Hank Ruff Bringing the Boots, the Beat, and the Heart.

Brooke Bridges
May 9
2 min read

Hank Ruff is a rising country music artist from Southern Indiana, known for blending the fiddle-and-steel twang of '90s country with a modern edge. Raised in a musical family, he began performing at age 11, playing mandolin at bluegrass jams before transitioning to guitar and learning classic country songs like "Hey Good Lookin'" and "Mama Tried". A graduate of Indiana University, Ruff has built a name for himself throughout the state and beyond. His debut EP, Hellbender, released in 2024, reached #1 on the iTunes all-genre chart, marking a significant milestone in his career. Ruff's live performances, often with his band The Hellbenders, showcase his neo-traditional brand of country music. He has opened for notable country stars such as Jelly Roll, Hardy, Jordan Davis, Warren Zeiders, and Michael Ray, bringing his music to audiences across the Midwest and beyond.

Where are you from and where are you based out of?

Bloomington, IN (now Nashville, TN)

What is your backstory?

Hank grew up in Southern Indiana playing bluegrass and old school honky tonk music with his dad. While attending Indiana University, he decided to put a band together to play his fraternity parties so that it wasn’t always a DJ, eventually landing bigger and bigger gigs by the time of graduation.

What's the newest release people should check out?