Hailey Whitters w/ Shaniah Paige

Doors: 7 pm / Show 7:30pm
Opening Act: Shaniah Paige
Age Restriction: All Ages             
Web: http://www.haileywhitters.com/


Hailey Whitters has an endearing habit of suggesting she’s perennially late to the party. “I’ve always just felt like a late bloomer,” she says, with a sigh that turns into a laugh.

The oldest of six children born to a large Catholic family, Whitters grew up a determined but unexpected artist, drawn to songs and singers but unsure why. “I didn’t grow up in a super musical family,” she says. “I just had a weird inkling to do music.” The Dixie Chicks, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, and other women who drove 90s country radio were her gateway heroines, which led to a deep dive into classic country, and ultimately, Americana storytellers such as Patty Griffin, John Prine, and Gillian Welch.

“I took my first trip to Nashville when I was 16 and fell in love,” Whitters says. “I immediately knew I wanted to move here.” A year later, she did. She also enrolled in college, and paid her proverbial dues as a nanny, waitress, and salon receptionist before signing with left-of-center lighthouse Carnival Music in 2012.
“When I was younger, I just mimicked people that I admired,” Whitters says. “I learned how to tell a story.” With an arresting voice effortlessly rooted in honky tonk’s long tradition of angelic sopranos who are equally comfortable mourning and raising hell, she has spent the last several years discovering that she has something of her own to say -- along with a unique way to say it.

Whitters writes and sings songs that detail the search for and acceptance of her own life -- sometimes dreamily, other times with rollicking irreverence.

The guitar-soaked stroll “Late Bloomer” is an autobiographical ode to lollygagging in a variety of situations. “I was the oldest of six, so I was very naïve, I felt like,” she says. “But I finally came to accept that it’s actually okay to figure out who you are and what you want later in life.”

In her late teens and early 20s, Whitters performed almost exclusively around Nashville, starting with dive bars and storied Lower Broad honky tonks, singing cover songs for tourists and tips. At local writers’ nights, she began ditching others’ songs in favor of her own. The town noticed:Music Row critic Robert K. Oermann praised her, urging, “Keep your ears on this newcomer,” while the Nashville Scenedeclared Whitters “summons the space-country aesthetics” of 90’s Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson.

 Winning over a crowd delivers an inimitable high for Whitters, who relishes connecting live. “I love performing ‘One More Hell,’” she says. “You think no one’s listening, and then the middle of that song, you see them raise their beer glasses in the air and know that they’re listening and that you’re all on the same page.”
 Lately, Whitters’ taken to gigging all over the country. She’s opened shows for acts ranging from Randy Houser to Chris Knight, and is sincerely grateful for every opportunity. “I will play just about anywhere,” she says with a laugh. “There’s something about getting out on the road and traveling that I just love.”

 When she’s not touring or writing, Whitters is in the studio, hard at work on her debut album.

 “I’m a risk taker,” Whitters says. “My friends always laugh because I’m kind of one extreme or the other. I’m not really a middle ground kind of person. You take these risks, and then the reward is just…” She trails off for a moment. “I feel like the part that feels so awesome about it afterwards is knowing that you were scared to do it, but then you did -- and it paid off.”

Shaniah Paige is an up and coming country/pop music artist from Roseville, Illinois a town of 900 residents.  Shaniah is a small town teenager who brings a wholesome Midwest style and incredible vocal ranges to her live performances. Shaniah has played with and been recognized by some of the best artists in Nashville, TN & Los Angeles, CA.  Shaniah has three country singles on ITunes and a music video “Roseville” on VEVO & YouTube. 

Shaniah spent the year of 2014 traveling to Nashville for monthly performances at Virginia Cannon’s song writer nights.  Shaniah performed with highly regarded artists such as Dave Miller (Gibson Miller Band), Peter Mayer (Jimmy Buffett), & Bekka Bramlett (Fleetwood Mac).  Shaniah’s time in Nashville included additional training with Bekka Bramlett along with acting training with Bridget Berger from ABC’s “Nashville”.   

Shaniah earned two prestigious HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Awards) Nominations in fall of 2014.  The nominations were for country single of the year “Roseville” and music video “Roseville”.  Shaniah was selected out of 200 nominees to perform the following night after the HMMA’s at the Redbury Hotel on Hollywood BLVD.   Shaniah’s band consisted of industry heavy hitters, Steve Fekete (Cassadee Pope) & Demian Arriaga (Jonas Brothers).