Tag: Hayley Marsten

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayley Marsten Releases QMA-Nominated Single, “Getting Better”

Sometimes it takes a single release to put a song back on your radar. I reviewed Hayley Marsten’s fabulous sophomore album Girlhood last June. One of the songs that struck me most was the album’s opening track “Getting Better”. Hayley’s just released it as a single and I’m relishing rediscovering it. It was recently nominated for a Queensland Music Award in the country category, and while Hayley ultimately lost the title to Tori Forsyth she was thrilled by the acknowledgement.

“Getting Better’ is a song I wrote the night before we started recording Girlhood,” Hayley recalled. “I wrote it for me as a satirical version of how I think about my mental health. I thought it was a huge underdog when I submitted it so getting a QMA nomination is a really lovely pat on the back from the industry!”

“We shot the music video in Brisbane at the end of last year with my long-time collaborator Jazmyn Prodcues. I really wanted what I perceive to be the two parts of me in the song represented in the video. So we have me in my ‘therapy’ session kind of poking fun of the awkwardness that sometimes permeates that experience. We also re-created the album cover just for me to rip it all down in reference to the bridge line ‘and I hate every one of my songs’. Then the shots of me in Ezymart without a care in the world and the shots with my guitar and me surrounded the disco balls and glitter is representative of the feeling of perfection that I feel I’m constantly trying for that doesn’t really exist. The shots in the convenience store were filmed in a real and open EzyMart in Southbank with other customers milling around, so I had to park my embarrassment at the door for that one!”

Hayley will play the following shows to celebrate the release of “Getting Better.”

28 April 2024 – Cruisin’ Caboolture @ James Street Precinct, Kabi Kabi Country/ Caboolture (FREE)
3 May 2024 – Hunting Ground Studios @ 5/32 Baldock St, Jagera Country/Marooka
17 May 2024 – Town and Country Weekend 2024 @ Regatta Hotel, Turrbal Country/Toowong (FREE)
18 May 2024 – City Sounds @ Wintergarden Stage, Meeanjin/Brisbane (FREE)
15 June 2024 – In Store Birthday Party @ Sonic Slopes, Meeanjin/Stone’s Corner (FREE)

Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

“Girlhood” – Hayley Marsten

Australia’s female country artists are releasing some incredible music at the moment. Just days after discovering Sammy White’s fantastic debut album Dirty Laundry, I’m getting swept up in Hayley Marsten’s sophomore album Girlhood.

Dramatic strings introduce us to the opening track “Getting Better”, indicating that this is no ordinary country song, or country album. Hayley has always had crossover appeal and she continues playing with genre here. While country sounds anchor the album, “Getting Better” has a classic rock feel made for long drives. The synth sounds of the next track “Drowning Myself” give it more of a pop feel. And then she delivers “Teen Movie,” a tender country ballad with lyrics that reference ‘80s cinematic legend John Hughes. I was once a shy teen who spent too much time hoping for my own Jake Ryan or a friend like Ferris Bueller to make my life more exciting, this one really resonated with me.

From rock to pop to pure country in just three tracks. Hayley Marsten isn’t an artist who likes to stand still. She’s a smart musician, adept at identifying the right sound to tell her stories. She turns up the energy for songs of strength like “I Am a Rich Man” and “I’m Fine, Thanks”. But then she can slow things down for more poignant moments, ensuring we catch every lyric of incredible, intimate songs like “I Knew the Pain” and “My Body Was Not My Own.”

I love Girlhood for similar reasons that I love Dirty Laundry. Both albums unfold like diaries, telling the stories of the strong women at their centre. There are light moments of cheeky humour and darker moments that reveal anger, pain, and loss. In the case of Hayley, her latest release shows a natural evolution. Her debut Spectacular Heartbreak was excellent, but I think Girlhood is even better. Take a listen and check her out on one of the remaining shows on her Girlhood tour, which continues tomorrow night.

23 June 2023 – Low 302, Eora/Sydney
24 June 2023 – The Servo Bar, Dharawal and Dhurga Country/Port Kembla
31 August 2023 – Oodies Café, Taribelang Bunda, Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, and Bailai Country/Bundaberg

Images used with permission from Revolutions per Minute

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayley Marsten Drops Empowering Anthem “I Am a Rich Man”

Hayley Marsten takes inspiration from the iconic Cher for her latest single “I Am a Rich Man.” Hayley wrote the song with Imogen Clark, celebrating the diva’s quote “I don’t need to marry a rich man, Mom, I am a rich man”. That’s right, these women can buy their own flowers too!

“I grew up in a very strong Cher fandom household,” Hayley explained. “I remember having my tiny mind blown listening to ‘Believe’ when I was five. I had always loved the interview she gave talking about how her mum said to her once that she should settle down and marry a rich man and she said ‘Mom, I am a rich man’. For me, I have been asked for so long ‘when am I getting married?’ and although I’m not against the concept I always thought it was weird because I was doing so many other exciting things that I thought were huge achievements and were just as valuable of milestones but weren’t celebrated in the same way. And in my opinion, whether or not a woman has a ring on her finger, she can have a whole and fulfilling life, and be her own rich man to settle down with”.

