Derek Hoke - SOUTHERN MOON

Derek Hoke has crafted a collection of equally endearing and infectious songs for his long awaited 3rd release – Southern Moon. Released last April on Hoke's own Little Hollywood Records, Southern Moon mixes Country, Blues, Tex-Mex, Bluegrass, and Swing that is both powerful and effortless in it's delivery. Culminating from late night drives with Hoke singing into a voice recorder and then trying out the songs at his weekly event, $2 TUESDAYS, at The 5 Spot in East Nashville. Under the stage lights, and in front of Nashville's discerning audience, Southern Moon was born.

A self taught guitarist, singer, and composer – Hoke’s love of music started when he was very young. Having a keen ear for melody, acts as diverse as The Beatles, Tom Petty, and George Strait were getting his attention. Learning how to play guitar by ear, Hoke would spend hours in his room jamming along with his musical heroes. By age 16, Hoke was writing his own songs and playing in the local watering holes in his hometown of Florence, SC. Having also spent time in Greensboro, NC, and Atlanta, GA, it was a trip to Nashville in the late-nineties that changed Hoke's musical path forever. It was truly where he wanted to be. Not long after his move to Nashville, Hoke took a job with another one of his musical heroes, Ricky Skaggs, as his merchandise salesperson on the road. Over the next 3 years, Hoke saw every state in the union while he absorbed the music and showmanship of Ricky and his band. Hoke say's "It was like going to music school."

Continuing on their work with Goodbye Rock N Roll and Waiting All Night, Hoke has once again paired up with long-time friend and producer Dexter Green (Elizabeth Cook, Caitlin Rose, The Greenhornes). On keeping the same crew of musicians, but trying to craft something altogether different, Hoke explains: “Songs like “Trouble In Mind” were definitely part of the afterglow of Waiting All Night. "Dexter and I were pretty keen on not repeating ourselves so I took a different approach to most of the material. Mainly writing it on a ’68 Telecaster as opposed to an acoustic guitar. The White Album was a big influence on the change of styles from track to track”. Amongst the usual cast of characters on the record, Southern Moon sees some wonderful appearances by Mickey Raphael (harmonica), John Jarvis (piano), as well as vocal contributions from Elizabeth Cook, Chuck Mead, and indie-folk troubadour
Robyn Hitchcock.