Singer-guitarist Doug Hoekstra is truly an independent artist:   musically, spiritually and commercially.  His work ethic is inspiring, his songcraft is superb, and his lyrics are compelling and sly.  He's not your typical "acoustic singer-songwriter" fella.

Hoekstra grew up in suburban Chicago listening to the Beatles, Dylan, and Stevie Wonder records and playing in garage-rock bands as a teenager.  Between 1989 and 1991, he was a member of the Chicago-based group Bucket No. 6.  By the mid-'90s, he had drifted from traditional rock to more of a "folk" sound.   He relocated to Nashville and released his first solo record When the Tubes Begin to Glow in '94.  His second album, 1996's Rickety Stairs, earned a Nashville Music Award nomination for "Best Folk Album."  Make Me Believe, his third release, came in 1999.

Hoekstra's latest record, Around the Margins came out in March on the Dutch label Inbetweens. According to Hoekstra, the beautifully arranged, low-key 15-song collection is "a singer-songwriter deal, but decidedly different with touches of gospel and loops and avant-garde sax and all sorts of surprises."  The work fits nicely next to that of Johnny Dowd, Donovan, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Daniel Lanois and Lou Reed.

Hoekstra is currently on a small tour across the Southeast.  He's already set to release a new album this winter, tentatively titled The Past is Never Past, a disc he calls an "alternative look at an alternative record."

The Bean'ry is located at 510-A Thomas Street in downtown Athens.   Call 706-425-9911 for more information.  Music starts at 8 p.m. (BL)

Return to Press