When Christian Hayes was a kid growing up in the foothills of Appalachia, his grandpa gave him a journal. He was 7 years old, and the older man told him the empty pages were to write his poems, songs, and feelings.
Hayes didn’t know it – but his journey to the Grand Ole Opry stage started then. Now in his mid-20s, Hayes made his Grand Ole Opry debut Saturday night. He played the Bluebird Café for the first time a few days later. His first song has been out less than one year.
“That was fun,” Hayes said. “Not that I ever had any doubts, but that just solidified, ‘Oh, yeah, I want this to be 10,000 people next time.’ There was that thankfulness, but then also that competitive edge that I’ve always had that’s like, ‘Alright, I’ve tasted this. Now, what’s next? Let’s go. Let’s get it.’”
At this point in his career, Hayes typically plays rowdy rooms packed with loud people. The Opry and Bluebird audiences paid attention to his songs and even reacted to his lyrics.
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Christian Hayes: “They’re Actually Listening”
“They’re actually listening,” he said.
Hayes wowed the audience with two songs – one unreleased and another people can find online. The singer started writing songs at 8 years old, many on his parents’ front porch. “Home Sweet Home” describes that setting and the transition he endured when he moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
“The skyscrapers didn’t look like pine trees, and car horns didn’t sound like wind chimes and birds chirping,” he said. “I was trying to find inspiration, and I realized that that was really kind of the first time that I missed home. It brought tears to my eyes type way. I was always the black sheep of the family and was always trying to get the hell out of dodge.”
Since he wrote the song about missing home, Hayes thought it would be a special song to play since his family was in attendance. He chose “LILY,” which stands for “Last I Love You,” as his second song.
“Because that’s the song that got me there,” Hayes said of “LILY.” “I figured I would be remiss not to play ‘LILY’ on stage since that’s one of the reasons that I was there in the first place.”
The Opry was a Christmas Eve Surprise
On Christmas Eve, Hayes’s parents surprised him with the news that the Opry had invited him to make his debut. The opportunity was shocking to Hayes because he considers himself a folk pop singer songwriter in the vein of Noah Kahn – not country.
“I want to be Ed Sheeran,” he said. “I want to be a superstar one day.”
In early 2024, Hayes set goals for the year – he wanted 10,000 streams in the next 12 months. What he got – in addition to millions of streams – was a major label record deal, a publishing deal, and a team of 50 working to promote his career.
Hayes released his debut EP on Capitol Records, Last I Love You, in September. He considers it a preface of who he is as an artist. He wanted to give people a glimpse into his past and his struggles.
“I want them to know that I’m just a normal guy, just like everyone else,” he said.
Christian Hayes: “I’m So Excited”
The music he released previously was more country than he was comfortable with, and now he’s determined to bridge his previous sound with songs and production that is more authentic to him.
“I am so excited,” he said. “I grew up, and all I had was my guitar and vocals or piano. I didn’t have tools and toys to play with to make this sound like that. Now I have all the tools and the toys. It’s been really fun getting in the studio, experimenting with sounds, and figuring out what we want to do.”
photo by Hunter Hart
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