“I don’t really think I found music, I think music found me,” said Hayes by phone from his home in Nashville. “There was never a time when I wondered what I was going to do when I grew up. I guess I started too young to know it wasn’t a typical career path.”
Along the way Hayes taught himself to play dozens of instruments, starting with a guitar given to him by actor Robert Duval. The two met when Duval was filming “The Apostle” in Hayes’ hometown of Beaux Bridge, Louisiana. After catching one of the young musician’s performances, the actor gave him a small part in the film. Fast forward to the ripe old age of 20 and Hayes has a country music radio hit with “Storm Warning,” from his eponymous major label debut. He’s also a semifinalist for the Academy of Country Music’s New Artist of the Year Award.
“When I was in middle school I would daydream and draw pictures of tour buses and now here I am living out of one,” said Hayes, who performs Thursday at the NorVa. “My happy place as a kid is where I am now.”
It’s the musician’s first headlining tour but he’s already logged plenty of miles on the odometer. Last summer, Hayes opened shows for country music superstar Taylor Swift, and it didn’t take long for him to begin winning over her fans.
“To see people singing along to your songs is amazing,” said Hayes. “That’s definitely the moment when you know you’re doing something right as a songwriter. I’ll never get used to it and I don’t want to get used to it. I want it to be that cool every time.”
After graduating from high school, Hayes moved to Nashville and got his first Music City gig as a songwriter, helping pen several tracks with country hit makers, Rascal Flatts.
“It was and still is a little trippy for me that I got to work with such heroes,” Hayes said. “I remember when I bought their “Me and My Gang” CD, I would just crank it up. There were certain songs that meant a lot to me and that I could really relate to.”
Making that kind of connection is something Hayes aspires to.
“It’s always been my goal to have a record that somebody can put in their CD player and say yeah, that’s me, that’s my song,” he said. “Music is a very powerful thing. Just think of how quickly your day can change if the right song comes on the radio. I want for someone to relate to my songs enough for one to really mean something to them.”
If sales figures are any indication, Hunter Hayes has indeed struck a chord. His current CD has remained on Billboard Magazine’s country music chart since its release last fall, peaking at number 7.
The musician wrote or co-wrote every track on the album, played every instrument and even did all of his own backing vocals. So is it fair to ask Hayes if he might have a few… issues?
“I know, right? I’m a total control freak that’s what it sounds like,” he said with a laugh. “Artistically, yes, I’m willing to admit there are some things I want to be in control of. I want to do everything in my power to make sure my music translates to who I am. There are some records that you can listen to and you feel like you know that person. You’re not feeling like you’re listening to a group of songs that a team of people picked out. At the end of the day if I’m not myself, than I’m wasting everybody’s time and I’m wasting my own time.”
Despite his already impressive list of achievements, Hayes isn’t shy about admitting he has even greater plans for the future.
“I’ve got crazy big dreams,” he revealed. “I want to get to the point where I’m headlining arenas. It’s a little weird for me to say I have some of these goals because it’s like, that’s a little out of reach you know? But I think you should believe in your dreams and believe in yourself. Dream as crazy as you want to.”
