Derek Hoke

Hoke looks to artists like Tom T. Hall and Roger Miller, known for their directness and simplicity, for inspiration. “I’m a big fan of getting to the point and saying what you mean” he explains, and that informs tracks like the blues based ballad “I’m Just a Man” with its swampy, humid texture and “She Never Loved Me” featuring wiry, sinewy funk pushing nervy, dreamy/nightmarish strings. You wouldn’t suspect it from his smooth vocals and unruffled demeanor, but Hoke’s current persona emerged from a self-professed “skateboard-punk rock kid” upbringing in Florence, South Carolina. His grandfather was a Grand Old Opry/Hee-Haw enthusiast and his father a Stones loving classic rock devotee. Hoke’s own “weird” CD collection extrapolated from those influences and added his own. So Radiohead and the Pixies sat alongside Clint Black and Garth Brooks. “It wasn’t to be cool. All of this is good music, it all has a place and it all speaks to me.” That diverse sense of musical inclusion began when he was a child, mimicking songs and riffs from TV and radio. It was kick-started after Hoke moved to Nashville in the late nineties, taking a job selling merchandise for Ricky Skaggs. For the next three years, Hoke visited every state, learning the finer points of performing from an established veteran. His role as founder/curator/weekly host of $2 Tuesdays at Nashville’s The 5 Spot club keeps him plugged into fresh talent, absorbing different methods of songwriting and execution.