Exclusive: Hayes & The Heathens Say New Band is a Quirky, Funky Snowball

Americana engine Hayes Carll and gold-selling rock group The Band of Heathens unearthed unexpected musical camaraderie about a year ago when playing together in Luckenbach—a discovery that turned into an eight-song album called Hayes & The Heathens, which they released on October 4.

In addition to the album, the men call themselves Hayes & The Heathens.

The October 4 date is significant as Hayes & The Heathens launched their inaugural music festival, “Everybody’s Somebody Fest,” at Luckenbach, Texas, the following day. The musicians developed the concept for Hayes & The Heathens when they played together in Luckenbach in October of 2023.

“Our collaboration was so natural and easy,” said The Band of Heathens’ Ed Jurdi. “We’ve been great compadres for such a long time, and it was just the right time for this project to come to life. I think you can really hear all of that in the music. This is really that rare alliance where 1+1 = 3.”

The band recorded Hayes & The Heathens in two sessions this past spring at The Finishing School in Austin, TX. Carll and Heathens Jurdi and Gordy Quist wrote seven of the eight songs on the album. Hayes penned their first joint effort, “Nobody Dies From Weed,” with Driver Williams. In addition to the new original songs, the men put their unique spin on The Proclaimers’ 1988 hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” for the self-titled album.

“Leaning into each other’s strengths, we found some sonic territory new to all of us, something between country-funk and good-time boogie,” said Quist. “The deciding factor for all of our creative choices on the record came down to the simple question of what sounds more fun.”

Hayes & The Heathens Q&A:

Why does this collaboration work?

Ed Jurdi: This collaboration works well because everyone has their ego in check. It’s all about supporting and lifting each other up and finding ways to have fun making great music, which is our favorite thing to do.

Hayes Carll: There is a history of friendship and mutual respect that frees us to take creative chances and allows us to really lean into what we do best. We all have different strengths: melodically, lyrically, musically, and sonically, and we found a nice workflow with this album that found each of us naturally taking the reins at different times.

What sparked this creative partnership?

Gordy Quist: Over the years, we’ve dabbled in a handful of touring collaborations that we’ve all really enjoyed and this time started off as us doing a show together, which turned into doing a couple songs in the studio together, which then snowballed into an entire album. Each step forward has had momentum and creative energy enough to want to take another step.

If you were to describe the project, what would you say?

Gordy Quist: Hayes and The Heathens is the best of both of our worlds. It’s soulful, quirky, funky, and fun.

What did you hope to create for listeners with your self-titled debut?

Gordy Quist: While we were making the album we honestly weren’t thinking about our listeners at all. We were completely focused on making something that got us excited, that made us laugh, and that would make a great live show. Now that it’s done, and we accomplished what we set out to do, I hope people enjoy listening to the album as much as we enjoyed making it.

What is your favorite song on the album, and why?

Hayes Carll: The toughness of the music and economy of language on “Nothin’ To Do With Your Love” makes it a standout for me. The guys did such a great job of making it sound famous to my ear anyway.

If you were to describe the project, what would you say?

Hayes Carll: A collection of friends making good-timin’ funky bookie harmonizin’ sing-along music you can dance to.

What can people expect from your tour?

Ed Jurdi: The shows that we’re doing have a fun, loose collaborative spirit to things. We’re performing songs off the Hayes & Heathens release, along with reimagined versions of BOH & Hayes tunes, as well as some tasty covers from some of our favorite artists like Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and The Band.

The show clocks in somewhere north of two hours, so it’s a freight train of music that takes everyone on a trip together. The audience has been a great part of the show, sending us great energy every night. They’re clapping, dancing, singing along and smiling all the while.

Photo Credit: Casen Hutton

Hayes & The Heathens Vinyl Track Listing:

SIDE A

1. Nobody Dies From Weed
2. Any Other Way
3. See How They Run
4. Nothin To Do With Your Love

SIDE B

1. Water From A Holy Grail
2. Adeline
3. I’m Gonna Be
4. You Can’t Stay Here

1. 2024 Hayes & The Heathens Tour Dates:

1. 9/14 – Denver, CO9/15 – Salt Lake City, UT

1. 9/16 – Boise, ID

1. 9/17 – Seattle, WA

1. 9/19 – Portland, OR

1. 9/20 – Sacramento, CA

1. 9/21 – Novato, CA

1. 9/22 – Menlo Park, CA

1. 9/24 – Paso Robles, CA

1. 9/25 – Hermosa Beach, CA

1. 9/26 – Solana Beach, CA

1. 10/5 – Luckenbach, TX

1. 10/12 – Fort Worth, TX

1. 11/17 – Houston, TX

For more information, visit: Hayes & The Heathens | Official Website (hayesandheathens.com)