Biography

Bryan Hayes crafts personal narratives with a novelist's eye ("Let's Ride") and a poet's elegance ("Small Town Amazing Grace"). Clear evidence: The Memphis area resident's seamless Farther Down the Line. Hayes' excellent new collection spotlights a rapidly rising songwriter growing exponentially (the title track). "This record was definitely written with more confidence," Hayes explains. "I was not afraid to touch on subject matter that I might have shied away from a few years ago. I now know what a gift this career is, so I feel like I owe it to my folks to be honest and open. I want the songs to come from my heart."
Folks notice. "Not only does Bryan craft a great song with melody and music, but more importantly he crafts a great story with his lyrics and he sings them the only way he knows how – from his heart," says Andy Hunt, the celebrated Grammy-winning, Nashville-based producer. Frequent Guy Clark collaborator Noel McKay echoes: "Bryan Hayes' songs always come from that sincere place that seems to effortlessly draw the listener in. He is among the rare songwriters truly capable of channeling life experience into great, listenable songs."
The excellent new album doubles down on past high watermarks (Still Just a Man...10 Years Later) with vivid vignettes throughout ("Southern Rain," "I Wanna Run"). Admittedly, Hayes' canvas for subject matter has expanded with greater breadth and depth. "I touch on God and politics a bit in this record," he says. "Sometimes that's a tough row to hoe when you're playing a lot of the smaller clubs like I do, but my songwriting heroes did the same thing. They were always open and honest, and I loved that about them. I have always admired the fact that Billy Joe Shaver has the courage to sing about Christ in bars and clubs. I actually got to open for him in late 2014 and I thanked him for that."
In addition to writing and performing, Bryan is a producer and engineer at Farmhouse Recording Studio (www.farmhouserecordingstudio.com) in Moscow, TN.