/25 – Farm Brew Live – Manassas, VA
7/2 – BryceFest – Bayse, VA
7/15 – Louisa County Fair – Mineral, VA
9/9 – One Family Freedom Celebration – Lovettesville, VA
9/30 – Sipe Center Theater – Bridgewater, VA