Shaina Hayes remembers laying in bed at night listening to her parents with friends in the kitchen, feeling the FOMO and being drawn in by the pull of music that seemed so lively and inviting. The singer-songwriter grew up surrounded by music and was encouraged by her parents to pursue it, even going on to study jazz before her formal college education.
Today, Hayes is a farmer, and for her, rebelling meant getting a degree in agricultural science.
“I ran away from music with my tail between my legs because I was like, ‘I can’t navigate this world!’ It seemed a little bit too intimidating for me.” Yet years later, here she is, bringing a rich perspective to her music that is all the more textured for her experiences with nature and beauty. It was farming that eventually gave her the confidence to pursue music full-time, and Hayes began farming and creating music in turns, seizing the advantage of the slower winter season to really give attention to her songwriting.
She’s now prioritized music as her main career, and she’s hit the ground running. Her first album, “To Coax A Waltz,” was released in 2022, followed by her sophomore album, “Kindergarten Heart,” which will be released this month. I got the chance to chat with her about her album and the unique perspective she brings to her art.
Interestingly, Hayes finds that her passions for farming and creating music shape each other, and she receives the satisfaction of creation from both. Whether it’s a landscape or the foundation of a song, Hayes can look at it and envision her own Eden that bears shining, beautiful fruit.
They both hold the terroir of her environment, too. Reflecting on the red cliffs and rolling hills of her small hometown in Quebec, she said, “There’s something to be said about being surrounded by so much beauty. … Working on the farm, it allows you to appreciate, translate, and articulate beauty by being steeped in it.” Tracks like “Early Riser” from her latest album emanate tranquility while transporting the listener to rolling farmland by the sea, and it carries the imprint of specific place and time in Hayes’ mind.
Her album “Kindergarten Heart” is entirely homegrown, smacking of nostalgia and the essence of her upbringing. “New Favorite” and “Sidewalk” are threaded with the childhood themes that the album title suggests, conjuring visions of hearts drawn in chalk and bare feet in the dirt. The true core of the album is about tapping into wonder, a practice Hayes found herself having to relearn after the COVID-19 pandemic. “There was a bit of re-learning of the muscles used in social situations. … A lot of things got stopped in their tracks, and we got used to holding space for things to not work out, like plans getting canceled. I’ve had to look back at exciting times in my life and be like ‘Yeah, it’s good to get excited about this,’ and remember it’s good to rush forward with momentum,” she recalled.
However, Hayes noted, a good album is never only about one thing. “Kindergarten Heart” is tied together by memory, as she explores it in both active and passive ways. The album itself is separated into sides A and B on vinyl, with side A focusing on earlier versions of the self to inform the present and side B containing more moody, pensive approaches to memories. The single “Sun and Time” is an example of the latter, an atmospheric and wistful meditation on summers and sorrows past. The video is equally stirring, with clips of Hayes and her crew on the road for her first tour.
While they’re all her favorites, Hayes is excited for listeners to hear “Fun.” Toe-tapping and with a drive that stands out from the other tracks, “Fun” has a not-so-fun origin story. Hayes’ guitarist, David, cut his hands badly on broken glass in an accident the morning of their first day in the studio, and the band was unsure he’d be able to play on the album. Thankfully, he was OK, but while his hands healed he could only play the bass; this meant that the first song they recorded was “Fun,” which they knew they wanted to be bass-driven. Hayes ended up filling in the unfinished lyrics with allusions to the unfortunate event:
Crash / Blood and glass / We are snagged and humming heavy from the blast Don’t let it get me off path / Don’t let it get in my head Yeah, I know what I want, and I know what I need / But baby I don’t know what I’ll get
“It’s kind of hilarious hearing this lively bassline drive it in a way that none of our songs that are typically driven. It’s out of character. Out of the darkness came this song,” she joked.
A new challenge for Hayes has been the visibility level of her creation process. “With farming, nobody’s watching what I’m doing most of the time; I’m creating for myself. With music, I’m creating for myself, but you’re cognizant of the fact that it’s going to be touching other people, and you have to perform.”
This type of self-consciousness can be hard to shake, and for newer artists like Hayes, it’s about striking a complicated balance between authenticity and appealing to an audience. “The way you have to market yourself and your music while also keeping yourself grounded is a strange exercise. I want to keep making music that feels good and is meaningful, but in order to sustainably do that, you do need to reach people, and you need to play the game. It’s a funny line to walk,” she explained.
Thankfully, she’s found a stabilizing force to focus on: the simple comfort of connecting with others over her music. “At first, I was so concerned about ego and not letting it get weird for myself, but it’s so pleasant to find that it’s much more about being with these people in this space and sharing with them, and I’m grateful that that’s what’s taking over rather than anything else.”
At the same time, Hayes is refining her writing process, which is evolving along with her transition to being a full-time musician. “The truth is, the first two albums, those songs came about in the in-between moments. Zero pressure, you sit down with a guitar, and they just kind of show up,” she described. Oftentimes, her music starts with a chord progression and a snippet of a phrase that sticks, which then becomes the grit of the pearl as she works on layer after layer of harmony and more lyrics. Now that she has large chunks of time set aside to begin writing more music beyond “Kindergarten Heart,” she finds that she needs to put her mind in neutral for pieces to come together, whether that’s a long drive or doing the more repetitive tasks on her farm. “I’m not advocating that everyone should have a car (you probably shouldn’t), … but if you’re trying to finish some lyrics, maybe rent a car,” she advised.
One of the most rewarding parts of her journey so far has been performing live, with which she is increasingly becoming more comfortable. “There’s connection, and attentiveness from people to hear what you have to say is really touching for me. I didn’t realize how much I needed that.” She’s also become very close with her bandmates, who share the simultaneous joy and monotony of touring with her. “You can get very tired of eating at a gas station, but in hindsight, it’s always great,” she laughed.
Hayes is looking forward to adding tour dates this coming spring, but in the meantime, you can listen to “Kindergarten Heart” and follow Hayes on Instagram for more.