“My name is Coleman Williams”
For the past eight and a half years Coleman Williams has been grinding the highways, slowly but surely building a name for himself. That hasn’t always been an easy task, especially given the weight and history of the family business.
See our photo gallery from the Joplin show here
A road dog much like his father, Coleman proudly boasts that he’s put in more than 2,000 shows across 49 American states, with only 10 of those shows taking place in his home state of Tennessee. He’s also toured 14 countries in Europe and two trips to Brazil, all while becoming the first fully independent musician in his family’s history.
Being the first fully independent musician is something Coleman takes great pride in. He states that his father had to play other people’s music to be able to play his own, while his grandfather had to do the same for more than 30 years. At 35, Coleman also points out that he has made it six years longer than his great-grandfather did because, as he puts it, “the business killed him after four years.”
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Coleman has worked hard for eight and a half years, taking the business seriously and cementing himself as his own man, with his own music, and his own style. But he’s also quick to give thanks to the people who have helped make that possible, the ones who continue to show up.
“You come to places like this because that shit really matters”, Coleman says. “Support venues like this. And take care of local music.”
He released his first single under the moniker IV and the Strange Band, “Son of Sin” in 2021, followed by his full-length debut album Southern Circus in 2022. His sophomore album Hang Dog was released in 2023, and finally The Magnolia Sessions under his own name in 2025 through Anti-Corp records.
He understands that he has no control over the family name he carries, but he does have a say in how he chooses to carry on its traditions. He chooses to perform certain songs his father wrote on his own terms because he wants to, not simply because others expect him to.
My name is Coleman Williams. Remember IV and the Strange Band is not a typo. I’m not Hank IV, I’m never gonna be Hank IV, but god damnit Hank III is my father. So I can do this song because I want to.”
The song Coleman chose to close the set in Joplin, Missouri, was one particularly close to him: “Trooper’s Hollar,” written and performed by his father about his best friend, a Doberman named Trooper.
His fondest teen memories come from late nights where Trooper would come into his room and hop into bed with him.
Years later, that connection between a man and his dog would find its way into Coleman’s own music, inspiring him to make Hang Dog about his own best friend, Piper, a basset hound.
If you know anything about my music. I made this whole record about my dog. I made the record with my friend Shooter. And a lot of people that work with him try to make the best record ever, But I just wanted to make a record from the heart.
So I made it about this dog I had for 15 years, guys. And it was the best dog in the world.
I lost her this year unfortunately. She changed my life and I wouldn’t be making music without her.
The name IV and the Strange Band is quite literal. Coleman likes changing up the musicians who join him on the road, meaning the band you see one night might not be the same band you see on the stage with him the next time tour cycle.
“Last tour I did, I had six people up here. But I keep em guessing. That’s why it’s the strange band.”
The Oddball Himself
“You might think that Clownvis is the Oddball and I’m the Outlaw, but it’s quite the opposite.”
For this run, Coleman has teamed up with Clownvis for the appropriately named Outlaws and Oddballs Tour, something he says he’s wanted to make happen for years.
It has also given Coleman an excuse to do something he normally doesn’t do onstage, put on clown makeup. He jokes that he has clown street cred, and clowning is something that is special to him.
“I’ve clowned out most of my life, but not really on a stage. If you’ve seen me play before, you probably haven’t seen me in makeup, but I’ve always sold shit with clowns on it. My first record had a clown on it because I used to be a rodeo clown.
That’s not your show clown. No balloons involved. No good jokes, really.But I can save your ass from getting kicked by equine, or if you fall onto your head, I will carry you away. And the makeup had a purpose. I always connected with clowns since I was a youngin.”
Clowns aren’t Colemans only fascination. He also has a particular love for birds and has even written songs about them.
“I think birds and street touring musicians in general got a lot in common folks. Both easily live off trash. We both can get lost and goddamn it, the wind will guide us.
Damn it, Missouri, we will sing even if you don’t want to hear it. It’s just what we do. Sometimes critters can show us some fun things.” [sic]
Life Betwen Shows
Thirty-day stretches away from home can make staying sane on the road a challenge. For Coleman, one way of passing the time is reading. With his most recent reads being a John Waters screenplay/book and an American literature classic “Flowers for Algernon”. His favorite book is “To Kill a Mockingbird” and is a rather big fan of Harper Lee.
When it comes to music, Coleman prefers sitting down with a full record, something that’s not always easy to do while on the road. Instead, he often turns to playlists his partner makes for him.
When asked what is one song that he never skips, without hesitation he replied Willin’ by the band Little Feat.
His more obscure recommendation goes back to high school, when a record cover caught his eye in a random record store. Knowing nothing else about it, he bought it: …And No One Else Wanted to Play by an early 80’s hardcore band out of Canada, SNFU.
At the end of the day, Coleman is just that. Coleman.
He’s a man born into a family with a prestigious name, but he’s doing it his own goddamn way, the only way he knows how.
By being an oddball, playing his own music, and living life on his own terms.
He doesn’t shy away from his family or the name he carries, but after more than 2,000 shows and years spent grinding it out on the road, he wants to be recognized for the work he’s put in, too.
And when he’s standing behind the merch booth after a show trying to make a living, he has one simple request:
“I love y’all very much, and you can tell me that you love him (Hank III), but when I’m trying to work and take care of stuff in a minute back there (at the merch booth), please don’t just stand in front of me and talk to me about my father.
Please don’t do it to Lukas Nelson, and please don’t do it to Micah Nelson. And please don’t do it to John Prine’s son.
And please don’t do it to all the fucking guys that work their ass off out here to do this because we love our family, not just because we’re somebody’s kids.”
And perhaps most importantly:
“Be nicer to clowns because GOD DAMNIT WE CARE.”
