Hayley Jensen: Finding the good in everything

From the early days of Australian Idol and intimate gigs at the Brass Monkey to chart-topping albums and international festival stages, Hayley Jensen has built her career on determination, independence and a genuine love of live music.

I catch up with an old friend to talk about her new single, the realities of running your own music career and why sometimes the best thing you can do is trust everything will work out.

There's something refreshing about catching up with an artist you've known for more than twenty years, particularly when you've watched their career develop from those early days of playing small rooms to headlining shows and appearing on festival stages around the world. Hayley Jensen is one of those artists. I first crossed paths with her around 2004, not long after her appearance on Australian Idol, when she was finding her feet as a performer and playing venues like the Brass Monkey in Cronulla.

Two decades later, she's still doing what she loves, only now with two ARIA No. 1 albums, a growing international audience and a touring schedule that would exhaust most people.

When we caught up, Hayley had been in the middle of another particularly busy stretch, taking her Wild as the Wind tour around Australia and travelling to the UK for a festival appearance and another show. She was clearly enjoying herself, although the prospect of a little time at home was beginning to sound pretty appealing.

"It's just been a massive few months," she tells me. "Lots and lots of shows, travelled all across the country and over to the UK as well. I've been absolutely loving every minute of it, but I'm also looking forward to a little bit of downtime at home."

The tour has been an important one for Hayley, not simply because of the number of shows, but because it has allowed her to reach audiences in places she hadn't previously visited. With support from a Music Australia touring grant, she was able to take her full band on the road rather than performing the stripped-back acoustic shows she had originally planned.

For anyone who's spent time working in the Australian live music industry, the significance of that shouldn't be underestimated. Touring this country is expensive, particularly when you're travelling with a band and crew. Flights, accommodation, vehicle hire and the distances between regional towns can quickly turn what looks like a successful run of shows into a difficult financial exercise.

"The grant made the difference in that I was able to take my band around with me," Hayley explains. "I'd already planned a tour, but it was probably just going to be acoustic. The cost of taking four additional humans with you, accommodation, car hire, flights and everything else, particularly in Australia, can be the difference between being able to do it and not, or having to do it in a stripped-back format. And then your show's not the same."

It's a reality that rarely makes it into the promotional material, but it's one of the biggest challenges facing independent Australian musicians. Audiences want to see the full show, and artists want to deliver it, but getting everyone and everything from one side of the country to the other is no small undertaking.

For Hayley, the opportunity to take her band into new regions has been particularly rewarding, extending the life of Country Soul, the album she describes as Australia's highest-selling female country album of the previous year. Rather than simply returning to familiar venues, she's been able to introduce the music to new audiences and build on the connections she's developed throughout her career.

And that brings us to her latest single, ‘Everything All Works Out’, a song that feels particularly appropriate given the unpredictable nature of the business she's spent much of her life navigating.

On the surface, it's a bright, upbeat country track with an infectious rhythm and a positive message. But behind it sits a much more personal story about expectations, disappointment and learning to recognise the good things happening around you, even when life isn't unfolding quite the way you planned

Interestingly, the title didn't come from Hayley at all. It came from her husband, Chris.

"The music industry can be so tough,’ she says. ‘It can be crippling at times. People would look at my career and say, “What would she have to complain about? She's touring the world, she's had number one songs and albums. What more could you want?” But the amount of things we go for, or try to achieve, or apply for, and the amount of things that actually happen are two very different things."

It's a point that will resonate with anyone who's worked in the creative industries. Success from the outside doesn't necessarily reflect the disappointments, missed opportunities and frustrations that happen behind the scenes. For every festival booking, successful release or sold-out show, there can be countless other opportunities that never materialise.

Hayley admits she's not immune to getting caught up in those disappointments, particularly when she's invested so much of herself into making something happen. That's where Chris comes in, offering a different perspective.

"He said, “It might not be exactly as you want, Hayley, but it is still all working out, isn't it? Everything is all working out for you. You could be focusing on all the negatives and the things that aren't working, or you could be focusing on the positives and the things that are."

That simple observation stayed with her, eventually becoming the foundation for a song she wrote with longtime friend and fellow songwriter Anthony Snape. Rather than pretending that everything in life is perfect, the idea was to encourage people to imagine a positive outcome instead of automatically preparing themselves for the worst.

Hayley has since taken an interest in the psychology behind optimism and the way our expectations can influence how we approach everyday situations. She's also quick to admit that maintaining a positive outlook doesn't always come naturally, even for someone who generally appears confident and upbeat.

