Today we’d like to introduce you to Hazel .
Hazel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hmm, where to begin. Before I ever called myself a singer-songwriter, there was always music. It’s been the undercurrent of my whole life, and I was always drawn to performing. I sang everywhere: church, school talent shows, youth musicals, and all the elaborate private concerts in my bedroom where I was <i>definitely </i>Hayley Williams in the ‘Decode’ video. I was a band kid—playing percussion from middle school through graduation—and I even taught myself piano on an old broken upright in our band hall. When my grandparents bought me my first guitar at sixteen, something clicked. Suddenly all the poems and journal entries I’d been writing finally had melodies.”
Wichita Falls, my hometown, is where I really grew into a singer-songwriter. The scene is small but full of heart, and it gave me the space to experiment and find my voice. I spent a few years in an acoustic duo called <i>Ground Floor and Rising,</i> and that partnership pushed my writing in ways I still carry today. When we eventually split, I didn’t handle it gracefully—it sent me spiraling into a very dramatic “okay, well… I guess I’ll go to college” era.
So I enrolled full-time at Midwestern State University, majoring in Sociology with double minors in Music and Psychology. I wanted to sharpen my artistic foundation—music theory, ear training, sight-singing, and a semester of vocal lessons—while also figuring out who I was outside of music. And after four-ish years of pure chaos, I graduated with honors, two new mental-health diagnoses, an offensive amount of student loan debt, and the kind of existential dread that only a degree in the social sciences can provide.
Through all the growing pains, the Wichita Falls music community was my safe place. Mentors, fellow artists, and friends poured life into me in ways I’m still grateful for. I could fill pages naming the people who showed up for me over the years: folks who encouraged me, shared resources, opportunities, or simply believed in me before I fully believed in myself. That scene raised me as an artist, and I carry their love and support with me everywhere I go.
After more than a decade of performing there, I started to feel stagnant—like I’d hit my ceiling. I knew it was time to grow beyond what was familiar. So in June, I moved to DFW to pursue music on a larger scale, and it’s been the exact reset I needed. Doors keep opening, momentum keeps building, and every opportunity reminds me I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh, definitely not a smooth road. My dad passed when I was five, and growing up as the oldest in a single-parent home meant stepping into adulthood early. Without a strong connection to his side of the family, I struggled with my identity as a biracial kid, and by high school I was battling body image issues, an eating disorder, and this constant feeling of not being “enough.”
I carried all of that into my twenties, and it led me into a dark chapter of reckless choices, addiction, and a lot of hurt. I spent years shape-shifting to fit whatever space I walked into, desperate for acceptance. Therapy, time, and hard honesty helped pull me out of that place, and I’ve finally learned to forgive that version of me.
Everything shifted when my daughter, Lyric, was born. Motherhood forced me to confront my childhood and start healing wounds I’d ignored for years. During that time, I was juggling full-time work, school, and performing whenever I could just to keep us afloat. I wouldn’t have made it through without the support I had around me.
Creatively, I was burnt out. I had years of songs but no way to afford studio time, and performing became more about survival than expression. But through every season, songwriting stayed constant—it’s how I process, how I sit with my shadow, and how I turn the hard things into something I can finally understand and release.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an independent singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and the music I make lives somewhere between storytelling and confession. I used to stumble over the whole <i>“So what’s your sound?” </i>question, but these days I just call it soul-folk and hope that label makes sense once folks finally hear me.
I’ve been performing across Texas for over a decade, mostly in intimate spaces where the artist–audience connection feels sacred. People often tell me my songs feel like a conversation they didn’t realize they needed, and my shows can get emotional fast. My friends joke I should add “<i>BYOT—bring your own tissues</i>” to my flyers, because, without fail, someone is always crying in the crowd.
Even after all these years, I still don’t have anything on streaming yet—but that’s finally about to change. My fiancé, Obi, is a producer and sound engineer, and together we’ve been building my debut EP, Lessons Learned. It’s been a tender, intentional labor of love, and we’re aiming for a spring 2026 release, with a few singles dropping sooner.
What I’m most proud of is this project. It’s a deeply introspective collection—every track tied to a chapter, relationship, or turning point that changed me, for better or worse. I used to punish the girl I used to be for the messy ways she tried to survive, but Lessons Learned taught me how to hold myself accountable with compassion instead of self-hate. Writing these songs felt like slowly setting down years of shame, trauma, and old patterns I didn’t realize I was still carrying. And now, every time I play them, it feels like a kind of exposure therapy—I get to look back on those chapters from a healed, grounded place. That sense of self-acceptance is the heartbeat of Lessons Learned.
Turning what I’ve lived through into something that helps people feel seen is what keeps me doing this.
How do you think about happiness?
Honestly, the little moments make me the happiest. The things that look mundane from the outside—like driving Lyric to school and singing whatever song she’s obsessed with that week, or catching Obi in the middle of producing and watching his creativity unfold in real time. Or when the stars finally align and I manage to catch up with my best friends, Rheagan and Mitch, after a week of missed calls. There was a time in my life when I was so deep in survival mode that I couldn’t even recognize the importance of those moments, let alone enjoy them. Now, they feel sacred.
Creating makes me happy, too. Scribbling half a lyric in my notes app, stumbling onto a new chord progression, or feeling that dopamine rush when I find the missing piece to a song I’ve been hyper fixated on.
And performing brings its own kind of joy—not the spotlight, but that moment on stage when everything else falls away and it’s just me, the audience, and a song that feels like an offering. There’s a pulse to it, a thread connecting all of us in real time.
Whether I’m on stage, in the crowd, or with the people I love, what brings me joy is always the same: genuine human connection.
Pricing:
- Rates vary depending on travel, set length, and event type.
- Private Events & Corporate Gigs – Starting at $500
- Weddings: Starting at $800
- Local Acoustic Shows: varies by venue
- Each performance is customized to fit the space and audience—I work closely with clients to create the right atmosphere, whether it’s laid-back background music or a full storytelling set.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sayheyhazel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sayheyhazel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hazelxmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayheyhazel/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sayheyhazel
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sayheyhazel
Image Credits
Kyle Long Johnson – Longbeard Productions Melissa Koss
