Hayden Butler: Country Music Healing

Country music was never supposed to be a regular part of Austin-based singer/songwriter Hayden Butler’s life, but it ended up saving him, in a way. Growing up in Austin, Butler was well removed from the city’s honky tonks and more likely to listen to grunge and punk, and played in a hardcore band. But after a hiatus, when he returning to playing music in his late 20s, Butler discovered an affinity for country music’s hard luck characters and began learning cover songs and dabbling in songwriting. At the time, he thought he’d just write as many songs down as he could until he inevitably destroyed himself.