Meet J Hawkins of Traverse city

Today we’d like to introduce you to J Hawkins.

Hi J, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been playing in the area for about 20 years mostly as a solo acoustic artist until about 7 years ago. I was asked to join and front a band that became StoneHengz. When Covid hit we decided to go into the studio and record an original record and worked with Jabo Bihlman as our producer. We were fortunate to have Kenny Olson (formerly of Kid Rock’s band) join us for a song on the record. I ended up meeting my wife Danielle in the process of recording after seeing her sing at a festival, I asked her to sing on the record. We ended up dating and she was added to the band I proposed on the stage to her at Encore 201 during one our shows. In 2022 I decided to go out on my own again and formed a new band we then recorded Up from the Ashes, again with Jabo as our producer. The record has done very well for an independent release nearing 125,000 in sales. We have been truly blessed to have the support of fans and followers, the venues (The Venue Event Center, Kilkenny’s Irish Pub, Union Street Station, Thirsty Fish, etc.) This has allowed me to try and push our band farther and farther south to try and expand our following into new markets. I am extremely grateful for all of the support of everyone and excited for the future, for sure!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There will always be struggles, for the most part we stay the course work hard to produce the best show and original songs we can. As an original band, there is always a bit of trying to win the crowd over to hear your songs, when they would rather hear songs they know. For the most part we have been well received and we like to interact with those people after shows to establish lasting relationships. It always means the world when we see return audience members, and folks wearing our T shirts to shows. We really do feel blessed.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Original singer/songwriter. I am proud of the way our original songs are received and that we put on a show that people keep coming out and supporting us. We want everyone to walk away from a show with a piece of us, with something to remember us by. I would probably classify it as a southern rock, Americana, sound. I grew up listening to about everything, from motown and soul to Hank Williams Sr. and Jr. There are definitely elements from those influences i draw from when writing, in addition to my military life, my travels, and just overall experiences and relationships.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Come to shows! support live music and all of the talented artists there are out there! We like to work with about every band we can, write as much as we can. Kenny Olson played with me in the band StoneHengz on a song called Let’s Have a Drink to this, which was a huge honor to me. Our producer Jabo Bihlman played a few solos on that record. The new band I was blessed to collaborate with Mike Youker on lead guitar, Dale Dumbrille (Bass), Damien Allen (Bass), Sean O’Brien (Drums), Billy Policastro (Piano), Erinn Smith (guitar), and of course my wife Danielle (vocals) on the Up From the Ashes record. Great group of musicians and friends. The upcoming record Danielle and I are teaming up with my friend and former drummer Sterling Hill on drums, Matt Sharp on guitar, and Jim Smith on bass. Billy will be back on keys as well and we have a pretty good idea on direction we are taking with the new songs and will have a slightly different sound than Up from the Ashes, but we are excited about these new songs and those who have heard them hear why. I think our fans and followers will love them! We are heading to Kenny’s new studio in Detroit in a couple weeks to record the record and prepping for its release on October 18th, 2025 at The Venue Event Center in Cadillac, Michigan. During that show we are also recording a live record, bringing a lot of surprise guests to play, and our friends The Boardman River Band will be opening. It is going to be a great time!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thejhawkinsband.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejhawkinsband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejhawkinsband4748