The Nighthawks have been playing their unique take on the blues since 1972. The band’s current members include (left to right) original founding member Mark Wenner, Paul Pisciotta, Mark Stutso and Dan Hovey. Photo courtesy of The Nighthawks

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Maryland musician Mark Wenner remembers taking the bus to downtown Washington, D.C., in the 1950s and 60s to see blues legends — such as Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and James Brown — perform at the Howard Theater for $1.

“I was spoiled rotten,” said Wenner, now 73.

As a kid growing up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Wenner was also “addicted to the radio…D.C. had three African American stations that I pretty much switched on to,” he said. Those local radio stations introduced him to the blues, country, rockabilly and other genres — music that he and his band, the Nighthawks, love to perform.

Wenner formed the Nighthawks in the 1970s from his home base in the D.C. area. Next year, the Nighthawks will celebrate 50 years in the music business with a new album.

Over the years, the four-man band has performed at Wolf Trap, Carnegie Hall and on an episode of the HBO series “The Wire.” They will perform at a charity concert in a Maryland town hall this month.

From roadie to performer

The son of a judge and a sculptor-turned-therapist, Wenner got a backstage peek of the music business in the early 60s, when his younger brother started playing saxophone in soul bands. He helped out by driving to gigs and carrying their equipment. “I liked hanging around them,” he said.

After working as a roadie for his brother’s band, Wenner learned to play harmonica and got some on-stage experience as a singer. “I didn’t think I could sing, but the PA systems were so primitive that you couldn’t hear me anyway.”

As a student at Columbia University, Wenner played harmonica and sang in bands, performing at fraternity parties and more serious New York City venues.

He wanted to perfect the art of performing but was frustrated that he couldn’t find a venue for an up-and-coming band to play every night to develop their skills.

“It requires just [performing] a lot to where your body will just switch over into that mode,” Wenner said.

After graduation, he moved back to the area with a plan to form his own group, and he started performing on stage with a friend, Bethesda blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff.

Making it big

By the spring of 1972, the Nighthawks had taken flight. It wasn’t until 1974 that the band solidified all of its members, which included Jimmy Thackery, Jan Zukowski, Pete Ragusa and Wenner.

The foursome played all types of music. “Our sound is based on a Chicago blues band, but we could always do a country song or an old rock-and-roll song — or even something by a contemporary songwriter or a Motown kind of song,” Wenner said.

With their unique style, the Nighthawks hit the road. “We were working 300 days a year. We played in 49 states and about 10 different countries,” Wenner recalled.

“And that’s what really made the band’s reputation…that really relentless touring, being everywhere we could, as often as we could.”

Their hard work paid off. The Nighthawks had the opportunity to open for Muddy Waters, James Cotton and Carl Perkins, as well as the chance to record with John Hammond and Pinetop Perkins.

“It was pretty rough and I loved it, but I’m not doing that [now]. I physically can’t do that anymore; I would not survive,” Wenner said, noting that two band members are “well into their 70s,” and the others are in their 60s.

Over the years, the band members have changed, but their style has stayed the same. Today, the Nighthawks include Mark Stutso as a vocalist and drummer, Paul Pisciotta as bass player, and Dan Hovey as a vocalist and guitarist. Wenner is still a vocalist and harmonica player.

“It’s a very creative team,” Wenner said. “We get along really well. We’re able to criticize each other without getting into fights…It’s a mature, working team that’s just a joy.”

Thanksgiving tradition for 18 years

A resident of Kensington, Wenner has tried to give back to his community. In 2003, he helped create and plan Kensington’s annual Thanksgiving dance, a fundraiser for Bethesda Help — a nonprofit that provides food and services to locals in need.

The Nighthawks will perform in the town hall the night before Thanksgiving. “The Kensington Town Hall is special to me. I took my driver’s test there when I was 16; I vote there; I played a little basketball in there…it’s my local spot,” Wenner said.

The Nighthawks will play old tunes as well as some of their 10 new songs, written last year, when they were unable to tour or perform.

During the pandemic, “we went into safe places and created a whole album’s worth of material, plus some,” Wenner said. That album, their 31^st, was recorded in an Annapolis studio and will be released next spring.

Wenner admits that the music business can be grueling, but “it’s been a good ride,” he said.

“You might as well follow your bliss and follow your heart and do what you really want to do.”

The Kensington Thanksgiving Dance is scheduled for Wed., Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Town Hall (Armory), 3710 Mitchell St., Kensington, MD 20895. Tickets cost $10 at the door, and proof of vaccination or a negative test is required. Guests should bring a canned good or a gift card to a grocery store.