I’d heard of rockabilly hall-of-famer Ronnie Hayward, but had never actually seen him play until accidentally stumbling upon him opening up for Sun Records veteran Sleepy LaBeef at the Dominion on Queen a couple summers ago.
When so many performers in the genre turn it into a goofy cartoon of slicked back hair and campy tattoos, Hayward immediately strikes you as the real deal. While he usually performs with a small band, for that gig he performed the first half solo, captivating the audience easily with only his raspy vocals and thumping upright bass.
He recently released a great new album, and performs weekly at both the Dominion on Queen and Castro’s Lounge, but despite decades in the scene and countless appearances on recordings, Hayward remains relatively obscure.
To help get the guy the attention he deserves, director Ken Simpson and Anthony Greene of Castro’s Lounge have put together this little mini-documentary about the musician, with tentative plans to expand it to a larger piece in the future. Hayward is a natural storyteller and a bit of a character, but the clip is a bit depressing if you had any illusions about what a musician’s life actually is.
If you like what you see in the video, you can catch Hayward performing every Saturday afternoon at the Dominion On Queen, and every Friday at Castro’s Lounge from 5 to 7 pm.
