Quaker City Night Hawks Drummer Apologizes for AmericanaFest Incident
Drummer Aaron Haynes of the Ft. Worth-based Quaker City Night Hawks offered a lengthy apology early Tuesday afternoon (9-17) for his conduct at AmericanaFest last week where he berated the sound man working one of the band’s shows, and eventually punched and shoved employees of the venue, and threw parts of his drum set across the stage.
“I am embarrassed and disgusted by my actions last week at Basement East. I want to apologize to the staff, production team, management, and ownership of the venue for my actions—and to AmericanaFest for allowing this to happen during an event they bring us every year,” Aaron Haynes said. “I conducted myself entirely inappropriately, and acted out in the absolute worse way possible. I also feel an apology is due to the music community I am a part of in Nashville, and to my brothers in Quaker City Night Hawks—this in no way represents how we handle ourselves in any capacity.”
After the Americana Music Awards last Wednesday night (9-12), Paul Cauthen hosted his “Big Velvet Revue” showcase at the Basement East in Nashville as part of the week’s AmericanaFest festivities, with Randy Houser, Chris Shiflett, Jack Ingram, Aubrie Sellers, the Quaker City Nighthawks, and others scheduled to perform. Things turned ugly when the sound guy working the room was unable to get the monitors for the Ft. Worth-based band operating properly.
The Quaker City Night Hawks were the final band to perform at the showcase, and were scheduled to start at 1:20 am. After the incident, AmericanaFest canceled the Quaker City Night Hawks official showcase the next day, slotting Elizabeth Cook to fill in. Aaron Haynes also plays with The Texas Gentlemen, as well as with Brandy Zdan. Those who are close to Haynes said the behavior was completely out of character for him. An unplugged amplifier is what has been rumored as the reason the stage monitors weren’t working for the band.
“I am taking this event as a learning experience, and to seek professional counseling and treatment for my mental and physical health,” Aaron Haynes continues. “I realize I need to conduct myself in a more professional manner, and have taken the steps with the ownership and management at Basement East, personally, to make this right.”
The Quaker City Night Hawks released a new album called QCNH this year. Their next scheduled tour dates are in late October in Europe.
September 17, 2019 @ 12:12 pm
He acted like an asshole, realized his mistake and apologized. Not a lot of people do that these days. Good for him.
September 17, 2019 @ 1:19 pm
I agree. He stood up and took responsibility. We all make mistakes. What we do afterwards is the measure of a man. The Quaker City Night Hawks are a good band. Let’s move on.
September 17, 2019 @ 12:34 pm
Good on Aaron Haynes. Just goes to show anything can happen when you are hanging with PawPaw Paul
September 17, 2019 @ 12:49 pm
Those compressed showcase schedules are just asking for situations like this. (I’m always amazed when they can tear down the previous band in 5 minutes and then set up the next band in 10 minutes, and then have everything working and sounding decent by the end of the first song.) And the hot weather all week probably didn’t help anyone’s mood.
Also I’ve heard it said that there is no such thing as bad publicity. I had never heard of these guys before this. Good for him to apologize and seek help.
September 17, 2019 @ 12:55 pm
An honest to God apology. Rare these days. Good on him.
September 17, 2019 @ 1:29 pm
In all honesty, in today’s climate, apologizing for an onstage dust-up is probably one of the easier things to do, and to forgive.
September 17, 2019 @ 2:46 pm
It was a festival, and the usual sound guy probably did what every other sound engineer does during big festivals: chase the $. From what I hear from a bunch of folks that were there the sound guy was garbage all night, not just for this part. Good on Aaron Haynes for the apology, and owning the incident. As someone that has been to many shows at Basement East I will say their sound is usually spot-on, so this from so many people seems out of character with the usual team.
September 17, 2019 @ 9:19 pm
Classy apology. I’m sure this drummer has done many a kind and good things in his life that unfortunately won’t be written about or video’d/posted. Leave this in the dust brother Aaron and carry on. You tied the loose end. Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.
September 18, 2019 @ 10:45 am
A true apology. I saw these guys in Toronto last year and he was the star of the band to me. So much energy. I watched him more than the rest of the guys. Hopefully all is forgiven, and they can live and learn and carry on
September 18, 2019 @ 6:40 pm
Bullshit. He had to apologize. Of course he did. He got busted in film. People like this never change. The easiest way to spot a narcissist is to watch how they treat waitstaff and service professionals. Why is the whole video not posted here? Fuck thst dude.
September 18, 2019 @ 7:27 pm
Video was posted in the original article, and it was the only video that was either posted in a public place, or that I had permission to post. Yes, there are other videos out there, but without permission, it can cause a legal issue by posting them. Some new videos may be posted publicly now, but this is not TMZ. People can seek them out if they choose.
September 20, 2019 @ 12:53 am
They opened for BBS in Dublin. Nice band and got to meet them after the VIP. Its funny that there were rumors about a couple of them having trouble leaving the US. Anyway, its a tuff job and stressful. Especially, on an important night like the awards. Good of him to take ownership.
October 1, 2019 @ 7:07 pm
Should be apologizing for that shitty album they just put out. There other stuff is gold but beyond the first couple songs… yeesh