‘I’m at a Bend in the Road’ (Exclusive)

No diamond-studded watch or Lamborghini here. For Walker Hayes, the ultimate perk of success is fittingly fancy-like, not fancy: an indoor basketball half-court that he and his wife, Laney, built into their brand-new lake home.

“We have a Tuesday night kind of open gym basketball night,” explains Hayes, 45, whose 2021 mega-hit “Fancy Like” just achieved 7x platinum.

A revolving roster of friends, neighbors and even randos drop by for hoop and snacks, and Hayes enjoys the fact that “they don’t care who I am.”

“The other night, one kid was like, ‘Dude, I love your album,'” recalls Hayes, referencing his new project, 17 Problems. “And then another kid was like, ‘You put out an album?’ I was like, ‘Dude, I love that you don’t know. I love that you have zero clue.'”

Hayes’ embrace of both reactions says a lot about who he is. Sure, he’s a one-of-a-kind celebrity, but he delights in being a regular guy, too — and that’s clearly what continues to feed his music.

The new 17-track album is populated with that everyday life, not just the surface stuff — trips to Walmart, phone calls to Mom, hanging with his six kids — but also the deep stuff: love and regret, faith and doubt, grief and hope. He’s been here before, in his four previous albums, but this time around it arrives with a perspective that’s come with a few more birthdays under his belt — a perspective no more superbly captured than in “17 Year Old Problems,” a song that juxtaposes his careless youth with the heavy weight of adulthood.

Now fully in mid-life, Hayes says, “I’m kind of at a bend in the road where I can see this little light at the end, and then I can also see my childhood equally as clear. I have a real, magnificent kind of panoramic view of all of it, and I’m enjoying it. I never have a shortage of emotions to express. I come up with ideas more often than I ever have in my life.”

He wants listeners to hear the struggles. “Pocket Knife,” for example, takes a blade to his strict upbringing and his rebel defiance. “100 Pencils” is a heartfelt stumble through trying to express his love for Laney, his wife of 21 years. “Song for My Son” is simply a prayer to Jesus for ways he can be a better dad for sons Chapel (18), Baylor (16), and Beckett (14).

“Song for My Son”

“A lot of the feelings,” Hayes explains, “are looking at my kids and my wife and accepting that, hey, I always thought I’d be perfect, and I’d be strong all the time, and I’m not. I’m human. I’m mortal. ‘Are y’all okay with that? Oh, thank you. I’m so glad y’all still love me.'”

Yet as much as his everyday insecurities show in the new music, so does the artistry. Perhaps more than ever, Hayes is the circus master of his untamable mind, a seemingly endless source of ear-worm melodies and ingenious wordplay. The career explosion ignited by “Fancy Like” has given him the artistic freedom to be even more true to himself, even more self-assured, and he says, “I’m definitely enjoying myself in it.”

Four years after “Fancy Like,” Hayes says he’s still processing the aftershocks of his “overnight” success after a 15-year grind in Nashville: “It was a lot, and we’re still kind of going, hey, what just happened?”

The best part, he says, was finally gaining the financial resources that allowed him to put an end to the lonely weeks on the road — what he calls “the curse of work” — and bring his entire family along on their own tour bus. He cherishes the snapshot memories of those arena tours: getting to grab stage-side hugs from wife Laney; seeing daughter Lela, now 19 and still Hayes’ go-to TikTok choreographer, working beside him as one of the show’s dancers; bringing onstage all six kids (including daughters Loxley, now 12, and Avery, now 10) to rock out for the big “Fancy Like” finale.

“Those were some of the best times of my life,” says Hayes.

The hardest part of the life changes has been resisting the temptation to try to make lightning strike twice. Though he has sustained and nurtured his popularity with subsequent hits, like “AA,” “U Gurl” and “Good with Me,” nothing has come close to the “Fancy Like” phenomenon.

“It’s silly pressure,” he says. “I honestly saw how that can really kill an artist. Getting to that mountaintop can damage creativity.”

If anything, he says, the massive attention he’s attracted in the past four years has brought what the devoted Christian calls “God’s mercy.”

“I feel like God is giving me grace to stop just looking at myself all the time and look outward,” says Hayes, “and that’s a very life-giving way to exist. I find myself gravitating toward really being more attentive to my children, to being more mindful of my wife’s needs, and not just feeding this [career] dream. That’s just a hungry monster that’s never satisfied. I think as I get older, the desire for that, the allure for that is kind of going away.”

