Sean Hayes

Folk crooner Sean Hayes hums smooth soul with uncomplicated, yet consequential lyrics. He speaks truth in waves with abysmal grooves; loose funk with vintage rasp. With an inimitable voice, as heard in Subaru’s commercial with heavy hitter “Powerful Stuff,” Hayes presents maven compositions, but with an awfully connected, exceedingly genuine touch. He presents a spiritual quality in his arrangements—declaring his heart, soul, flaws, anguishes.

Hayes’ draw to music, he states, is “movement, rhythm, emotion, revelation…like sex without the consequences.” However, his arrangements take you through all of the ups and downs of an emotional human existence. You feel his joy and his pain reverberate through you, his message vibrating through your veins.

“Being yourself is tricky when you think you should be someone else,” he states. And yet, it seems he’s got it all figured out in with the resounding awareness he exudes through his work.

Going beyond individual quandaries, he speaks out on societal and world issues. Inspired by images and stories from the conflict in Syria, “The Flowers Children” was released in conjunction with World Refugee Day to bring light to the 100,000+ lives lost and 3 million displaced in the country. Before that, he released “No, no Guantanamo” expressing his dreams of liberation and release from suffering, posted with the Sixth Amendment.

“It is easy to read, and imagine, listen, consume and create. Not as easy to take a moment, a leap of faith even and try and help,” his most recent site update states.

Most moved by the battle between love and fear, his creative style, he describes, has evolved over the years, very slowly from folk into soul. Analyzing the weight of this balance between love and fear, Hayes delves into societal and emotional tendencies in “Rock Steady,” emphasizing the magnitude of truth, devotion and a present state of mind.

“[Music is] a mystery, a part of being human.”

Serenading with buttery, melting chocolate vocals with a hint of his distinguishing rasp, Hayes narrates in poems, telling stories of revelation. Through his ballads, he aspires to “inspire, remind, and move” others and himself.”

Current projects:

“Sitting in a hot yellow shed trying to learn some things.”