A FREE In-Store Performance with Singer/Songwriter HAILEY WOJCIK

Monday , October 03, 2005
05:30 pm
Location: Elderly Instruments
in-store performance (free)

"Hairy Woodchuck" is a favorite nickname of Dewitt native and Western Michigan University student Hailey Wojcik, and thus it's also the name she chose as the title of her first CD, completed in early 2000 when she was just fourteen. That recording and the three additional CDs she's made in the last five years offer music that is sometimes "warm and fuzzy," at other times compelling in the contemporary insights she shares with her original lyrics and music.

Hailey Wojcik describes her musical style as "indie [for "independent"] acoustic singer-songwriter." Her second and third recordings, Chimpanzee Politics and Girls' State, were releaased when she was sixteen and eighteen, respectively. Her most recent CD, Jealous Sees, is being released in September, just prior to her appearance at Elderly Instruments.

Hailey first performed in a free in-store concert at Elderly over five years ago, in May, 2000, upon the release of Hairy Woodchuck. Despite her young age, Hailey has been making a name for herself on the Michigan music scene, playing gigs and making appearances on radio stations and TV across the state. She was voted Best of the Best in local music by the Lansing State Journal and twice has been nominated for a Jammie Music Award for Best Folk Album by Grand Rapids radio station WYCE.

Hailey has also appeared on Mitch Albom's nationally-syndicated radio program The Mitch Albom Show in Detroit. She has proven to be a promising and dedicated independent musician, playing solo gigs, writing her own material, and co-producing her recordings. She was given a grant from Western Michigan University, where she is a creative-writing and journalism major, to complete her latest CD.

Hailey says that her musical influences are Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, modern indie and riot girl music.

"...a prodigious talent," wrote the Lansing State Journal in the year 2000 after the release of Hairy Woodchuck.

"Wojcik's third album, Girls' State, ranges from rock to folk and spoken word, but her intense commentary of [sic} American life is prevalent throughout the entire album. Highlights include the critical but fun 'Mallory,' the upbeat 'Afraid of Television' and 'The Other Angry American,' a passionate anti-war ballad." - westmichiganmusic.com, 2004

Check out recordings we carry featuring Hailey Wojcik