Walker Hayes loves Spokane and touring behind 'Country Stuff'

Nov. 3—Perhaps one day Walker Hayes will be your neighbor.

When the country sensation played the Knitting Factory in April 2018, Hayes had some time on his hands and walked the streets of Spokane. It's not uncommon for recording artists to speak glowingly of each town they visit but Hayes gushed about Spokane.

"I was so impressed with Spokane that I called my wife and said, 'You got to see the neighborhood I'm walking through. There's cute little homes with swing sets and there's a beautiful river flowing through town.' I love Spokane. The climate is great. It has some mountains."

Speaking of peaks, not everyone reaches the top of the country mountain but Hayes has experienced the summit. It took some time as Hayes has been slugging it out on the Nashville circuit as a singer-songwriter since 2005, but Hayes finally hit pay dirt.

The infectious single "Fancy Like" reached the apex of the country charts at the end of 2021. The ubiquitous tune has propelled his latest, "Country Stuff: The Album," into a hit and Walker is headlining arenas and amphitheaters.

"It's been amazing," Hayes said. "I've been at this for a while and it's just great to have this kind of success."

Hayes, 42, and his wife left their native Mobile, Alabama for Nashville in 2005. Hayes landed a gig as a songwriter for a Nashville publishing company and shortly thereafter signed a deal with Mercury. Hayes' initial single "Pants" charted in 2010. The adventurous Hayes had some success with his style of country, which includes elements of R&B, hip hop and rock.

However, it didn't all come together until the loose and playful "Country Stuff" dropped. "It all worked out for 'Country Stuff' because of COVID," Hayes said. "I had a break and I wrote when I wanted to. In Nashville everything is by appointment. You're scheduled to write and you bring an idea in (to a songwriting session). The great thing about COVID is that I wrote when I was inspired. If it weren't for COVID there might not be a 'Fancy Like.' I sat down and laid down a vocal to guitar and a drum beat at home. If you isolate the vocal, you can probably hear my dogs barking in the background and my wife turning the sink on and off."

The human element with "Fancy Like" is refreshing in this age of sonic perfection. "I feel the same way," Hayes said. "I listen to a lot of classical music and I'll listen to someone playing the cello and you can hear them lean in when they play. You'll hear a chair creak or you'll hear them take a breath or they let out a deep one. It's so cool when it's not robotic."

Hayes' producer Joe Thibodeux is down with sonic flaws. "Joe is fine with that," Hayes said. "He's on the same page. The last thing he wants to do is clean something up that already sounds good. If it works for us we leave it. What we have to do is keep the record button on at all times. You never know what you'll end up with. Sometimes you can't duplicate what you just did. "

Hayes, who will perform Thursday at the Spokane Arena, has no problem taking risks in the studio, onstage or in life. "I grew up in a generation of safety and security," Hayes said. "No one ever told me that I would be miserable if I ventured down that path. I know the people who have the safe, secure jobs that they'll have forever that are boring. Those people are like they're already dead. What shocks me is that these people actually teach their children to do the same thing. They encourage their kids to jump on that terrible hamster wheel. That's awful."

That's not so for Hayes, who is the married father of six children ages 6 to 17. "I get so much joy from my children," Hayes said. "I enjoy everything about family life and because of them, life in general. I never have a shortage of ideas. My manager told me the other day that it's amazing that I never get writer's block. That's a huge blessing for me. There's just not enough paper in the world for me. I'm always in writer mode."

Hayes is already working on material for his next album. "It's very different," Hayes said. "It's a very diverse album. It'll be different than your average country record, which is packaged and boxed up. I'm excited about what I'm writing since I'm trying to take it to another level. I refuse to believe that it's all been written."