Spencer Hatcher EP Review:

November 7th 2025

Nikki Blackburn

Backstage with: Spencer Hatcher

If you love country music and you aren’t already listening to Spencer Hatcher, you’re truly missing out on one of the genre’s most exciting emerging artists. Hailing from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Hatcher started out playing in his family’s bluegrass band before transitioning to traditional country music and starting his own band in 2020 alongside his brother, Connor, a talented musician in his own right. Spencer’s bluegrass roots remain a constant presence and foundation in his music, particularly in his live shows, and in a landscape where the genre is becoming increasingly diverse, Hatcher is the epitome of the phrase ‘keeping it country.’

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Taking inspiration from some of his own musical idols – not limited to, but including the likes of legendary artists such as Keith Whitley, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley – Hatcher is a traditional artist with a contemporary twist. While you can feel the echoes of his idols in the foundations of his own music, Spencer Hatcher is no imitator: he’s a fresh and exciting artist who’s forging his own path; speaking to and resonating with a contemporary audience all the while maintaining the ’sound’ of the music that he himself grew up loving. Think plenty of fiddle, banjo and pedal steel.

And today, Hatcher releases his debut EP: ‘Honky Tonk Hideaway,’ which – aside from being an excellent showcase of his artistry – is also a damn good time. Five of the six songs have already been available for streaming - the most recent being July’s ‘When She Calls Me Cowboy’ – and given the fact that Spencer has already amassed over 60 million streams, people are definitely listening.

Press Image - Photo credit The Riker Brothers.jpg

Rounding out the EP is brand new song, and title track ‘Honky Tonk Hideaway,’ which Spencer described as “Boot Scootin’ Boogie but brand new.” He isn’t wrong – the song is fun, fast-paced and feel-good, and the best way to open an EP that feels, much like the bar in the song, like the perfect escape.

Next up is the above-mentioned ‘When She Calls Me Cowboy,’ a slower, more seductive change of pace that focuses on the quieter moments between lovers behind closed doors. This was Spencer’s first single to ever impact country radio just earlier this week and has already made significant impact as a Top 10 Most-Added Song at U.S. Country Radio according to Mediabase. Other notable stats reflecting the impact Hatcher is making on the country music landscape is his very first music video – also for ‘When She Calls Me Cowboy,’ climbed to #3 on Taste of Country’s ‘Top 10 Video Countdown’ and still remains in the top 5 after three weeks. An achievement made even sweeter given that is a fan-voted chart.

My personal favourite – sucker for a good, sad song that I am - is the straight-up country heartbreak balled ‘The Way She Lies,’ which is not only my favourite song of Spencer’s so far, but one of my overall favourite songs of 2025. ‘On the Inside’ is another uptempo toe-tapper showcasing a defiance to let a heartbreak get in the way of a good time and ‘Has Anybody Ever’ is a classic country love song, which also acts as the perfect counter to ‘The Way She Lies,’ because you can’t have the heartbreak without first having the epic love song.

Closing out the EP is perhaps Hatcher’s most controversial song yet – ‘Cold Beer and Common Sense’ - which is kind of ironic because for anyone who’s actually listened to the song already, its messaging should be the least controversial thing in the world: the notion of agreeing to disagree in favour of treating people with decency and respect.

“We need more people loving people, how ‘bout giving that a try? We need more meeting in the middle when we don’t see eye to eye. We got different wrongs, different rights, different sides of the fence. The more I see, the more I believe the world needs more cold beer and common sense.”

Perhaps it’s a bold statement to be making as an American country music artist - particularly now? Or maybe it’s exactly the kind of song that the world needs to be hearing right now to remind people that, more often than not, there are so many more similarities to unite us than differences to divide us.

Speaking of the EP, Hatcher says: “This EP represents the country music I want to make and the country music my fans tell me they want to hear. I grew up loving artists like Johnny Cash, Keith Whitley and Elvis, and my hope is that now my own songs will make people feel as good as my heroes’ songs made me feel.”

To that last point, as someone who’s been enjoying Spencer’s music for a year or so already, I can safely say: “mission accomplished”