Massachusetts singer/songwriter Hayley Reardon brings her soul-baring folk-pop music to life on ‘Live at Starseed Studios,’ an intimate concert video that captures the depth, nuance, and fragility of her one-of-a-kind artistry.
‘Live at Starseed Studios’ – Hayley Reardon with Pau & Arnau Figueres
Fingerprints on a broken heart; so many miles I went on a faulty start…
A sense of magic hangs in the air as Hayley Reardon’s concert begins.
Flanked on both ends by her musical partners Pau and Arnau Figueres, the Massachusetts-born singer/songwriter sits against a beautiful New English backdrop framed by three elegant knee-to-ceiling windows. They could very well be in the living room of some old Victorian-era mansion – a leftover from bygone times of American aristocracy.
In fact, they’re at Starseed Studios, an immersive (and historic) arts space in Essex, MA that holds a dear, special place in Reardon’s heart – and served as the perfect setting to bring her rich, tender folk songs, many of which were cooked up halfway around the world in Spain, to life.
Recorded last year as part of a two-night “Folk Meets Flamenco” experience, with Barcelona-based brothers Pau Figueres on flamenco guitar and Arnau Figueres on acoustic bass, Live at Starseed Studios is a beautiful bookend to this latest chapter in Reardon’s artistry: She recorded her past two EPs, 2022’s In the Good Light and 2023’s Changes, with Pau and Arnau, finding a second home and family in Spain where, together with audio engineer and studio owner Aniol Bestit, they brought her introspective songwriting into gentle giants of soul-stirring warmth and wonder.
“It’s a deeply intimate record,” Atwood Magazine wrote last year of Changes, “one filled with weight and wisdom… Out of her own innermost reflections, Reardon creates a space where we can connect more deeply with ourselves – and what could possibly be more beautiful, or more profound, than that?”
Consider this, then, Reardon’s homecoming as her trio performs many of the songs off those two records, plus a few older goodies, a mere 30 minutes from her hometown. Live at Starseed Studios is as intimate and up-close and personal as we’ve ever been to Hayley Reardon, and her songs here resonate with the depth, nuance, and fragility they deserve.
“Playing with Pau and Arnau is a great joy for me and I’ve wanted for a long time to capture these special trio arrangements,” Reardon tells Atwood Magazine. “It was a gift to get to do just that in a beautiful space filled with dear ones. The Folk Meets Flamenco event concept and design was carefully curated and brought to life by my friends at Starseed Studios. These unique and intimate performances felt like a chance to take the musical magic and friendship I found during my time in Spain and bring it home to New England, another corner of the world that is so dear to me.”
While Hayley Reardon’s live album Live at Starseed Studios released on February 1 (via Tone Tree Music), Atwood Magazine has the honor today of premiering the concert video itself: A splicing together of two nights’ worth of breathtaking music and heart-to-heart connection that will forever resonate, thanks to this recording. In addition to Reardon, Pau Figueres, and Arnau Figueres, the film was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Aniol Bestit, and filmed and edited by Joe Angelini.
Reardon will be playing a series of co-billed Northeast U.S. concerts with acclaimed Catalan singer and songwriter Judit Neddermann from February 29 through March 10, accompanied by Pau and Arnau Figueres. Find tickets and more information at HayleyReardon.com.
Watch this moving performance exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and dive deeper into Live at Starseed Studios in our interview below, where Hayley Reardon opens up about these concerts, the space itself, and what’s to come for the singer/songwriter in the year ahead!
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:: stream/purchase Live At Starseed Studios here ::
:: connect with Hayley Reardon here ::
‘Live at Starseed Studios’ – Hayley Reardon with Pau & Arnau Figueres
A CONVERSATION WITH HAYLEY REARDON
Atwood Magazine: Hayley, happy new year! Still saying it. Do you prescribe to new year's resolutions, and if so, can you share one of yours?
Hayley Reardon: Well, I guess it’s not a resolution, but a word I am concerned with this year is space. Creating more space in my mind, in my day… in my songs, even. Also less phone, more water.
Can you tell me a bit about this concert and its significance?
Hayley Reardon: Ok… this is a bit of a story, but here goes. Back in 2020, I became connected with an audio engineer and studio owner named Aniol Bestit in Barcelona. He had followed my work since I was a teenager and reached out to ask if I had any plans of ever performing in Spain (which I didn’t). Through his online presence I was exposed to various artists from the Catalan music scene that he had worked with. I fell in love with an album called Nua by Judit Neddermann, a Catalan singer/songwriter. Then I discovered Pau Figueres’ Flamenco instrumental albums that also moved me deeply. I listened to this music during much of quarantine… it calmed and soothed me through a frightening time.
Eventually, I sent Aniol a song I was working on and asked if he wanted to try collaborating remotely. He enlisted Pau Figueres and together they produced a song of mine. I loved the result so much that when the borders opened, I flew directly to Spain to create more with them.
Fast forward 3+ (wow!) years, and we’ve been working together ever since. Pau Figueres produced my last two EPs, Arnau Figueres played bass/drums on various tracks, and Aniol recorded and mixed everything. Now Catalunya feels like a second home to me. Somewhere along the way, Pau, Arnau and I began playing trio shows together whenever I was in Spain.
This Live at Starseed Studios album and video captures that trio sound that I love so much. It features live arrangements of all the music from the last two EPs (In the Good Light and Changes), as well as older songs of mine that I really wanted to document in these “clothes” as I like to say.
Tell me a bit about Starseed Studios; what is your special connection to this place, and what's it like, for you, to be in that space?
