Long journey leads country music star Walker Hayes to booming fame
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Walker Hayes will take to the Lady Luck Stage at 7 p.m. Friday, July 27, with special guest Brandon Lay.
Walker Hayes will take to the Lady Luck Stage at 7 p.m. Friday, July 27, with special guest Brandon Lay.
Walker Hayes will take to the Lady Luck Stage at 7 p.m. Friday, July 27, with special guest Brandon Lay.
An Alabama native, country music star Walker Hayes has always been the type that had to be cajoled into doing what always came natural to him.
The son of a real estate broker, Hayes loved music — piano recitals, noodling on his guitar — but figured he’d stick around home and log a normal 9-5.
However, after constant needling from his father, Hayes finally agreed to perform at a local bar, if only to get dad off his back.
It was a tiny stage, he remembers with a laugh — “a small crowd, but there was applause after my songs” — and it felt incredible. “For some reason, when I left the show that night, I knew right then that’s what I wanted to do,” Hayes recalls.
He called his wife, asked her if she wanted to move to Nashville, and she said yes without hesitation.
He instantly fell in love with songwriting, landed a job with a publishing company, and even got a record deal. But, things in Nashville aren’t as easy as they seem and soon Hayes’ deals fell through.
For years he grinded it out: writing songs for other artists where he could, working odd jobs to pay the bills, lying in bed at night trying to convince himself to not love writing songs anymore “because all it does is mess me up. It makes a fool of me. It strings me through all this up and down and eventually breaks my heart.”
But, of course, he’d wake up the next day and want nothing more than to write another song.
In due-time he linked up with ace songwriter and GRAMMY award-winning producer Shane McAnally who signed Hayes to his SMACKSongs publishing company and soon released two volumes of Hayes’ music for free online — 8 Tracks, Vol. 1: Good Shit and 8 Tracks, Vol. 2: Break the Internet.
The music quickly attracted a massive swell of popularity.
“It’s when you almost lose that you really realize that maybe you were born to do this no matter what,” Hayes says. “It’s not about success or anything — it’s where you belong.”
And now, with “boom.,” Hayes is ready to pull back the curtain entirely and give all of himself to his music, his fans, his family — everyone who has stuck with him on this long and sometimes painful journey.
And that includes his fans right here in western Pennsylvania when he makes his way back next week to perform on the Lady Luck Stage at the Fayette County Fair 7 p.m. July 27, with special guest Brandon Lay.
“I have played the Pittsburgh area a few times before,” Hayes said. “My bass player, Cameron Marburger is actually from the Pittsburgh area and his friends and fans always show up for us! Love them. Love playing the area.”
The most memorable thing for Hayes about the Pittsburgh area is “the blue collar feel.”
“I love how passionate the Pittsburgh area is about their sports teams, and it’s just such a beautiful town with a lot of history,” he said. “I remember the first time I ever played there — crossing the river to get into downtown, learning about the mines — it was all very cool.”
As a touring musician, Hayes said every single day is different — never the same as yesterday.
“And missing Laney (his wife) and the kids is the hardest part,” Hayes said. “I try to take them as often as I can, but no amount of time with them is ever enough.”
Growing up, Hayes said he was not well traveled.
“I pretty much stayed in the south east around Alabama for most of my life, so it never ceases to amaze me that I can show up in an unfamiliar town, like Pittsburgh, and people show up to hear us,” he said. “It’s like we have all these friends in awesome places we’ve never even met…everywhere. That’s the best part.”
As for performing at a county fair venue, Hayes said those are the places that bring fans and musicians together.
“I love hangin’ with whoever we are playing around, opening for, etc.,” he said. “Fairs also usually bring a family crowd, which I appreciate. I love fans of all ages — parents, kids, whoever.”
There are other perks to playing at fairs, Hayes admits.
“I love fair food too much,” he said, with a laugh. “I’m trying to get jacked for a video but if there are funnel cakes, I will splurge. Also, we usually get free ride tickets. BOOM.”