Self-released

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A true songwriter, and a genuine craftsman, Texan Wesley Hanna creates music that fits well into the Lone Star honky-tonk barroom scene. With a hint of Clint Black in his voice and grit in his soul, he could have you dancing or relaxing, depending on which song you choose. He has an easy grace—I felt immediately tuned-in the moment I put on this latest recording, as if an old friend had popped in for a beer. The album’s eleven songs musically observe the influences of his lifetime and the Texas panhandle where he was raised: his Southeast Texas birthplace; the red clay dirt he grew up on; the downhome country music of his youth; the West Texas oilfields he gravitated to and the western heritage of Fort Worth, where he now calls home. This Texas-bar-ready programme—which features head-turning contributions from such musical legends as Lloyd Maines, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Cody Braun and Michael Durkan—shows Wesley Hanna to be a strong and versatile singer and songwriter. His most engaging effort, introducing a new complexity and depth to his catalogue, while retaining the warmth and personality of previous recordings, if this album is any indication, Wesley is skillfully ploughing a most fertile field.

That landscape unfurls through the lyrics of Gulf Prairie Blues. It’s both unsettling and somehow swinging all at once—and catchy as hell. Good interplay between lead and steel, with a minor euphoria that comes with his lyrical honesty—especially as it’s served in such a stylishly produced straight country arrangement. Life in Three Quarter Time is a beautiful, sad waltz, sung in the classic duet style with Courtney Patton, the perfect vocal foil to his smooth twang. A weary fiddle creates the pathos, as a distraught couple reflect on the trauma of a bad relationship, their taint on memory and familiar places, and how to make sense of it all as sad country songs flit across their troubled minds. This is heartfelt country of the first order.

The exploits of Thomas B. O’Hara, and his trip back to his Irish ancestral home, is buzzing with lively Celtic energy. Driven by Cody Braun’s infectious fiddle work, this toe-tapping blend of country and Irish folk influences, and a dynamic performance, combining the best of both worlds, is practically built for singing along, extra loud. He follows with the inspired Magnolia title-song in which he reflects on the small Texas town he grew up in and how the march of time has erased most of what made it such a special place, as he poses the question: ‘Where’s the country gone to now?’ This is very much a universal question, but somehow the personal way that Wesley states it in this heartfelt song, genuinely connects emotionally. In a most unusual move, he closes the album with his rendition of Magnolia (Charlie’s Version). This murder ballad, that the late Texas singer-songwriter Charlie Robison wrote and recorded for his GOOD TIMES 2004 album, is quite different to the rest of the album, and marks the first time that Wesley has recorded a cover song. He infuses his brand of country with a bluesy intensity. This album is a myriad of tight country sounds, not embellished by special effects, showboating, or soaring musicianship, but decorated by good vocals, with traditional country instrumentation.

https://wesleyhannamusic.com

August 2025