Hans Williams

One Liner: Yummy, vibey Noah Kahan-esque tunes
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but indie
Home: New Orleans (or maybe back home to Vermont?)

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 15
Day: Sunday
Weekend Two Only.

T-Mobile Stage at 12:45.

Thoughts:  "Eeeh! Sorry Hans, wrong guess. Would you like to go for Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change?"

My first thought when I saw the name wasn't actually Hans Gruber, it was that this was the guy who wrote the Star Wars and Indiana Jones theme songs.  But that was wrong.  I was conflating Hans Zimmer (Lion King, Dune, Gladiator, Pirates of the Carribean, Dark Knight trilogy, and many more) with John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, E.T. Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, and many more).  THEN, about halfway through his first song I had to look and make sure I hadn't accidentally played Noah Kahan instead of this fella.  

Dude is from Vermont.  Maybe everyone from Vermont sounds the same?  A bio I read said that he started making music in the third grade and would hand out CDs after school.  Which is hilarious.  I would have taken one and thrown it so hard at some kid waiting for his mom, I'd still be in trouble in middle age.  He got some tunes on Spotify and had more than a million streams before graduating high school.  He moved to New Orleans to attend Tulane and kept at it, writing his first hit about a student on his dorm floor who committed suicide.  Heavy shit.  Thankfully for my brain, that is not a top track.

No albums, just one 2024 EP called More Than One Way Home.  The hit from that one is also his second-most streamed track overall - "Skin" has 23.6 million streams.

Bro.  Is that the same field and house that Noah Kahan is standing in front of on his Stick Season album cover?  Vermont-ass weirdos.  Only one house in that state.  Anyway, very pleasant little indie bop right there.  Good vibe.

The bigger tune is a 2022 single called "All is Well," and you'll notice that he keeps the style rolling over time.  53.4 million streams.

Dude looks 14.  But another cute, little strummy nugget of pleasant indie.  Also, I want to go wander around that ferny little gully with him.  That looks nice.  Also, wonderful set of lyrics - the "if I get overwhelmed, I'm sure you'll never know, keep it to myself, all is well" bit of the chorus hits home.

I threw this on in the car just now, and the kiddo and wife agreed with my NK comparison.  But also, it helped to realize that some of the top songs are different for sure - like "93" has a drum machine beat going on in the background of the guitar.  I like the organic things better.

I'd go check this out - too bad it is weekend two only!