Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
Surrounded by the granite Sierra Nevada mountains, Terry Hanck rocked the Village at Squaw Valley during the weekly Bluesdays show on Aug. 11.
Wearing a flashy blue, long-sleeved shirt and pointed leather shoes, the silver-haired artist often looked up at the landscape and into the eyes of an appreciative audience. He seemed enjoy the moment, breathing it in before blowing it back out through his tenor saxophone and singing onstage with a voice as golden as an Olympic champion on a podium.
Hanck didn’t sound like a 70-year-old playing the final show of a six-week California run, and the crowd didn’t notice something about the consummate entertainer’s performance. The reed in his horn was affected by the dryness in the air and cool mountain weather.
“I was really having a rough time that last set,” Hanck said. “I made it work but it was hard work. The crowd gave me the energy and I was just giving it back.”
The guitarheads in the crowd were transfixed by Johnny Soubrand’s work on the Telecaster. Soubrand is the latest guitar star to play in Hanck’s band, which has included Kid Andersen and Mighty Mike Shermer. Behind the drum kit, Butch Cousins celebrated his birthday by setting the rhythm with bassist Tim Wagar.
Hanck called the Squaw Valley show the highlight of his summer tour.
Up next will be the Aug. 21 Girne Blues Festival in Cyprus on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Hanck said the festival is in the Turkish part of the territory, west of Syria. He will be joined by Delta Groove record label mates Andy T. and Nick Nixon and by John Primer, Eden Brent and Karen Lovely.
On Wednesday, Hanck returns to his South Florida home for the first time in a month and one-half. After the Cyprus trip, he returns in the fall to Northern California, where he probably has his largest fan base. In addition to several shows, he and Kid Andersen will mix live recordings taken at the Sacramento Cal Expo. It will be Hanck’s fifth album produced by Andersen, who moved from Norway to the United States to join Hanck’s band.
To see the upcoming schedule for the Terry Hanck Band, click HERE
- Bluesdays at Squaw Valley
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. each Tuesday
Aug. 18: The Stone Foxes
Aug. 25: The Blues Monsters
Sept. 1: Carolyn Wonderland
Sept. 8: Delta Wires
The Tram at Squaw Valley, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. 
Terry Hanck performs for the second-straight year at Squaw Valley’s Bluesdays. 
Butch Cousins performs on his birthday. 
Johnny Soubrand 
Joe Roemer and other guitar fans watch Johnny Soubrand work
One Response
I drove up from Auburn to see Terry Hanck. Well worth the drive. People were cool, the venue was beautiful. The band kicked ass. I’ll be back!