We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Parker Hastings a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Parker, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I began playing guitar at the age of six, and it wasn’t until around the age of 12 when I first met Tommy Emmanuel and got the opportunity to perform with him, that I was struck by the bug and knew from just that experience alone that I wanted to pursue music on a professional level. After having the opportunity to perform with him, I started to gain a little bit of my own following and was being booked to perform for events, concerts, charities, and anything in between. With that I started traveling on the weekends with my parents to play these gigs, and could only really do them on the weekends because I was still in school! Really I’d say I’ve been a professional musician since that time, because I’ve been fortunate to earn a small income while being a student. This job doesn’t feel like work to me!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’m from central Kentucky, where there is a rich heritage of bluegrass, folk, and Appalachian music, but in the western part of Kentucky was where thumbpicking, or “Travis style” playing originated, which is the style I’m most influenced by today in my playing and writing. I love all kinds of music and have played all genres of music growing up, whether it was blues, rock, jazz, country, Western swing, bluegrass, you name it! I believe that because I am influenced by so many different kinds of music, that has allowed me to have my own unique sound shine through in my original music.
Aside of the musical gift I’ve been blessed with, I have a true passion for performing in front of an audience and creating a connection between myself and the listener. I’ve played many times where I might just be background music, and those type of gigs are important too, but if I get the chance to get on a stage and tell stories, make people laugh, cry, and remember how they felt when they saw my show… that’s what makes me want to do this forever!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an artist is knowing that people appreciate and enjoy what you do. Whenever I play somewhere and someone comes up to me afterwards and tells me a story about how a certain song or something I did brought back a memory for them, is rewarding for me. I was told a long time ago that people may not always remember what you say or what you do, but they WILL remember how you made them feel. That has stuck with me ever since I was a kid, and continues to be top of mind every time I get in front of a group of people.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building an audience on social media is something I’m still continuing to work on and have a long way to go yet, but I have found more success in that area when I have consistent content being released on those platforms, and using tags, encouraging people to like, comment, and share has helped spread the word around about what I do, thus helping me get new followers and grow my audience on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://parkerhastingsmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkerhastings/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkerhastingsmusic/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parker-hastings-36753817a
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/c/ParkerHastings
Image Credits
Kathy Wade Quinn Miller