Hawkes released his first solo acoustic album "Guitar and Voice" in 2007. It was featured on MTV's popular series The Hills and Animal Planet's reality show Jockeys. The placements sparked national exposure and he soon followed with a second independent album.

"Because I Feel That Way Too" combined his singer-songwriter compositions with a more developed rock full-band production. The Dallas Observer called it "earnest pop/rock that displays a keen songwriting touch" Three tracks from the album were included in AT&T smart phones and "Because I Feel That Way Too" received commercial and independent radio play on 165+ stations, spurring national touring for the album.

While touring in 2011, Hawkes released his third album, "Broken Record" One of the tracks, "Mystery" is a co-write with Danish artist Annemarie Jensen (a.k.a. Mary May Love) and was added to regular rotation on Denmark's most popular radio station, P4. "There was complete silence in the studio as even the most seasoned sat with tears in their eyes", said P4's Radio DJ, Alex Nyborg Madsen.

The album features both heart-breaking and heart-warming stories. "From Love (Momma Song)", a song about hope instilled in him as a child, is featured on Texas Music Magazine's 2012 Winter Mix.