We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tyson Hanes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tyson, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I would say that I’ve known from a very young that I wanted a career path that was not a Monday to Friday 9-5 job. From my first memories, I’ve always had dreams of being in the spotlight. It was typically having to do with sports, until my mid teen years though. I remember as a young kid, I wanted to be a Nascar driver, then a professional basketball player (until I realized my height was going to pose a major problem in that career haha). Then as I got into my pre-teen years, I finally got a dirtbike like I had always wanted. My new dream at that point was to become a professional motocross racer. I was actually pretty dang good at it too, but we didn’t have the money or means necessary to take it to the professional level and I had too many previous injuries to sustain racing for that long. Realizing that dream was not going to become a reality, I fell into the love for singing and playing guitar in high school. That love quickly grew and eventually became my career where I perform as a full time singer to this day. I found out that while on stage, I am able to perform at a much higher energy level than most, which helps feed my need for adrenaline like the previous sports had.

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 was raised with the radio on basically 24/7. At home, in the car, and anywhere we went! We would always have a bunch of “greatest hits” cassette tapes in the car from artists like Garth Brooks, CCR, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, etc. Then we would come home and what music videos on TV. I always enjoyed singing along, but never knew I’d be any good at it until I opted for guitar class in high school. It was there that the teacher recognized that I may have a talent for singing/performing. I began singing in the classroom, and even sneak into some bars to sing a song or two with local bands. People really noticed though, when I sang The River by Garth Brooks at my highs cool graduation. That was kind of a turning point where I loved the way it felt being on stage and the gratification I got from it. I put together a local band where we had success in the region, but knowing in my end goal was to be in Nashville. I went down to Nashville by myself at 19 years old to get my feet wet before returning permanently at age 23. Since then I have been performing full time in Nashville, across the country and even for the military in countries overseas.
What I think sets me apart in this business is my showmanship. While I do enjoy singing, songwriting and playing guitar. My passion is utilizing my natural energy and need for adrenaline to make every show a high energy performance while getting the crowd engaged throughout. I put my body through the wringer at all the shows I play and I really think the audience appreciates it!
The thing I am most proud of at this point in my career, is not only succeeding in making my passion into a career and doing it as a full time living for 11 years now, but also being able to create a great home and family balance. Being a musician is a very tough career to begin with, but it gets extremely hard when you mix it with keeping healthy family relationship.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In todays music world, it’s all about online. Social media followers, views, likes and comments. I sure wish it wasn’t that way because I don’t believe raw talent is at the forefront anymore. It’s just become a world of who can be the best at learning online algorithms. That being said, the best thing fans, friends or society in general can do to support artists is to follow them on social media, share content that the artist posts and buy merch!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are so many rewarding aspects of my work! Seeing peoples faces light up during a show, knowing that I can change somebody’s day with music and take them out of reality for a while, hearing how seeing a single performance from me can make someones entire vacation and hearing the stories about how my original songs can affect peoples lives. Those are all SO rewarding every single time! However, I believe the most rewarding thing I’ve got to experience at this point is providing entertainment for our soldiers overseas. Having such a unique opportunity has given me a newfound appreciation for what they do for our country! Seeing them not only sacrifice possibly their lives, but also their families is something I do not take lightly. Hearing some of their stories will bring you to tears. So to see the way my music can provide them with a piece of home, even if just for a little bit, is the most rewarding thing I can imagine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tysonhanesmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tysonhanesmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TysonHanesMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8sUzPtnIayWs8GuqXNzG0Q
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Pw57UbzlYo3loMlBudhWC?si=KOhEm7OfSeuSD3DvYaebZA