Out of the 43 artists I interviewed at CRS this year, one who clearly stood out to me was Spencer Hatcher. Because he has a bluegrass background, a traditional country sound, and spades of charisma, I knew Hatcher was one to keep an eye on. With his second EP, Hot Weather, Cold Beer, just being released, it was the perfect time to do a full interview with the rising entertainer.
Hailing from Virginia's beautiful Shenandoah Valley, Spencer Hatcher comes from a musical family. His mother and grandmother played piano, his dad played guitar, and his brother, Connor, currently plays bass guitar in his band. Everyone sang in church. Hatcher learned the mandolin at age eight but started singing at age four. By the time he turned 12, he started playing the banjo, "the instrument I really wanted to learn." They started a family band. Hatcher’s older brother played guitar and mandolin; his younger brother picked up the bass; and his dad played the guitar.
Hatcher recalled, "We all learned about singing. We learned about being in front of audiences at a very early age. And we started playing everywhere we could." They were a bluegrass band called The Hatcher Boys and would play a different church every Sunday in addition to fairs, festivals, and lawn parties.
It was when Hatcher was in college at East Tennessee State University that he ventured out as a solo artist and became more interested in country music.
Hatcher shared, “I was four and a half hours away from home, and I didn't know anybody. So started becoming independent there. And I was in a couple of different bands while I was in college. And then once I graduated in December of 2019, I was planning to hang around Johnson City for a little while in East Tennessee, but COVID hit. I decided, ‘Well, I might move back home.’”
While the Hatcher Boys played mostly bluegrass, Hatcher taught himself to play country music in college and learned songs by legends like George Jones, Keith Whitley, and Hank Jr. When he got home, he did what many did during COVID and posted videos of himself singing online. “The fifth video that I ever posted in my entire life did over 1.5 million views overnight, and that was the start of the career,” he recalled.
Hatcher taught himself to write songs in college, and after his viral moment in 2020, he self-booked over 500 shows in four years.
"We were a full-blown touring band. I mean, we were playing over 150 shows a year at that point," he stated. Finally, he gained the attention of Nashville. They knew he could sing, but when he did a 90-minute set with his band for record executives, they saw his potential, and Stone Country Records (part of the Quartz Hill Music Group) signed him on the spot.
In 2025, Hatcher released his first EP with the label, Honky Tonk Hideaway, which produced the title-track hit "Honky Tonk Hideaway," where all the lonely go when they don't want to go home. If that song doesn't make you want to go line dancing, you must not have a pulse.
But it was his breakout hit, "When She Calls Me Cowboy," that put Hatcher firmly on the traditional country landscape. Listening to this glorious song makes me wonder how this could possibly be from 2025 and not 1995 or earlier. At the beginning of 2026, it was his first song ever to be sent to country radio and became one of the top eight most-added songs at the time.
Now, in 2026, Hatcher has released his second EP, Hot Weather, Cold Beer, which captures everything fans love about summertime country music: good friends, good times, and living in the moment. Jason Sellers, Ilya Toshinskiy, and Mickey Jack Cones produced it. The newly recorded title track serves as the project's focus track, giving listeners a fresh anthem destined for playlists, tailgates, and concert sing-alongs throughout the summer.
Hatcher wrote "Hot Weather, Cold Beer" alongside his brother Conner, Bill Whyte, and Steve Dean; the tune was completed in one day. It was a hot day when they wrote it. Somebody said, "There's nothing that goes better with hot weather than cold beer." Two hours later, the song was finished.
Because "Honky Tonk Hideaway" is hugely popular in his live shows, he included it again on his 2nd EP. And while Hatcher is known for his high-octane songs and shows, he included a more subdued song on the EP, "Any Other Girl," that hits you the way a classic George Jones song might. "It's another sad song, she's gone, Saturday night," the song says.
But he gets back to boot scootin' with the songs "Turn This Town (Into A Honky Tonk)" and "Love Button," two tunes you will have on repeat as soon as you hear them. The Hot Weather, Cold Beer EP is the soundtrack you will want to play all summer long.
Hatcher just finished opening a show for Craig Morgan and his buddy, Zach Top, and continues to play shows and festivals opening for country icons like the Gatlin Brothers, Josh Turner, Ashley Cooke, Clay Walker, Neil McCoy, and many more. It doesn't matter how great digital music has become; nothing beats a live show, and Spencer Hatcher is one you won't want to miss.
"There is nowhere on earth that I am happier than on stage in front of a good audience," he exclaimed.
With Hot Weather, Cold Beer arriving ahead of one of his busiest touring seasons yet, Hatcher is poised to make this summer his biggest one to date.
For a full list of Spencer Hatcher tour dates, visit: www.spencerhatchermusic.com/pages/tour.
You can follow Spencer Hatcher on his website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and TikTok.
Hot Weather, Cold Beer EP - Official Track Listing:
1. Hot Weather, Cold Beer (Spencer Hatcher, Connor Hatcher, Bill Whyte, Steve Dean)
2. Honky Tonk Hideaway (Jeffery Steele, Brice Long)
3. Any Other Girl (Jimmy Yeary, Bart Butler, Will Bundy)
4. Turn This Town (Into A Honky Tonk) (Spencer Hatcher, Connor Hatcher, Tim Owens, Nathan Woodard)
5. Love Button (David Lee Murphy, Shane Minor, Brice Long)
