MuzicNotez: First off, First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you again, for our fourth time!

What have you been up to since we last spoke?

• Hayden Grove: Thank you for chatting with me! I honestly don’t remember when we last spoke, so the answer is just continuing to play three to four gigs a week, create new music, look for recording and playing opportunities, create content to build my social media following. There’s a lot that goes into it all.

MuzicNotez: Saw you recently released a new single, “Smile,” which I saw you posted a lovely tribute to Tony Bennett with. What does this song mean to you?

• Hayden Grove: Yes, I recorded Smile back in April and decided that July 21st would be the day to release the song. Obviously, I had no idea that Tony Bennett would pass that day, but I think it was meant to be. The song, which Tony recorded in 1959, is this blend of hope and sadness, beauty and blemish, light and dark. It fit the mood of the day perfectly. It was a day to celebrate Tony’s beautiful life and to mourn a great loss. Though the song was meant to sound a bit melancholy, its title is still Smile, which I think Tony would want us to do as we remember him.

MuzicNotez: Another thing we noticed, is that you had the honor of singing the national anthem in your home town of Cleveland for the Guardians. What was that experience like?

• Hayden Grove: Yes, it was such an honor to sing the anthem in Cleveland. It’s definitely a dream come true to have done it in a place that’s so special to me. To sing it in front of so many family members, friends, co-workers and supporters, it really meant a lot to me. I was not as nervous as I thought I was going to be, but the adrenaline was definitely pumping.

MuzicNotez: Next up, you have a new single dropping later this month, covering the beautiful “At Last.” What can you tell us about this rendition of yours?

• Hayden Grove: It’s really simple. Just me and a violin played by Megan Sullivan– a local musician. I wanted it to be intimate. To showcase my voice and her abilities, while also showcasing the emotion and the meaning of the lyric. I hope people feel it. Feel the love and the care that went into each note.

MuzicNotez: You seem to be working with a lot of talented musicians to create your music. How do you pick the artists you work with?

• Hayden Grove: Man, I’ve been so lucky to work with some incredible musicians in Cleveland and my answer to the question is, honestly, I just hope they’ll say yes. I need to put a band together and I already worry about the rejection. Cleveland has such a fabulously talented foundation of musicians and I really want to dive in more and to start playing with them consistently.

MuzicNotez: You famously sing a lot of brilliant covers, as a lot of crooners do. Are you ever thinking of writing or recording some original work eventually?

• Hayden Grove: That is something that’s currently in the works. I have two songs I’ve written, but I’m getting some help from a few co-writers to really make them great. That’s the next goal, for sure, is to release original music. After that, I really want to go for it and just make one, big huge, Hayden album. Putting all my resources, abilities, arrangements and everything into it. I don’t know how long it will take or when it will happen, but once I get these two songs out, that is the next big goal.

MuzicNotez: Every time I check out your social pages, they’re blowing up more and more, to your credit. What kind of advice could you give to aspiring artists that they could use to build on their social pages like you are?

• Hayden Grove: Social media is SO important, whether you like it or not. I have fans all over the world because of social media, something I never thought possible. Though, obviously, it’s important to have grassroots implementations to garner a following locally, social media allows you to be national and worldwide simultaneously. So, I put a TON of effort, creativity and planning into what I want on social media. I try to post at least once to Instagram and TikTok per day. You never know what video could reach someone.

  Michael Buble has been my hero since I was 10 years old and now, at 30, I consider him a friend. Why? Social media. He saw a TikTok, liked it, liked more and followed me. Now, he follows my career, gives me advice, looks out for me, which means more than he or anyone could ever know. That only happened because of social media.

  It’s a massively, massively powerful tool and I think the only way to be “good” at it is to be creative, but more importantly, consistent. Just put yourself out there as consistently as possible and your audience will find you. It may take a while, but slowly and surely, it will find you.

MuzicNotez: What else are you working on? What can we expect to see and hear from you in the future?

• Hayden Grove: On top of what I already mentioned above, I am trying to get into bigger venues in Cleveland, trying to create my own little band and trying to sing the national anthem at a Browns game and a Cavs game to complete the Cleveland professional sports triumvirate. The main focus, however, is on all that was mentioned above.

MuzicNotez: Anything else you wish to say about yourself or your music? Any message for your fans?

• Hayden Grove: Thank you for the continued support, for all the love you’ve shown me. It keeps me going when I wonder if all the work is worth it. Thank you so much.

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