Gemma Hayes

Gemma Hayes

Gemma Hayes is an Irish singer-songwriter from Ballyporeen, County Tipperary. Born in 1977, she records in the areas of folk, indie folk, indie rock, rock and singer-songwriter music.

Career

Hayes signs to Source Records/Virgin in 2001 and releases the 4.35am EP and the more band-led Work to a Calm EP before her debut album, Night on My Side, arrives in 2002. The album receives a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize.

After touring the album, she takes a break from the music business for two years. She returns in late 2005 with her second album, The Roads Don’t Love You, and wins Best Irish Female Artist at the 2006 Meteor Ireland Music Awards.

In the same year, she co-writes the song “Hazy” with Adam Duritz for Counting Crows’ live album New Amsterdam. After leaving Source/Virgin following her second album, she releases The Hollow of Morning on her own label in 2008.

Her fourth studio album, Let It Break, is released in 2011. It is recorded at Westland Studios in Dublin, Black Box Studios in Noyant La Gravoyère, France, and in Los Angeles. Her fifth album, Bones + Longing, follows in 2014.

Other work

Hayes’ music appears in film and television, including Grey’s Anatomy, ER and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. She is also listed as a member of The Cake Sale.