"I am really grateful to be performing at the oyster fest again this year. I have always loved the vibe of the festival and, of course, the kaimoana.
"I will be performing with some amazing musicians helping me out and that is going to be a heap of fun, and hopefully I will get a chance to catch up with a few Bluffies I haven’t seen in a while," Hayes said.
Festival entertainment co-ordinator Rosi Coyle-Smith described Hayes as the "pinnacle of Southland talent".
One of New Zealand’s top singer-songwriters, Adam McGrath of The Eastern, who performed at the festival in 2015, believed Hayes was "probably the South Island’s greatest, pound for pound, singer and songwriter".
Family influence is what set Hayes down his musical pathway — in a nice touch, his father Steven was the Southland Entertainer of the Year two years before he achieved the same accolade in 2018.
From the Catlins, Hayes plays a mix of folk and blues and takes inspiration from the likes of Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.
He is working on a new full-length album due to be released later this year which will be recorded at the MASSAV Studio in Invercargill.
The 2024 Bluff Oyster & Food Festival will take place on Saturday, May 25, at the Bluff Oyster & Food Festival site on Lee St.
Gates open at 10.30am with the iconic Bluff oysters and a smorgasbord of other seafood treats plus other food offerings and beverages available.
The music stage will feature a full day of musical entertainment while elsewhere on the site the oyster opening and eating races take place.
Since it was only announced in March that the 2024 festival would proceed, the festival committee has been working hard to bring together another successful event as they prepare for their first festival since 2021.
- By Lindsay Beer
