Ward Hayden And The Outliers Debut Lyric Video For ''Crazy Love

06-15-2023

Album art

(Shock Inc) With the release of their 10th album, Ward Hayden & The Outliers continue to rise with critical acclaim and touring around the world. This week their new album, South Shore, landed at No. 5 on the Alt Country Specialty Chart, which advances its regular post in the Top 5 of the chart since the May 5 release. More summer tour dates have been added to their schedule which brings them through the East Coast, including a performance at Boston's Leader Bank Pavilion on June 24, and a return to Norway (where, along with Sweden, they toured extensively in the Spring).

It's not just the fans that pack the live performances who are taking notice, but acclaim from the media has also been rolling in. The Patriot Ledger praises "the new album is a superb combination of rock-with-twang, and some of Hayden's most concise and evocative songwriting." NYS Music adds, "mellow, insightful, calming sounds that allow you to just sit back, relax and let your worries drift away. Like previous albums every song tells a story ...'Crazy Love' is about just that, crazy love. Was it a first crush? First long-term relationship? It doesn't matter, we have all been there to certain degree."

While Hayden's songwriting comes from a very personal space, it also rides a spectrum of universal appeal touching on the essential matters of life, love and the world around us.

Twangville notes, "there is a lot of contemplation on South Shore. 'Blink of an Eye' chronicles the passage of time from school days to adulthood, with a disheartened view of life in the working world. 'Things These Days' finds the singer feeling anchorless as he considers life choices and dreams. Several of the songs reflect on family life. 'Hush' is about raising a young daughter, sharing some fatherly perspective and hopes for her life. The closing 'Great Unknown' is a tender string-laden ode to his wife with some life advice for the listener added for good measure. One can hear echoes of Hank Williams, of whom Hayden is noted fan, in the stripped down and country-leaning sound of South Shore. It's the kind of record that I suspect that ol' Hank would enjoy."

And the Rochester Beacon says, "with a smooth vibe of honkytonk mixed with rock 'n' roll vibe inspired by artists like Hank Williams, Gene Autry and Johnny Cash, the concept album delves into what it means to leave a small town behind."

"It's the closest thing I've ever done to a concept album," Ward notes. "I wanted to just recount my experience of growing up in a small town and what it meant and what it took to get out and leave that behind and try to pursue something, chase after something that was and is a dream. I used to joke that my greatest achievement was I got out of here because it was no easy feat."

But Hayden did return to his hometown of Sctiuate, MA decades later and with his wife and daughter. To add more personal connections to the songs, local landmarks were captured for the music video for "(Breaking Up with) My Hometown." They are locations he now gets to share with his family, including Maria's Subs, Rocco's Barbershop, Ronnie Shone's General Store, Scituate Town Pier, Peggotty Beach, and the AJ McEachern Memorial Trail.

"Can't Wake Up," first came to Hayden in a dream, or rather a nightmare that bore from a tragic loss of a friend, and eventually turned his life away from his hometown and what he had always known. He eventually embarked on his musical journey, and was able to finish writing the song and record it for South Shore. "It was majorly cathartic to write. In my mind, I relive the memories pretty much every time I hear this song and a lot of emotions come flooding back. For me the only option, once so many things in my hometown fell apart, was to venture out, keep moving forward, and see what else the world had to offer someone looking to start anew."

And what Hayden has created with his band, The Outliers, has been striking fans and critics ever since.

Ward Hayden & The Outliers on Tour

June
17 - Cohasset, MA - South Shore Arts Festival
23 - Salem, NH - Tuscan Village Summer Concert Series
24 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion

July
1 - Norwich, CT - Rose Arts Festival 2023
2 - Marblehead, MA - Marblehead Festival of Arts
3 - Mystic, CT - Blue Monday Concert Series
11 - Breim, Norway - Stiftinga Norsk Country Treff
14 & 15 - Breide, Norway - Norsk Countrytreff Festival 2023
20 - Bridgewater, MA - Music Alley Concert Series
27 - New Shoreham, RI - Captain Nick's

August
14 - Union, ME - Sunset Concert Series
18 - Heath, MA - Heath Fair
19 - Gloversville, NY - Caroga Lake Music Festival w/ The War & Treaty
26 - Plymouth, MA - Plymouth Waterfront Festival

September
3 - Charlestown, RI - Rhythm & Roots Festival
4 - Salem, NH - Tuscan Village Summer Concert Series
15 - Northampton, MA - The Parlor Room
17 - Boston, MA - City Winery Boston
29 - Fall River, MA - Narrows Center for the Arts

October
20 - Portsmouth NH - The Music Hall