Hayes & The Heathens
Now, just to be clear, “Hayes & The Heathens” does not mean Hayes Carll with “opening act” The Band of Heathens (or, for that matter, the other way around). It means ONE hellaciously talent-stacked band from downbeat to encore, fronted by three acclaimed singer-songwriters (Carll and The Heathens’ Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist), armed to the teeth with guitars, swagger, and some of the most irresistible American rock ’n’ roll, folk, country, and soulful blues anthems of the last two decades. To borrow a line (and the title) from Carll’s latest album: You get it all.
Far from coming out of nowhere, Hayes & The Heathens is a union born out of years of mutual respect. Their respective award-winning careers have run parallel and crisscrossed many times, most recently back in October of 2023, when Carll and The Heathens shared a freewheeling family jam in Luckenbach, Texas.
“We had such a blast collaborating and playing together out in Luckenbach, that we wanted to take this on the road and share it with more people,” says Quist.
Whether through combining their celebrated catalogs, writing and recording new music, or reinterpreting their favorite musical works by others… There’s a whole lotta tall-walking, roots-rocking funky coolness coming your way, and it’s got trouble in mind. The kind of good, fun trouble that happens when two of the scrappiest acts to ever tumble out of Texas and storm the Americana charts — Hayes Carll and The Band of Heathens — join forces and become one.
“We’ve played a lot of music together over the last 10 years,” says Carll, “and our creative relationship continues to evolve into its own thing. Hayes & The Heathens is that thing.”
“This sort of medicine show, revival, rock and roll circus is a unique presentation of our music,” adds Jurdi. “I think anyone who loves the spontaneity and chemistry of a live performance is going to be in for a magical evening. I know we’re going to have a good time!”
And whether that magical good-time lasts for one quick spring fling across the South or continues to evolve into who knows what more further on down the road, this much is a given: The collective stomp and holler of Hayes & The Heathens is gonna be righteous.