By Stacy Keith, Director
I was lucky enough to spend a few minutes with award winning jazz guitarist, songwriter, educator and producer Adam Hawley who will be performing at the Cactus Theater on February 20, 2025.
Hawley had an early introduction to music and began playing piano at 8 years old and guitar soon after at 9. His touring career began early as well, touring in a blue grass band that his guitar teacher connected him with when he was only 12 years old. It was high school when he discovered jazz. He was given a mixed tape (a cassette with lots of different songs for those who may not know about these) and jazz guitarist George Benson was on it. Hawley was hooked and soon sought out and discovered more jazz greats including Wes Montgomery.
Hawley loved music but was not from a musical family. However, his parents always had music in their home and Hawley spent much time listening to vinyl’s and became captivated by the guitar. Though his parents were not musicians themselves, they encouraged him in his pursuit of it and drove countless miles to lessons and recitals to nurture his interest and talent.
When it was time to choose a college, he selected University of Southern California in downtown Los Angeles. L.A. made sense for a young musician from Oregon, and it was a great music city. L.A. became his home base as he studied music at the university and 22 years later, he still calls the City of Angels home.
Like for many young people, college had an incredible and lasting impact on him. He gigged around town and performed a lot and the chair of Studio/Jazz guitar department at the time at USC, Richard Smith, saw Hawley perform and knew he had incredible potential. Smith had some records out and encouraged Hawley in his pursuit of jazz and opened doors for him. In 2008, Hawley was working on his master’s degree and a connection to Pat Kelley (another jazz guitarist) created a pathway for touring on an international level. The rest, as they say, is a bit of history.
Hawley, like many artists, has more influences than he can count and was hesitant when limited to just a few. He indulged me by sharing that George Benson, Wes Montgomery, David Sanborn and Joe Pass were a few key musical inspirations. He’s played with some incredible bands and performers including Manhattan Transfer, Natalie Cole, Jennifer Lopez and the Back Street Boys to name a few.
For musicians to get music out, they typically must record, in addition to touring, it is the key to gaining a broader audience. Hawley began songwriting during college and began working on his debut album which was ready to release in 2015 to great response. He received 3 offers from record labels and chose Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire fame to produce the record. A song Hawley wrote during college, 35th Street, rose to #1 on Billboard and stayed there for 5 weeks in 2016. He was off like a rocket and still is. Hawley founded his own record label MBF entertainment after his first 2 albums and toured worldwide. To put his work ethic into words is impossible, let’s just illustrate it instead – he did 80 shows in 2024.
Hawley works hard, he’s disciplined and deliberate with his work. He is very goal oriented with an objective to create a single every 6 months and an album every 2 years. He writes 50-70 songs every 2 years with the goal of selecting 10 great songs from them. He writes constantly for himself as well as other artists and spends a lot of time in his studio.
My final question was to offer a piece of advice that he wished he had received when he started. He replied, “Give 110% – don’t take any days off. Always put your best foot forward, you never know who’s in the audience.”
Well, we know who will be in the audience at the Cactus Theater when Lubbock welcomes his tour on February 20. Patrons who love great music and the intimate setting only the Cactus can provide. We can’t wait to welcome Hawley to Lubbock and share with him the magic that makes Lubbock such a unique Texas Music Friendly Community. Grab your tickets before they’re gone and check out Hawley’s music too at his website. Tickets for the February 20 show may be purchased at Cactus Theater.
**Photo credit Dan Boissy
