“She’s an outlaw just playing her cards.”
She may only be 21 years old, but Hailey Steele is no beginner when it comes to country music. She already has 19 years of experience as a performer, paired with the wisdom of somebody twice her age. Hailing from the prairies of South Dakota where she graduated from a class of 37, her song “Outlaw” says she just wants to “get the heck outta dodge…” and that’s exactly what she did.
At 19, she moved to Nashville to pursue a full-time music career, and has since released her fourth full-length album, Eagle Feather. “This is such a personal record for me because I’ve gone through everything I’ve written about. I left home, had my heart broken, and found myself – and I know I’m not the only one.”
Independent and call-it-like-she-sees-it, Hailey was never shy onstage. At age 6, she started performing regularly at sporting events, nursing homes, churches, rodeos, fairs, and would sing to the animals in her family’s den. “We called our basement the Dead Zoo. It was full of mounted fish and deer heads. I practiced down there, and I would look at them while I was singing. They were my test audience!”
She honed her skills early on, practicing for the animals and even teaching herself how to yodel. “I had an old LeAnn Rimes tape that I played over and over again. I sang with it, and when I finally got it, I ran into my parents’ room to show them what I could do. “
Hailey got her first guitar when she was 10, and started writing not long after. She grew up listening to a wide variety of music. “My family loves music but I’ve never heard my mom sing a note,” she says. Her dad always listened to country but both of her parents loved classic rock. Needless to say, her influences are very broad- ranging from Jewel and Sheryl Crow to The Eagles, Miranda Lambert, and Patty Loveless.
Her first album, “Born to Sing” was released at age 12 and is filled with renditions of classic country, capped off with her first live performance of “You are My Sunshine,” caught on tape at age 2 ½. Following was “Opry Time,” a project that Hailey came to Nashville to record when she was 13.
With the release of this music, Hailey started traveling to schools to present them with her motivational assembly, “Setting and Achieving Goals,” a message to children about following dreams and being persistent. She has done over 40 assemblies in South Dakota and has become known for her rapport with children while trying to encourage them, and wishes to be a good role model for kids.
The title track for Eagle Feather draws from true-life experience. Hailey wrote it about a dear friend – a weathered Native American Chief - who inspired her in her life and dreams of music. The two met backstage when she was opening for Loretta Lynn at 11 years old. “He was sitting in a chair outside her bus. I was a little scared but I went and sat next to him. He said he could introduce me to Loretta, and the next thing you know we were up in the bus and I was sitting on her lap!”
Hailey wrote 9 of the 10 tracks on the album, and lyric lines parallel the difficult roads many young adults experience while finding their way in life. Along with “Eagle Feather,” the album displays her distinctive melodic and lyrical style, as well as an insight far beyond her years.
“’No Goodbye’ is probably my favorite. It’s about getting the courage to leave home and how those I love are always on my mind.”
Leaving is a common theme on the record, also found in “Good Girl” and “South Dakota.” “Until You’re Mine” contains a fluttering melody and metaphors about mother nature that set the song apart from anything else she’s written. “That’s a song where I really put my feelings out there. It’s one of my favorites melodically.” “Not A Part of Me Today” is the end of that same story. “It’s sort of a ‘stay away if you know what’s good for you’ warning. Ha!”
The final track on the album is a duet featuring Michael Martin Murphey, with a remake of his 1974 classic, “Wildfire.”
In her developing career, Hailey has already packed quite the list of accomplishments into her arsenal. One of her career highlights has been sharing the stage with country music icon Willie Nelson. She has performed at multiple Farm Aid concerts live on CMT with significant artists such as Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews. She has opened for a wide array of country artists – Highway 101, Loretta Lynn, Oak Ridge Boys, Gary Allan, Emerson Drive, Sugarland, Sara Evans, Hal Ketchum, Big and Rich, Trick Pony, Ronnie Milsap, Sheryl Crow, and Rascal Flatts. Hailey has also been featured on billboards and publications throughout the Midwest, and was named one of Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s 5 most promising artists.
She was recently the featured halftime entertainment for the NBA (Chicago Bulls vs. Minnesota Timberwolves), and was named spokesperson for Sanford Healthcare of South Dakota, in which Hailey will be an advocate for the Cure Kids Cancer campaign as well as “No More Pokes,” fueling Type 1 Diabetes Research.
“Through being on my own, I have grown up, and I’ve learned how to look at real-life situations and make them as humorous, dramatic or inspirational as possible. I always want to be creating music that people can relate to, whether it makes them angry, sad or happy… because that’s what they need to hear.”
I’ve been a music journalist for more than 10 years. Over the years, many artists and managers have asked me what the best way to break into the European music market is.
Here are some things you can do:
Publish artist press releases, news, and tour dates to the CountryHome Forum on MySpace, http://groups.myspace.com/CountryHomeMagazine , CountryHome Forum is part of CountryHome, http://www.CountryHome.de , Germany's Premier Country Music Online Magazine. Everything you publish to the CountryHome Forum will be published in my weekly Newsletter which has over 80,000 readers.
Send me CDs and DVDs for review and set up an artist interview with me. All reviews and interviews will be submitted to the magazines I'm writing for. More information for which magazines I'm writing can be found at http://www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Upload artist videos to http://www.MyVideo.de and http://www.ClipFish.de . Both websites are like http://www.YouTube.com and uploading videos is free. The websites are completely in German. If you don’t speak German and need assistance, I will help you open an account and upload a video for 25 Euro. Each additional video upload for the same artist name and at the same video website is 10 Euro.
If you have more questions about the European music market or about any of the information I send to you today, please contact me at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de too.
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany
Ciao,Hailey thanks for your friendship,I am very happy, you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot, and stupendous voice. you are certainly one of my favorite, in your musical kind The feels great admiration for you, be really one whom is worth rather to lot! The hope to listen soon to you, in italy.. talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music, all the best.. from italy.. and good life.. every day neal
Thank you for adding my new author page. I will have a few songs from the soundtrack on the player soon, but will link my music page for more songs. My fiction novel with a CD soundtrack is due out in a few weeks. It will be at CD Baby, Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. Keep in touch.
Wishing you a great musical week. Hope all your projects are on track.
Stopping by to wish you a fantastic week!!! Hope all is going great with you!!! Check out my newest single Whipping Post on Texas radio NOW!!! I also hope to see you out at Armadillo Palace Wednesday November 11th @ 12:00pm for my interview and acoustic performance with 740 KTRH's Michael Berry (Texas Music Show) And later that night I will be at Dosey Doe in the Woodlands (9:15pm) See you there!!! Love, ~Susan Hickman www.susanhickman.com www.reverbnation.com/susanhickman www.twitter.com/susanhickman
Christmas is coming soon. Are you looking for a Christmas present and would like to help handicapped children? Than please request the list of donations in kind from HelpCharity, www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity , by sending me an e-mail at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de . Many donations in kind are autographed.
If you don't have the chance to request the list of donations in kind, please add HelpCharity to your Top Friends!
Thanks for helping me to support handicapped children!
Christian
Founder of HelpCharity Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 (0) 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 (0) 171 6903352 E-Mail: Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Internet: www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity Internet: www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Stopping by to wish you a fantastic week!!! Hope all is going great with you!!! Check out my newest single Whipping Post on Texas radio NOW!!! I also hope to see you out at Armadillo Palace Wednesday November 11th @ 12:00pm for my interview and acoustic performance with 740 KTRH's Michael Berry (Texas Music Show) See you there!!! Love, ~Susan Hickman www.susanhickman.com www.reverbnation.com/susanhickman www.twitter.com/susanhickman
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