Though he’s admittedly still obsessed with the songwriting process, he also feels a shift there: “I’m enjoying music as a form of worship. I’ve written a lot of these songs on this album because, literally, my brain and heart were filled with fascination with the topic. And then I spent a lot of time writing with dear, dear friends that I looked forward to being with. The creative process, for me, is the best.”

His new tour, launching Oct. 17, signals another shift. After four years of bringing along a band, dancers and an arena-scale production, he’ll be going out this fall on an 18-date acoustic tour in more intimate venues. As much as he loves the arena-stage energy, the Walker Hayes: Unplugged Tour returns the artist to the style of his leaner years when his guitar was often his only companion onstage. This time around, though, he’ll not only be singing but also taking the time to share stories that have shaped his life and music. Hayes reveals that seeing Bruce Springsteen‘s stripped-down Broadway residency inspired him to try this new performance model.

“I’m not a huge Springsteen fan,” Hayes admits, “but I was absolutely blown away at what he discussed and the level of vulnerability he had with his crowd. It wasn’t braggy … It was almost like he prayed aloud all night long, and I was along for the ride.”

Hayes anticipates no two of his shows will be alike, and along with playing the new music, he’ll be digging into deep cuts that will allow for even deeper reflection: “Maybe I can go back and say, hey, I loved this song, but at this age, there’s a mistake in the song, and I’m gonna share with you how I’ve changed since I wrote it.”

Audiences for 10 of the dates will get the added bonus of a warmup from Shane McAnally, Hayes’ producer, collaborator and champion for more than a decade. (Harper Grace supports Hayes on the remaining dates.) McAnally, the Grammy-winning Nashville songwriter who also co-wrote the Broadway hit, Shucked, has recently moved into performing a music-and-comedy act based on his life.

“I’m so excited to kind of collab with him, to hear his show,” says Hayes. “I would love to introduce him every night to let the crowd know how much he means to me. I believe in this guy as much as he believes in me.”

There’s still one more tour change this time around: It won’t be a family affair. Lela is starting her career as a hairstylist, and his teenage boys have sports commitments. Also, Hayes says, “I don’t want them to think ‘I’ve got to go everywhere Dad goes,'” adding that he’s contemplating taking the kids out individually, if only to have some one-on-one time. “I don’t get a lot of that,” he admits.

The decision to tour without his family is obviously an acknowledgment of the fact that his children are growing up and moving toward more independence. For someone who loves being a dad, Hayes is trying mightily to adjust to it all.

“I’m clipping their wings!” he jokes. “Every time I see a new feather, I discreetly pull it off!”

But he quickly turns serious: “At the same time, God is giving us grace to look outside of us and the comforts of having them here. When you see your kids excited about something a little farther away, that’s really good.”

He and Laney built their dream home, about 90 miles south of Nashville, planning for the inevitable. Each of the six children have their own bedroom and bath, “so if they’re married, their wives or husbands will be comfortable, and there’s a place for their babies to sleep,” Hayes says. “Trust me, we have thought out the future, and we’ve expressed it in building this home.”

His own future, he admits, isn’t so well planned, which is both the blessing and curse of earning artistic freedom. “Having options,” he says, “is why I don’t go to the Cheesecake Factory. Their menu is too big. They hand me a book, and I don’t know what to do!”

Being onstage is now his priority, and last month he reached a career milestone with his Opry debut, where he was presented with his 7x platinum “Fancy Like” plaque. Besides the constant of songwriting for his solo career, he’s headed in several other directions, including working on Walker’s Woods, an animated series for children, and writing music for a theatrical musical that he and McAnally have conceived. Hayes’ life story also is in development for a TV series.

“Wings” from “Walker’s Woods”

He knows it’s a lot — and a lot of it is in uncharted territory — but “for whatever reason, I have only had success when I frighteningly tiptoe somewhere no man has been beyond. I’m always like, well, here I go again … and no one’s gonna say yes and be excited, but I have to go there. And then that’s when we succeed.”

With so many of his career dreams having already come true, Hayes says he’s chasing a regular guy’s dream these days: “contentment.”

“It’s probably kind of cliché,” he says, “but I feel like it’s honest. It’s something I’ll always long for because when you can realize contentment in any circumstance, you begin to observe the true beauty in each circumstance, even though each circumstance comes with millions of imperfections. You get to write a song. You get to have a hard conversation with your child. You get to work through something with your wife. You’re allowed that breath in your lungs to experience.”

“And that,” says Hayes, “is the most joyful place to be.”