Hayley also created the concept for the video, which was directed by Jazmyn Produces.

“I really wanted to celebrate different versions of myself as a ‘successful woman’ – in the video I am the Stepford wife that many people in my life wanted me to grow up to be, I am rich enough to roll around on a bed covered in money with my face on it! I am a fangirl, writing in my diary and singing into my hairbrush fully embracing the things that I love and then I’m the version of me now that I worked really hard to become. A woman that my younger self could look up to,” she added. “We took some editing inspiration from Miley Cyrus’ ‘Mothers Daughter’ video and really leant into the Stepford wife trope with the manic hedge trimming. Everything for this video was really DIY with it all being shot at my house or family member’s homes, pulling costuming from my wardrobe and I did my own hair and makeup, very rich man to do it all that way I think! I loved this song from the moment I wrote it with Imogen Clark but this video is easily my favourite to date and I think my best work yet!”

“I Am a Rich Man” is also Hayley’s first release through Cheatin’ Hearts Records. It gives us an exciting taste of what’s to come on Hayley’s sophomore album.

Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayley Marsten Answers the Critics With “I’m Fine, Thanks”

I’ve got nothing but good vibes today with the weekend looming and Hayley Marsten’s latest track “I’m Fine, Thanks” on repeat. This super catchy pop number is the perfect clap back to people who questioned her resilience in the past.

“I sure was sick of people speaking for me about what my album Spectacular Heartbreak meant for my emotional state,” she said. “After it came out, there seemed to be this narrative that I was still spectacularly heartbroken and that I was ‘lucky’ that my ex had ‘given’ me an album. When actually that was not the truth. Never one to let somebody else have the last word, this chorus just fell out and Kieran [Stevenson] and I wrote it a week after we wrote ‘Drowning Myself’.”

Hayley is currently crowdfunding album number two. Head to Pozible to show your support. You can also catch her at one of her upcoming gigs:

29 April 2022 – Songs You Know and Love @ The Triffid, Brisbane (FREE)
30 April 2022 – Venue TBA, Brisbane (supporting Andrew Swift)
27 May 2022 – Holler (A Celebration of Americana Music) @ Home of the Arts, Gold Coast
28 May 2022 – Heartsville Hoedown @ Lefty’s Music Hall, Brisbane
3 June 2022 – Songs You Know and Love @ The Triffid, Brisbane (FREE)

Image used with permission from Footstomp Music

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayley Marsten Drops Title Track From Stellar Debut, “Spectacular Heartbreak”

Formative years on the music scene don’t get much bigger than Hayley Marsten’s 2019. The Queensland country singer released her first album, earned Qld Music Awards and Golden Guitars nominations, and self-booked a 20-date tour around the country. Just in case you missed it all, Hayley has just dropped the title track from that album, “Spectacular Heartbreak.”

The track shows Hayley’s crossover appeal. “I had spent so much time writing about all the hurt and sadness that had inspired the album that I was feeling disappointed and regretful, but writing this song made me come to terms with everything and realise that I don’t want to be scared to open my heart in case it doesn’t work out,” she explained of the track’s inception. “So instead I focused on the stuff that happens on the other side of heartbreak, the spectacular stuff.”

If you love it, make sure you check out the rest of the track from Hayley Marsten’s debut album, Spectacular Heartbreak on your favourite streaming service now.

Image used with permission from Wildheart Publicity

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayley Marsten Tackles Painful Divorce in “Coming Home”

Gladstone country artist Hayley Marsten wears her heart on her sleeve in her new single “Coming Home,” a powerful track recalling her teenage experiences as a child of divorce and the way those formative years still impact her today.

The song has been some time in the making. She’d sketched out the bare bones of the song, but found it difficult to complete the emotional number. It wasn’t until she started collaborating with six-time Golden Guitar winner Lyn Bowtell on the DAG Songwriter’s Retreat that she figured out exactly what she wanted to say. The song has really resonated with fans, as Hayley recounts.

‘Coming Home’ is the song from Lonestar I get the most messages about,” she explained. People come up to me after gigs to tell me they identify with it or that it made them cry.” It’s rare for a song to move people to tears and Hayley is forever grateful for people sharing their own stories, believing “it’s extra special for that to happen on such a personal song.”

“Coming Home” comes from Hayley’s EP Lonestar. You can hear more when Hayley kicks off her Tour With No Name alongside Arna Georgia in Melbourne tomorrow.

12 September 2018 – Some Velvet Morning, Melbourne
13 September 2018 – Bayview Country Art Club, Bittern
14 September 2018 – Music Man Megastore, Bendigo
15 September 2018 – Commercial Hotel, Terang
16 September 2018 – The Loft, Warnambool
29 September 2018 – The Milk Factory, Brisbane
25 October 2018 – Oodies Café, Bundaberg
26 October 2018 – Willy Ed’s, Gladstone
27 October 2018 – Saleyards, Rockhampton
28 October 2018 – Captain Cook Caravan Park, 1770
1 November 2018 – The Green Owl, Brisbane

Image used with permissio from Wild Heart Publicity