Rider Hawkins

Rider Hawkins Birthed between the foothills of North Georgia and the Austin Texas Hill country, and now calling Australia Home. Rider Hawkins pushes a sound steeped in the traditions of Americana, blues, roots, and outlaw country to somewhere unexpected. His music is equal parts grit and groove – a cosmic country ride that blends soulful storytelling with free-spirited jams, keeping audiences guessing where the next twist in the road might lead. On stage, Rider is all about connection through storytelling. Whether fronting his full band – guitar, bass, drums, pedal steel, keys, harmonica, sax – or stripping it back to something raw and intimate, a Rider Hawkins show is more than just music. It’s an odyssey into the mind and the soul: toe-tapping dance jams, heady improvisations, and an unmistakable sense of love and belonging that lingers long after the last note. Fans of Lukas Nelson, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson or even the Grateful Dead will feel right at home in the world he creates. Hawkins has cut his teeth and carved out a name on stages reaching across NSW and Australia, from Sydney live staples like Shady Pines Saloon, Frankie’s Pizza and Jolene’s, to grassroots festivals including Nimbin Roots, Smoke in Broke, and Tamworth Country Music Fest. He’s shared bills with genre-topping names like Ash Grunwald, The Delta Riggs, Mojo Juju and Blake Dantier, and headlined BBQ and country festivals that celebrate the deep ties between music, community, and good times.