Haley hails from Louisville, Kentucky. There in a close-knit community of neighbors and siblings, his passion for singing emerged. At the age of 16, Haley was living in Belgium competing with the national cycling team when he suffered an injury resulting in a collapsed lung. During his recovery, he explored and found inspiration in Europe’s underground music scene, becoming enamored with energetic live performances filled with a grit and energy.
Such autonomy at so young an age greatly influenced Haley, who reflects that the discipline of professional athletics caused him to grow up quickly. “I definitely didn’t have normal teenage years,” he muses. Still, the structured life of an athlete taught him valuable life lessons, the themes of which are often reflected in lyrics that feel and sound years older than the artist. In ‘Fades Away,’ his first single, which landed on Spotify’s Viral 50 chart at numbers 1, 8 and 18 respectively in Australia, the UK and America, Haley’s heartfelt reflections rise over a sparse backbeat (complete with finger snaps), ultimately detailing what it feels like to love someone who is just out of reach.