Hayley Reardon: Starseed Studios is more than a physical place. My friends Ivana and Julie create immersive art-centered events under this name. The location of this event is their homebase and a space they create from often. It’s a magical room that I knew I wanted to sing in from the moment I first stepped in it.
They were both aware of my ongoing work in Barcelona with Pau, Arnau, and Aniol. I told Ivana and Julie that it was a dream of mine to present this music in trio format in their special space. Together we collaborated to create a two-night live event called Folk Meets Flamenco, presented by Starseed Studios. The recordings and concert video are from that gathering.
The intention of Starseed Studios work is to be “a philosophical and spiritual incubator for joy.”
It's been just a half year since your last EP, Changes. How has your relationship with that record – with these songs – changed since its release?
Hayley Reardon: Well naturally, I feel more distance from them as I have my head and heart in new music. I’ve started recording an upcoming project last month and have been immersed in that. At the same time, my dynamic with the songs is exactly that… a relationship. They grow right alongside me and we continue to expose and draw out new parts of each other all the time. These live arrangements of songs off the EP like “Honest” and “The Opposite” are perfect examples of that. They start to speak in different ways as time goes on.
What song or songs still stand out to you from that EP, all this time later?
Hayley Reardon: The final song off my Changes EP, “Enough is Everything,” is a song that continues to deepen in meaning for me since its release. That song came from a place within me that’s still revealing itself… so I understand it more and more as time goes on.
Additionally, the song “Changes,” the title track off the EP, will always hold a special place for me as it is a half English, half Catalan duet with Catalan singer/songwriter Judit Neddermann. Judit’s music was my introduction to not only Catalan (full disclosure: I genuinely didn’t know this language existed before discovering her beautiful music), but also to the music community I now treasure in Catalunya and this rich chapter of my creative life.
What might fans of your studio recordings be surprised to find in your live show, when hearing and seeing this concert?
Hayley Reardon: For these performances, we played more stripped-back arrangements of the more produced songs off the Changes EP, such as “Birds like Little Soldiers” and “The Opposite.” You’ll hear Pau and Arnau spread out more sonically… improvising and flowing… adding additional sprinklings of Flamenco flare. Pau also integrates an evocative combination of Spanish guitar and synth which adds a new dimension. It was a goal of mine to showcase the breadth of their feel and musicianship that inspires me so much on these live recordings.
What are some of your fondest memories from these shows?
Hayley Reardon: Ah, I have many sweet memories from the two days these concerts took place. For me, it was a bridging of worlds… having my cherished collaborators from Catalunya all together in my home area and sharing this music with dear ones here in New England. It felt like returning home after a long, soulful journey and saying “this is what I’ve gathered…this is how these last years and new collaborations/influences have shaped me and my art.”
Working with Julie and Ivana of Starseed Studios in the preparation and creation of the event was also memorable and unique. I admire their vision and process, so it was inspiring to join forces in this way and again, bridge two creative worlds that are meaningful to me.
In the logistical sense, the recording piece came together in a very DIY way… we rented/ borrowed/gathered all the stage gear, piece by piece. Aniol got on the plane with nothing but a backpack of full mics and a case with his (heavy!) studio interface so that we could record in the way we’d become accustomed to together in Barcelona. Arnau found the acoustic bass you hear and see at a hole-in-the-wall music shop in Peabody, MA the day before the shows. My dad picked the bass up in his minivan and delivered it to us during soundcheck. Julie & Ivana had an electrician come in to make sure the 1930s chapel-like space could handle the whole sound/lighting operation. Capturing the music in this way took a village and was done with a lot of teamwork and heart. I’m proud of that and will always remember the process fondly.
If folks were to hear just one Hayley Reardon song – or say see one song played live from this concert – which would you recommend we key in on, and why?
Hayley Reardon: “Child of a Giver”!! It’s the third song on the live album and video, and was originally released in 2021 on an EP of mine called A Hundred Little Lives. I started playing it with Pau and Arnau at some shows in Spain and fell in love with our trio arrangement of it. The hints of Flamenco energy that peek through, their synergy, the groove… I love it. The feel of this arrangement brings out a different color in my voice as well. Basically, this song took on a new life alongside them and I’m so happy we could capture it.
Do you have any fun or quirky pre-show rituals that you'd care to share?
Hayley Reardon: One is scrolling through my very long, disorganized list of alarms on my phone to double check that none will go off during the show. I am a napper and have them set for all hours.
The other – especially with Pau and Arnau – is telling them how grateful I am to play with them. Or if it’s just me performing, to play music in general before the show. For some reason, getting on stage often feels like the greatest relief to me. Nothing clears my head quite like performing… so I like to take a moment to acknowledge that before a show.
As a music fan yourself, are you hoping to see any bands or artists live this year?
Hayley Reardon: Not a band or artist per se, but I’m hoping this is finally the year I see Hadestown on Broadway. I was just texting with a friend about it yesterday… fingers crossed.
In the spirit of paying it forward, who are you listening to these days that you'd recommend to our readers?
Hayley Reardon: I recently re-discovered Kathleen Edwards’ 2003 record, Failer, and have fallen in love all over again. So that one has been very present for me lately.
Also the first singles off Pau’s new solo record… “Latido” & “Dos Lunas.” Beautiful.
This week I have been listening to a May Erlewine record called The Real Thing.
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:: stream/purchase Live At Starseed Studios here ::
:: connect with Hayley Reardon here ::
‘Live at Starseed Studios’ – Hayley Reardon with Pau & Arnau Figueres
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