Wayne the Train Hancock w/Patrick Sweany: at Exit/In (Nashville, TN) Sat. February 16, 2013

Wayne the Train Hancock w/Patrick Sweany

Pop/Rock

Nashville Scene Critic's Pick …

Texas troubadour Wayne Hancock inhabits traditional country styles as naturally as his own skin. For nearly two decades, Hancock has been reminding the world that Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills were rockers — before the rest of the world knew what rocking was. Hancock’s formula has varied little across the eight albums he’s made with producer Lloyd Maines (the latest, Ride, comes out Feb. 25), but why fool with something that works? Hancock never settles for a stale, pitch-perfect imitation, drawing in a little of everything from early rock ’n’ roll to big-band swing, and he tops it off with his own drawl. Joining him tonight is Patrick Sweany, who brought gritty Rust Belt blues-rock and soul with him when he moved to Nashville from Ohio

—STEPHEN TRAGESER