"My husband has an almost inhuman amount of optimism,’ she laughs. ‘He's always seeing the positive and the best in situations. That's been a really positive influence on me. It's very easy to get in your own head about things not going the way you would have liked, even if they're going really well."

In many ways, the song is as much a reminder to herself as it is a message to her audience. "It's the song I needed to remind myself that it may not be exactly as I planned, you little control freak, Hayley, but it's alright. It's worked out."

When she and Anthony sat down to write it, they found themselves talking about John Lennon's ‘Imagine’ and the simple idea that music can encourage people to look at the world differently.

"We sort of agreed that if it was a good enough idea for John Lennon to imagine a better world, and it wasn't too cheesy for him to do it, then it would be okay for me to give it my little stamp too."

It's a different sentiment from some of Hayley's recent releases. ‘Burn It Down’ brought out her rockier side, while ‘Wild as the Wind’ leaned into the energy and excitement of contemporary country. Rather than following a carefully mapped-out musical direction, she says she's enjoying the freedom of exploring different sounds between albums.

"I'm just following where the song takes me," she explains. "I'm in between albums at the moment, so I'm having a bit of a play with songs I've had in my notepad or voice memos for a while, trying different things and seeing what resonates."

That freedom is something she values, particularly given her background in rock music and her willingness to move between different styles.

"The beautiful thing about country music at the moment is that it's so broad. You can go from singer-songwriter and folk-sounding music to the rockiest-sounding song, and they can coexist. It's also showing different parts of my personality. We have days that are great, relationships that are great, and days and relationships that aren't so great. Being able to explore all of that through songs is part of the joy of being a songwriter."

It's an observation that says plenty about the changing Australian country scene. The genre has become increasingly open to different musical influences, and audiences appear more willing than ever to embrace artists who don't fit neatly into traditional categories. But while the music has evolved, one aspect of Hayley's career has remained remarkably consistent. 

She's done it independently.

Despite her chart success, international performances and years of touring, Hayley has never followed the conventional path of signing to a major label and handing the day-to-day running of her career to a management company. She's remained self-managed, making the creative and business decisions herself, along with taking responsibility for the financial risks that come with them.

When I asked what that independence had given her that she might not have experienced within the traditional record industry, her answer was immediate.

"I'd love to know. I've never known the other way.’ She laughs, but there's a serious point behind it. ‘I'm the captain of my ship. If we sink, it's my fault. And if we get to our destination, whatever that is one day, or if there ever is a destination, then I get to experience the full joy of knowing I had an idea and followed it through."

For Hayley, one of the greatest rewards is watching something develop from the smallest creative spark into a finished song or project that becomes meaningful to other people. It's a process she's been able to control from beginning to end, although she readily acknowledges that independence comes with its own difficulties.

"Some days it's lonely, not having a team around you that you can bounce all your ideas off. But it gives you that sense of freedom. I'm grateful I've been able to explore my ideas without limitation."

Of course, creative freedom doesn't remove financial limitations. Every recording, video, marketing campaign and tour requires investment, and when you're independent, much of that responsibility sits with you.

"You have to self-fund everything you do," she says. "I've had a mix of trying things and them not working, and trying things that worked better than other times. But that's the joy of being creative. I can only be proud of what I've been able to achieve on my own."

She's not opposed to working with a larger team in the future, but for now, independence remains the way she's built her career.

Our conversation eventually drifted back to those early days after Australian Idol, when Hayley was beginning to establish herself on the live circuit. It was a lovely reminder of just how important smaller venues can be in the development of an artist. She remembered playing the Brass Monkey in Cronulla, and more particularly, how much it meant to her at the time.

"I remember watching artists I loved and looking at their tour schedules before I started doing this, seeing all the little venues and touring routes and thinking, 'It'd be great to play there one day.' And then one day you get to do it yourself."

She described those early opportunities as a young artist being given somewhere safe to develop, comparing it to a seedling being watered and allowed to grow.

"I'm grateful for people like you and venues like yours for taking a risk on baby artists like me. That really helped me." Having spent so many years working with emerging musicians, I know how important those first opportunities can be. A venue willing to take a chance on someone who hasn't yet established an audience can make a genuine difference. It's not always about the money or the size of the crowd. Sometimes it's simply about having somewhere to play, learn your craft and begin building a relationship with an audience.

Hayley still returns to the Brass Monkey regularly, something she clearly enjoys. ‘It's even better when I come back and people still turn up who aren't just my friends and family who've driven all the way,’ she laughs.

