There is a new soloist in town—and he is folk-ing it up. Corey Hines debuted his Americana inspired music at The Sparetime on Wednesday night. Hines may be a new solo artist in town, but he certainly isn’t a newcomer to the Savannah music scene.
“It felt weird being on my own. I’d always played with a band. For the past four years, at least in Savannah I played with a band called Roland,” said Hines.
And in those four years, Roland frequently played with local bands Cusses and Triathalon as well as having played at Savannah Stopover.
“There’s this weird feeling when you’re by yourself because you don’t have that full sound,” Hines shared after playing the stage alone for the first time. “I’m so used to having a drummer, a bassist, and another guitar player. So even if you somehow mess up a little bit, it kind of gets drowned out and it can still be beautiful. But when you’re playing alone, it becomes so intimate and personal with the audience that even the slightest variance in your voice or missed note is noticed.”
But what was noticed during Hines’ performance Wednesday night wasn’t musical mishaps. What could be heard was the crescendo of an acoustic guitar merging with the wails of a harmonica and the stomping of a boot on the bar floor—that’s the Americana way.
Hines’ covers of Bob Dylan and John Prine had the audience clapping and singin’ along. This folk inspired music isn’t the indie rock sound that came from Roland, and it doesn’t have to be. It is purely Hines.“This is who I am as a musician. I‘ve always considered myself a folk artist—even from my beginning days. But, I’ve always sort of masked that under playing in bands because it’s always been fun to play house parties and bars and sort of get rowdy,” explains Hines.
“But, I’m coming to a point when making my music is becoming a more mature process. I’ve always wanted to take this route. I’m just happy to actually get started.”
