Walker Hayes.Photo: jared olson
At his pre-show meet-and-greet on Friday night,Walker Hayescrouched to meet the eyes of one of his youngest fans, a little boy whose parents had brought him to the concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
“Have you ever been to a show at the Ryman?” Hayes, 42, tenderly asked the boy, who mouthed a quiet “no.”
“Never?” Hayes replied with playful surprise. “Well, it’s my first show, too!”
“I feel like I’ve always been that artist that maybe country music has tried to shut the door on, and somehow, we’ve just kept a foot in it and wouldn’t let it close,” Hayes told PEOPLE a couple hours before the show, which sold out months ago.
Walker Hayes fields questions from the audience at his pre-show VIP event.Nancy Kruh
Since he arrived in Music City in 2004, no one has been more knocked around the town than Hayes as he’s chased his dream. After losing two record deals, he went for broke and began writing strictly to his own beat, creating a catalogue of stylish, quirky, pop- and hip-hop-infused songs.
In 2016, it finally caught the ear of hitmaking songwriter-producerShane McAnally, who gave him one more shot and signed him to his Monument label. But — with the exception of2017’s top 10 single “You Broke Up with Me”— country radio’s kingmakers decided to mostly take a pass on Hayes' singular sound. It also attracted considerable criticism from self-appointed purists who decided the music fell outside the definition of country.
Walker Hayes.jared olson
By now you had to have been in a coma if you don’t know the rest of the story: how a homemade TikTok dance Hayes recorded last year with his teenage daughter, Lela,blew up the internetand turned his tribute to simple things, “Fancy Like,” into a triple-platinum hit. The irresistible song not only became Hayes' first radio No. 1, but it also sent millions of new fans on a deep dive into the rest of his music and his life, where they discovered a devoted husband and father of six, ages 6 to 16, who really is living out the “Fancy Like” life. The resulting synergy has since fueled Hayes' sold-out tour — the Ryman show was the next-to-last date — and the rise of another sure-fire hit, “AA,” now a top 10 single. It also, no doubt, has turned him into country’s newest star.
Hayes is still having to adjust to his newfound celebrity. His tour bus, which he shares with wife, Laney, the kids and their two dogs, pulled up to the Ryman early Friday after an overnight drive from his previous date, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The plan was for everyone to hang out downtown before the show, but when Hayes, along with his 12-year-old son, Baylor, went across the street to grab a morning coffee, he was quickly mobbed.
“I thought a couple people might notice us,” Hayes said. “Everyone was so sweet, but it turned into madness.”
The family ended up retreating to their suburban Nashville home, where he and the kids spent the afternoon playing on new scooters. About 50 fans were already lined up for the meet-and-greet when he arrived back at the Ryman around 5:30 p.m. In a darkened corner of the auditorium, Hayes took his time with each, greeting them warmly, signing anything they’d brought, pulling out guitar picks from his jeans pocket for the kids, and enduring a long succession of camera flashes.
“Oops, I think I might have blinked,” he said more than once, making sure another shot was taken.
Around 6 p.m., he grabbed his guitar and took over a stool onstage for a VIP performance and Q&A for about 125 fans who filled the Ryman’s front pews. He introduced “Fancy Like” with a disarming reflection on its birth during the difficult pandemic days off the road: “Over those two years, I was honestly like, what in the world am I gonna do when it’s time to go back to work? Will I have shows? Will people remember ‘You Broke Up with Me’? And they do remember it — because we wrote a song about Applebee’s.”
The comment evoked knowing laughter over the restaurant chain’s starring role in the “Fancy Like” chorus. “And that was it,” Hayes added. “I feel like I’ve been riding a wild horse just hanging on to its tail for the last year.”
Later, Hayes told PEOPLE that he cherishes this level of intimacy, and the connection has brought a new sense of ease to his performing. “I’m so comfortable in my own skin right now,” he said. “So much of me is exposed, and there’s nothing I’m really hiding. I don’t worry anymore about whether I’m gonna be able to hit certain notes because I don’t think people care. They’re here to get what they get and see what they see, and what they already have embraced, like a member of their own family. There’s not some unrealistic expectation they have at the show. They just want to come hang with us for a night. There’s no pressure tonight. It’s just celebratory.”
And that joy was palpable all the way up to the Ryman’s famed balcony. So was the love being returned to the stage as the rapt audience — many who had brought their young children — stood, cheered and often effortlessly sang along to Hayes' complicated lyrics.
“I’m so happy that each and every one of you is here,” Hayes said at one break between songs. “Thank you for coming. Every time we put a show on sale, I’m afraid nobody’s gonna come — and you came! This is a huge deal for me.” He also offered his own disclaimer: “If you’re here for ‘Fancy Like,’ it’s last so I don’t want anybody to leave.”
The 98-minute show featured seven songs offCountry Stuff,Hayes' January releasethat peaked at No. 2 onBillboard’scountry album chart and No. 9 on its all-genre album chart. He also brought out seven tracks from his 2017 album,boom. —and one song, “Craig,” that appears on both albums.
Hayes dug deeper into his catalogue for 2016 release “Your Girlfriend Does,” and there was no better place than the Ryman stage for him to indulge in this cheeky retort to a particularly nasty social-media insult: “Well, I read what you wrote underneath my video / and I tried to let it roll off my shoulders … I get it, you don’t dig it / Hey, it’s all right, ‘cause / guess to the what? / Your girlfriend does.”
The entire evening, in fact, was something of a family affair. Eight-year-old Loxley Hayes also found a place stage-side, fangirling through the entire set of show openerMacKenzie Porter.And Baylor Hayes was there at the meet-and-greet to help out his dad with fans’ phones for picture-taking.
As they have at several other concerts, all six Hayes children appeared onstage to dance along with the final choruses of “Fancy Like,” drawing a roar from the crowd. The stage also filled up with Hayes' friends and colleagues, including Shane McAnally, who gamely attempted the TikTok dance. And this time — for the first time — Hayes' normally stage-shy wife joined the gang. Hayes shouted his bliss: “Oh! Momma’s out!” At song’s end, the two held onto the moment in a lengthy embrace.
Laney and Walker Hayes.jared olson
Returning to the stage for an encore with just his acoustic guitar, Hayes stood in a single spotlight and treated the crowd to"Briefcase," a bittersweet tributeto his late father that brims with all the three-chords-and-the-truth spirit of any country classic. Then just to top things off, he reprised “Fancy Like” solo — because, let’s face it, with this crowd there was no such thing as too much “Fancy Like.”
Hayes wrapped his tour on Saturday night in Louisville, Kentucky, and then he’s set to supportKane BrownandBrooks & Dunnon the road; later this summer, he’ll play various fair and festival dates. Come fall, he’ll be headlining his first arena tour, moving from 1,200- to 3,000-capacity rooms to up to 12,000-seat venues.
Hayes admits he’s still in disbelief about that leap. “Everything is impossible that we’re doing right now,” he said, grinning at the thought. “So, let’s go!”
source: people.com