From those early venue shows to international stages, Hayley's journey has taken her a long way, including a particularly memorable appearance at Nashville's legendary Bluebird Cafe.

For songwriters, the Bluebird occupies a special place in American music history. It's an intimate room where the songs themselves take centre stage, and where some of the biggest names in country music have performed in front of audiences who come to listen rather than simply be entertained.

For Hayley, performing there was a deeply personal experience, made even more meaningful by the song she chose to sing. She was invited onto the stage by songwriter Phil Barton, another longtime friend she'd known since the early days following Australian Idol. Together, they performed a song they'd written about her father, who had passed away, and the connection she still feels to him.

"It was like an out-of-body experience,’ she recalls. ‘I got to perform a song with the person I'd written it with, someone I'd known for such a long time. And it was about my dad, losing my dad and still feeling that connection to him." The setting made the moment even more powerful.

"I'm not a religious person, but if there was anything like what a church would feel like, it was that room. If the walls could talk. You could almost feel the spirits of all the songs that have been performed there before, swirling around you."

It's the sort of experience that reminds you why certain venues become so important to music culture. Their significance isn't measured by capacity or production budgets, but by the stories that have been shared within their walls.

"It's an experience I'll never forget,’ Hayley says. ‘It was one of those bucket-list things you almost think you'll never get to do." Back home, she's encouraged by the growing enthusiasm for Australian country music, particularly among younger audiences. She believes social media has helped artists reach listeners who might never have discovered their music through traditional channels, although she also sees the increasing importance of real live performances in a world where so much entertainment is experienced through a screen.

"With AI and all the fake stuff we're seeing on social media, it's such a blessing and a curse,’ she says. ‘It allows you to reach people, but being able to get out from behind the screen and actually see people play music in real life is still so important."

She'd recently performed at Groundwater Country Music Festival on the Gold Coast, where the size and enthusiasm of the audience reinforced just how much the genre has grown.

"There were thousands and thousands of people. Particularly with the young ones, they're gravitating towards the fashion, and it's becoming a bit of a lifestyle thing as well. It's really exciting to be part of." It's something we've been seeing across the country. Country music is no longer confined to the traditional festival circuit, with audiences embracing everything from contemporary country-rock to Americana, folk and roots music.

The boots, hats and denim might be part of the attraction, but ultimately it's the music and the live experience that keep people coming back. For Hayley, touring remains one of the most rewarding parts of the job, even with the enormous distances involved.

"What always blows me away is just how bloody big this country is,’ she says. ‘You fly for hours to get somewhere, and then you've still got to drive five or six hours to get to the place you're actually performing."

And then, after all that travelling, people turn up.

"You can perform for people who've never seen you before, and the way they respond to the songs can refresh your love for music and performing live all over again. It reminds you how powerful music is in bringing people together."

It's a sentiment I can certainly relate to. After decades in the music industry, there are still few things better than seeing a room full of people connect with a performer, particularly when that connection happens somewhere a long way from the major cities.

As our conversation drew to a close, I wanted to find out what Hayley's perfect Sunday might look like if she could put the phone down, forget about touring schedules and step away from running her own business for a day.

She laughed at the suggestion.

"I don't know such a day. Small business owners don't really get a break." But given the opportunity, she had a pretty good idea of how she'd spend it.

"I'd have to have a lovely glass of Pinot Gris in my hand, sitting in the sun somewhere. I'd probably love to be down at my mum's beautiful property with the horses, being in the country air with people I love, friends and family. There'd still have to be some music playing in the background. And a big seafood platter, Geoff, if you really want to know."

Now, that sounds like a pretty decent Sunday to me.

And because this is Denim Is Good, there was one final question I couldn't let her escape.

Denim is good because?

"It's sturdy, strong and reliable," she laughs. "That's what we'll go with."

It's not a bad description of Hayley herself, come to think of it.

More than twenty years after we first crossed paths, she's still writing, recording, touring and finding ways to make things happen on her own terms. There have been plenty of successes, a few disappointments and no shortage of hard work along the way, but the enthusiasm that first brought her into those small venues hasn't disappeared.

Her new single might be called ‘Everything All Works Out’, but it's clear Hayley isn't suggesting that success simply arrives if you sit back and wait for it. Her career tells a very different story. It's about putting in the work, taking the risks, dealing with the things that don't go to plan and occasionally reminding yourself to appreciate just how far you've come.

And after all that time doing exactly that, Hayley Jensen has earned the right to enjoy the view.

Hayley Jensen's latest single ‘Everything All Works Out’ is available now, alongside ‘Burn It Down’ and ‘Wild as the Wind’.