Craft, Connection, and Community: The Music of Hans Williams

Sitting in his favorite chair – the same one he uses for songwriting — in his backyard in New Orleans, independent singer-songwriter Hans Williams seems at ease as he reflects on the past year. Recently, on October 18th, he put on a show with his band in Hanover, NH, and afterward, he introduced his bandmates to his Norwich community by pressing cider with his neighbors. It’s here that Williams expresses something poignant — the first of many things — when he says that the Upper Valley is “a unique, special community…you can tell someone that, but it takes growing up there…to get a sense of that.”

Hans Wiilliams at a recent Bragg Hill Cider
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Though the Norwich transplant now lives in New Orleans, this community mindset plays a significant role in Williams’ life. The musician shares a split-up multi-family house with a few other local musicians, including his producer, long-time collaborator, and once-Norwich resident Phin Choukas. This space has become an artist’s domain, brimming with creative energy as each works on their projects. Together, these musicians have created a small, tight-knit community, like the one Williams grew up with in Norwich. Together, they share wins and losses as they work toward success in a difficult industry.

Thankfully, Williams is in a good place. He lives comfortably off his earnings from streaming, partially due to his continued independence from music labels. He expresses that he is both grateful for the opportunity and lucky, knowing full well that some of his other colleagues must work all year to earn a meager salary on the road. However, this opportunity has allowed Williams to focus wholeheartedly on his art. Though Williams has a laid-back manner of speaking, when it comes to his craft, the musician expresses somber, spiritual, and ambitious reflections about his work: “There’s this gap between what I like to listen to and what I’m capable of making, and I really want to make something that’s going to last as far as my taste.” In other words, he wants to pen songs he never tires of playing.

Hans at Austin City Limits Festival: Austin, TX, Oct 12, 2025.

To do this, Williams revisits his favorite seat outside regularly. Often beginning with a chord progression or a series of notes, he jams on it and works out a melody line. As he nails that down, Williams sings words and phrases that come to his mind. Then, later, he digs deeper to see if these improvisational lyrics are a signal from his subconscious of something more affecting. Often, they become signals to process complex emotions, especially when it comes to traumatic events.

Hans playing at a Tuck’s Rock Dojo show ca: 2014

Lately, ’70s British folk music (Nick Drake, John Martyn, Fairport Convention, Pentangle) has become an inspiration for him in this regard. Although Williams expresses that extensive inspiration comes from his parents’ taste in music (Al Green, Steely Dan, Tracy Chapman), he has had British folk musician John Martyn’s 1973 release Solid Air in his solid rotation. Inspired by Martyn’s visit to a colleague, folk legend Nick Drake, the record became an accidental tribute to him when Drake would commit suicide via depressants a year later. Similarly, Williams processed and coped with the tragedy of being a first responder to his roommate’s suicide with his 2020 hit, “Body On My Shoulders.” Understandably, the event still lurks in Williams’ mind, and as time goes on, he finds himself returning to it in new ways. He says the event is still top of mind and may make its way into more of his work.

Not all Williams’ work is this dark. Earlier this year, he released the soul-funk adjacent “Hold My Love,” a tune about love, apologies, and making up. However, both this song and “Body On My Shoulder” establish a common theme in Williams’ work: his ability to speak to the human spirit. Williams is the first to say he does not know exactly what made him so successful on streaming, as Spotify’s algorithm works its magic outside his knowledge. However, it is clear Williams is tapping into something that resonates with listeners. Last year, when he toured his 2024 release More Than One Way Home, he was able to meet his audience, and through conversations, he saw firsthand how listeners had taken to heart the songs he had written. Sometimes, they were in ways he had not originally intended, but still, it seemed Williams spoke directly to their soul. It illustrates another example of the singer-songwriter’s focus on community, woven into both his work and his approach to his surrounding listenership.

When asked how growing up in Norwich influenced him, Williams expressed that Norwich’s community was vital in shaping who he is. He said that when it comes to Norwich, you become attuned to this way of thinking by living there. “You don’t really choose who your friends are. You kind of have to make nice with everyone.” One of his bandmates commented on it when they were recently pressing cider in Norwich, “I get why you love community so much, because you have such a strong one here.”

Williams’ Norwich upbringing, which stressed the importance of community, along with his serious approach to his craft and relatability, all most likely play a factor in his success. It’s clear the musician’s roots are carved deep in his work. Whatever project we see next from the successful singer-songwriter, it would not be unlikely to expect a little bit of Norwich to be present. Whether that element ends up front and personal or buried beneath the surface, listeners will have to wait and see.

Neighbors on Bragg Hill pressing cider