The Magic of Music

Meet Bolivia native Samuel Hatch, singer/songwriter and lead singer of The Hatch Brothers.

Samuel Hatch is a vibrant young musician with a bright future ahead of him. After a few moments of speaking to him, it’s clear that he is also an old soul.

Rooted from a small farm in Bolivia, Hatch grew up in a musical family. His father is classically trained on the guitar, and growing up Hatch remembers listening to him play eclectic songs on the six strings. His grandmother was also a strong musical influence in his life. Watching her play the piano in Town Creek Christian Church stirred something in him, and that quaint little church off Highway 17 would become not just a family tradition but also the first step in hatching his musical plan.

You could say that his grandmother was his muse at an early age, which carried well into his elder years. Unfortunately, throughout time, he had to witness his grandmother’s mental ability deteriorate due to Alzheimer’s disease. He watched her return again and again to the foundation that has always been true to her, the piano, playing songs and hymns she had learned many years ago. It seemed the only thing the disease had not conquered was her connection to music and the ability to play from memory.

This spoke to the artist in Hatch. “Music is magic,” he says.

Being a career musician was not always in the plans. Hatch actually thought at one point he would study to be an anesthesiologist, but following his heart he became a musician, songwriter, composer, teacher, solo performer and member of the successful band, The Hatch Brothers.

During his time in school Hatch participated in worship band, choir, theater and anything surrounding his passion for music and composing. He furthered his education at Campbell University, receiving a degree in voice composition and theory.

With a natural ear, good musical genetics, a solid education and a love for music, Hatch hit the ground running in both performing and songwriting, finding inspiration from various musicians. He professes his awe of Freddie Mercury from the band Queen, mainly for his bravado and stage presence. Another influence is Jeff Buckley, the American songwriter known for his majestic song “Hallelujah;” Hatch describes him as avant garde and as having an amazing range of vocals. Somewhere between those two icons is Kurt Cobain, who Hatch admires for being an innovative creator and for the raw emotion in his lyrics.

Hatch performs solo around town in a one-man-band act known as the One Man Sam. You can catch him performing at spots such as Grand Cru, Smoke on the Water, Wrightsville Beach Brewery, Pilot House and others.

In The Hatch Brothers, Hatch leads in vocals and composes original music and lyrics. His brother, Paul Hatch, rocks out the bass and ukulele, and their friend Phil Milligan performs on the drums. Together they form a perfect mix of rock, folk, pop, blues and gospel music, blending different genres and backgrounds to create their own unique sound. They perform original songs as well as provide their own renditions of covers. You can catch The Hatch Brothers at the Blockade Runner in Wrightsville Beach, Sundogz in Oak Island, the Oak Island Elks Lodge and Reggies 42nd Street Tavern in Wilmington.

Hatch is a dynamic musician who uses abilities not only to do gigging but also to teach others.

At Port City Conservatory of Music, he teaches people ages 5 to 95 years old how to play instruments ranging from guitar to piano to ukulele, whether it’s their first lesson or they are brushing up on a skill, learning to write music or training their voice. He also teaches a very popular songwriting class at Port City Conservatory of Music.

“When I started up the songwriting class it filled instantly in the first day of promotion!” he says. “It’s just a fun class that teaches people how to write and refine their very own song.”
Hatch describes his future plans as being filled with writing and composing music, putting his heart into an album that took his band two long years to achieve, making sure every note, every key, every lyric is perfect before presenting it to their fans.

The Hatch Brothers album will be coming out later this year. Be on the lookout for it on Spotify and see their Facebook page for updates.

See The Hatch Brothers
Follow Samuel Hatch on Facebook.com/TheOneManSam or Instagram at the_one_man_sam or go to samhatchmusic.com.
Follow The Hatch Brothers on Facebook and Instagram, both thehatchbrothersofficial, or go to thehatchbrothers.com. There you’ll find info about future gigs plus a variety of videos from past shows, photos of the band and more.

Photography by Matt McGraw