For over 30 years now, local band Hawkins Road has been serving up music, harmonies, good vibes and gigs.
What started out as a simple, for fun writing project between two friends at a local Denny’s has transformed into a longtime local favorite band that continues to play gigs and entertain throughout our area.
In 1992, Brian Conover and Jim Glenn got together to write some country tunes. At the time, the pair were both doing different things, playing with bands and such, and they got together to try out some writing with a focus on country music.
This was during the height of the pop-country era, and as they were playing around and seeing what they could come up with, a call for a gig looking for an all-country band came up. Conover and Glenn jumped at the chance, grabbed a few more musicians, and took the gig.
Now, decades later, the duo still continues to play together under a different name, Hawkins Cove. While maintaining their country roots, they have since morphed into more of a yacht rock, reggae and summertime music band as well.
While the genre, lineup and name have changed over the years, Hawkins Cove, along with Conover and Glenn, has at its core remained a local band that aims to please crowds and play the best they can at any gig.
The switch to more tropical and summertime tunes happened when they got a weekly gig at The Deck at the Golden Nugget. In the beginning, it was strictly country music. They did “Two-Stepping Tuesdays” before The Deck was even a thing. Back in 1992, they were playing inside Golden Nugget at the Diva’s Lounge, which eventually led to them still performing at The Deck today.
Now, over 20 summers later, they’re still playing at The Deck, this time for “Tropical Tuesdays.” The venue has evolved, and so has the band, but the switch from country to reggae and island tunes wasn’t challenging for the group at all.
“We’re all musicians who know music. We played weddings for years, so we know all kinds of music. We’re familiar with the styles and genres, so it was really about seeing what we already knew and adding some more tunes in to fill out the set,” Conover said.
“Everyone in the band reads music and knows the genres, so it’s definitely not a one-trick pony,” Glenn added.
Anyone who goes to see Hawkins Cove play can expect yacht rock, Jimmy Buffett, some reggae music and plenty of summertime favorites. Think good-time, summer vibes music that you can dance and jive to.
The duo shared that making their set list is all about reading the room. They want to throw in a little variety, please everyone and feel out the crowd.
“It’s one thing to play music and have people dance and have a good time, but for us, people may not always be dancing, but we know they’re always listening,” Glenn said. “Heads turn towards us and they truly watch us, which makes me feel very rewarded singing and playing with these guys each week.”
One of the special things about this group is the fact that it’s an entirely local band, made up of guys from here who know each other and know the music well. While they have recurring and rotating musicians who fill in for different gigs, the three core members are Brian Conover on keys and vocals, Jim Glenn on drums and vocals, and Rich Kurtz on bass and vocals.
The five-piece Hawkins Cove lineup for Tropical Tuesdays at The Deck also includes Brian Varhelyi on guitar and Chris Tumminia on saxophone.
The three core members are best known for their incredible harmonies together.
“When the three of us sing together, we almost breathe together,” Glenn shared. “Our stacked harmonies have become our trademark.”
After so many years playing together, Conover shared that the growth has come from continuing to stay on top of musical genres, adding new songs as they come out and knowing which ones will last.
“We like to say that we learned a new old song the other day,” Glenn said. “There are some songs that just go over well, and over the years, since we’ve been doing this long enough, you kind of know what works and what a crowd is into. You learn your audience, so there are nights where we don’t play certain songs, and there are nights where we do. That’s been a constant growth experience for the band.”
Despite being a part of other bands and projects through the years, both Conover and Glenn think of Hawkins Cove as something special.
“Just singing with the other guys is my favorite, the harmony,” Conover said. “I’ve played with lots of other musicians and bands, but with this group, it’s the vocal harmonies we sing together that make it more special.” That happens with no band, Glenn added.
Hawkins Cove currently plays every other Tuesday night at the Golden Nugget Deck. You can also check their website, hawkinsroad.com, for more gig updates.
Delaney Crawford is a dynamic entrepreneur with a passion for storytelling and digital marketing. Driven by a desire to empower local businesses, Delaney founded DLC Media, a company dedicated to helping businesses enhance their brand image and thrive online.
