Jackie Hayes has “it.”
At least as much as “it” is still a thing, which luckily it is. On her brilliant, impossibly good debut EP, “There’s Always Going to Be Something,” Hayes, only 21 years old, establishes herself as a musician with a clear vision, an abundance of talent, a keen ear for melody and a whole lot of heart.
The next wave of Chicago music is here.
But arriving at this moment took a certain amount of determination on Hayes’ part.
Raised in Waukegan, Hayes grew up in a musical family. Her parents were in a cover band and Hayes often joined them at their shows. But it wasn’t until she joined her church’s band that she began to enter the local spotlight. A gifted piano player, Hayes then began to play local talent shows and county fairs.
“It wasn’t necessarily stuff that I wanted to do. More so by playing, I could get practice since I was so young,” she said.
Later, she cut her chops at Waukegan’s monthly “art walk,” where Hayes would play at local galleries, a nearby tattoo shop, a family piano shop, and even just busk on the sidewalk to earn a little cash and gain experience.
After graduating high school early, she began working at the mall to save up money to purchase time to use at a local recording studio, eventually crafting her first musical demos under the name Family Reunion.
Still, Hayes had dreams of getting out of her town and would often take trips both to the city and to Milwaukee for an escape. At 19, she moved out of her parents’ home and eventually made her way to Chicago.
Hayes began working on “There’s Always Going to Be Something” a year ago while working at a grocery store. During her shifts, she’d often think of new ideas and lyrics while listening to her demos. Later, she’d write notes on her phone and send them to her producer.
“I’m very lucky that I never got caught because I’m sure I would have been fired for that,” she joked.
For inspiration, Hayes turned to the music she enjoyed when she was younger.
“I saw some study that said the music that you listen to in your adolescence is the music that you’re going to have a special emotional attachment to because it was in your coming-of-age years,” she said.
Hayes turned to bands like Paramore and The Strokes, influences that can be felt on tracks like lead single “have fun,” which has a brash confidence and charm reminiscent of those aughts-era bands.
Lyrically, Hayes said the EP is a journey of self-reflection.
“Some songs aren’t really about one thing. It’s more so how I was feeling at the time. One of the things that this EP is (about is) just kind of growing up and realizing that a lot of the things that I had idealized when I was younger were just that,” said Hayes. “It’s more so growing up and realizing that I had idealized a lot of aspects (of) adult life.”
And some songs, like “brand new,” the EP’s second track, recall those early post-high school years as she began to truly focus on making music and worked to save up for instruments.
“That’s kind of like when I first started. I was 17 at the time and now I’m about to be 22 next month. That’s when I really started to lock myself in (the) basement of my parents’ house and just (started) playing guitar more and writing music,” she recalled. “For whatever reason, I just kept thinking about it.”
Living with her parents, Hayes said she dreamed of what her life would be like after she moved out. But when she finally did, the reality was not as perfect as she imagined.
“I moved out (and) I realized I still have all these problems. It’s not like moving or leaving can just fix all that for you,” said Hayes. “Sometimes I feel like you’re so focused on moving on to the next step, you don’t even enjoy yourself and the process of it all. … That’s really how I was for a long time, just like rushing, rushing, rushing everything, you know. I didn’t really have a lot of time to enjoy things.”
Things eventually turned around for Hayes. Now firmly in the city, she completed the EP in March of this year, just in time for the dog days of summer. The rest of her year is jam packed, with a performance slot at Riot Fest, work on her debut album, and preparation for a 2022 tour with Briston Maroney.
“I just hope people like it,” Hayes said. “But I’m even more excited to just continue on that journey (to) just keep working on stuff really.”
Jackie Hayes plays Sept. 17 at Riot Fest in Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive at Ogden Avenue; riotfest.org
Britt Julious is a freelance critic.