(Photo by Jimi Giannatti)

Sonoran desert born and bred. Tucson, Arizona is my home.

HONKYTONK COUNTRYBLUES: sad songs, bad songs, death songs, love songs, get-lost songs, come-back songs, weird songs- I sing them all, on lots of acoustic solo gigs, and with my twangfastic electric band.

I like a lot of songs, so I sing covers in addition to my own stuff. I like old honkytonk and hard country (Ernest Tubb, George Jones, Hank Thompson, Ray Price, Conway Twitty), old country blues (Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton), and outlaw stuff (Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson)- so, you’ll hear a sort of mashup of these styles, with me thrown in.

I’ve played all around the USA. The high point for me was when I sat in with the great Les Paul (October, 2005), in New York City. Oh yes I did. What a nice man he was! Others with whom I’ve shared stages or for whom I’ve provided support include Junior Brown, Kinky Friedman, Joe Ely, Al Perry, Skip Heller, Robbie Fulks, Tom Walbank, Scott Biram, Jesse Dayton, Split Livers, Al Foul, Gary Stockdale, Kevin Daly, Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band, and Calexico.

HANK TOPLESS BAND: full-service hardcore electric honkytonk countryblues featuring Loren Dircks on guitar, Dave Roads on bass, Freddy Parish on drums. Sadly for us, pedal steel man Jake Hacker has moved on to other endeavors- we wish him the best.

There have been some ass-kicking shows, including our sold-out tribute to Merle Haggard for Lonely Street Productions, and a blast opening for Junior Brown at the Rialto in Tucson, June 2016. Hire this band. We’ll split your audience up into little pieces.

New solo acoustic album “Big Black Heart” was released 2/10/17, on Lonesome Desert Records. The track “No Phoenix Blues” is featured on Zia Records’ 2017 compilation “This One Goes To Eleven!” Also, 2 songs featured on Lonesome Desert release “Tucson Country Blues Vol. 1.” Both Lonesome Desert releases are available now on iTunes. Thanks for all the CD orders, and for making the release party at Club Congress a smash hit…

ARTIST STATEMENT: Moody, mercurial, opinionated- don’t take it personally. It’s show business. That’s why they call it show BUSINESS, not show FRIENDS. It’s not as though I’m living off your taxes. I’ll be really friendly when you meet me, and I’ll make your audience smile. Just don’t fuck with me.

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Featured Video

Solo snippet of “Brokedown Country Man,” from Big Black Heart release party, 2/10/17.

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Featured Audio

The leadoff track from my 2017 release “Big Black Heart:”

Brokedown Country Man

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A couple of popular tracks from my 2011 release “It’s So December:”

Mockinbird Blues

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Beautiful Sleep

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Upcoming Events

Hank Topless

Date	City	Venue	Country
08/26/17	Tucson, AZ	The Coronet	United States
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 11:00am. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 402 E. 9th St.. Come brunch with “the Kris Kringle of outlaw country.” Solo, 11am-1pm.
08/27/17	Tucson, AZ	The Coronet	United States
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 11:00am. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 402 E. 9th St.. Mack ur brunch
08/31/17	Tucson, AZ	La Cocina	United States
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 6:00pm. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 201 N. Court Ave.. Supper / solo
09/26/17	Tucson, AZ	Tough Luck Club	United States
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 10:00pm. Age restrictions: No Minors. Address: 101 E. Pennington (basement). Solo, 10pm-12am.
09/30/17	Oracle, AZ	GLOW	United States
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 6:00pm. Age restrictions: All Ages. Solo. Showtime TBA.

Hank Topless Band

Date	City	Venue	Country
08/26/17	Tucson, AZ	Owls Club	United States
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 11:00pm. Age restrictions: No Minors. Address: 236 S. Scott. HTB hits Owls Club for the first time. Let’s meet up!

Some Kind Words

“I give you…Mr. Hank Topless and 2017’s “Big Black Heart.” Hank Topless is one of the realest #outlawcountry and honkytonk singers that I know of and is a bonafied (sic) storyteller thru & thru. He still plays mostly to small crowds, he has a crazy past (as do I, as many of you know), he has a great sense of humor and is a great guy in general. We have shared our mugshots with each other and laughed at ourselves. Poked friendly fun at one another. We have spoken at length about all kinds of crazy shit. Much like the legendary Billy Don Burns, he’s mostly unknown but has been on the under ground circuit for a long damn time. Hank is out of Tucson, AZ. He plays with an electrified band of badasses sometimes but this album is a solo release of fantastic, acoustic #Countryblues. I’m gonna switch this piece up and not do a song-by-song review like usual, but rather talk about this record as one, cohesive work, while introducing you to the fella behind these great songs. Topless writes and sings about all kinds of topics: death, murder, WEIRD shit, love, heartbreak, you name it. His guitar picking and playing is incredible with lots of dynamics. As far as vox goes, Hank has a heartfelt, throat-aching voice that brings #GeorgeJones and #WillieNelson to mind. Big Black Heart is a fantastic group of stripped down, lonesome songs and not one of them is filler. This guy keeps it real. He interacts with his fans. He’s a good dude. Just don’t fuck with him. I would not recommend it. Topless is a hardass. He is one of the most interesting characters in country music that I know of. A very deep man who shows much of his personal side on this album. Much of the music is folky in nature but blues is at the heart of it. An extremely underrated musician. “#BigBlackHeart” displays his talent as a storyteller just as much as a singer, writer, and guitarist. #HankTopless does what HE wants and he isn’t trying to get famous. His heartfelt music is worth checking out and I suggest anyone into country blues, #honkytonk, #RealCountryMusic, and #folkmusic to give this guy a listen, and a follow! 10/10 for this motherfucker!”- Wesley “The Gunslinger” Gray, Instagram post

“Hank Topless’ current album is a brilliant summation of American roots music…”- Joshua Levine, Tucson Weekly

“…a stunning debut disc from a singer who should have been doing this decades ago…I’d be very surprised if this isn’t one of my CD’s of the year.”- Paul Riley, Country Music People

“Singer/guitarist Hank Topless revels in reptile-booted, over-the-top country singer fashion…some of the best honky-tonk and classic country tunes ever penned and some damn-well written originals too…one of the sweetest country voices in Arizona, possibly the Southwest.”- Tucson Underground

“Topless plays classic country, with some blues around the edges, with skilled guitar playing and a rich voice that rings with a bit of Willie Nelson.”- Eric Swedlund, Zocalo

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Featured Audio

Brokedown Country Man

Mockinbird Blues

Beautiful Sleep

Upcoming Events

Hank Topless

Hank Topless Band

Some Kind Words

Need more Hank? Topless Social

EMAIL BLAST!!!