Taking in the beautiful sights of Malibu, I shut the door to my Jeep and approached the front of the studio home. With an intimidating blacked-out gate, I reluctantly entered the code I was given and was greeted with three blinking lights of approval and the click of a release. I stepped over the threshold into the mudroom, from where I could see the sweeping views of the ocean below. Nestled off the side of the Pacific Coast Highway, the 600-square-foot home was all mine - at least for the next three hours. I immediately began setting up for our photoshoot, pulling out shoe boxes and bags filled with clothing options followed by my camera equipment.

With my camera bouncing off my hip, I walked out onto the balcony and took in the sounds of the crashing waves. A seagull and his mate squabbled back and forth as they passed by. Reminding myself to breathe and be present in the moment, I put on my game face as the sound of wheels on gravel joined in Nature's choir; showtime. “H Squared!” I called out, and Hunter Hayes laughed. “I like that,” he said as he approached. We shared a quick hug, and I gestured to the small, tucked-in house behind me and said, “Welcome home”. I guided us through the short hallway and into the studio, where the preparation began and with no time wasted, it was "Lights, camera, action!" We made our way down the treacherous steps leading to the beach below and found a spot to start shooting. This became our routine for the next three outfits: up and down, up and down, until we chased the sunlight to the Earth's edge. And, as quickly as it began, it was time to wrap up and head home. We said our goodbyes the old-fashioned way, with a selfie on the beach and plans to meet up soon.

Five days later, I found myself on the road to Fantasy Springs Casino in Yucca Valley to attend the singer’s first live performance of 2023. Arriving early for the soundcheck, I found Hunter at the lighting booth speaking with lighting designer Ethan Martin. "Can we add a gradient prism chase to the start of 'Everybody's Got Somebody'?" I heard Hunter ask as I approached. You would think this would be the last place you would find the performer before the show, but according to the singer, it's his "part-time job."

“It’s 3-4 months of late-night dreaming about a show. I love building the show in my head from scratch because I want to know how it feels before it starts. My exercise with producing music is if you can hear it, then go make it. With a live show I’m using that same practice, that if I can ‘see’ it, I can feel it’, and that’s what we’re going to make. It’s all an extension of the music.” He goes on to add, “It’s a part of the experience I want guest to have at the show. I’m always looking for ways to take the show from ‘just a set list of songs’ to an experience they won’t forget”.

After the duo put the finishing touches on the lighting design, I took the opportunity to whisk Hunter away to chat some more about his upcoming tour and album. As we walked through the sea of empty chairs that would soon be filled with excited fans, I began:

Congratulations on the new album! 'Red Sky' is a musical journey that steers the listener though peaks and valleys of growth, self-exploration and overcoming inner turmoil. Which song(s)

It’s interesting because some of the most important songs are the songs that I almost left off. ‘Lonely Loves Me’ is a great example; I never felt like that song was done, but I’ve felt that way about songs in the past and they ended up being really important songs for that album. I don’t know, maybe I have a precious perfectionism around certain songs. But ‘Lonely Loves Me’ I would say is one of the most important because it’s so vulnerable, raw, in a moment. ‘About a Boy’ and 'Victory’ are really important songs to this album. ‘Wallflower’ is one of my personal favorites and one of the first songs I wrote for ‘Red Sky’, so I think it always carried the spirit of the album.

Let’s talk about the writing process. Where do you gather your inspiration from?

I have this piano that I got for the last record, and I kept it around for this one because every time I sit at, I play ten minutes worth of music and three songs start to take shape. There are tons of ten-minute piano recordings on my iPhone and notes full of random sentences. I like starting from titles because for me personally, it can act as a time machine. It will drop me right back into those feelings, those reactions, those conversations. I write about feelings; when something moves me, I pay attention to it. I’ll go through phases where I don’t have a lot to write about; so, during those times I go inward, and I did a lot of work on myself- a lot comes up through that.

Were there any songs that didn’t make the cut?

There were a few that didn’t make the cut, but they will probably be put on an extended version as the fans are very honest and outspoken about what songs they want on the album

How many songs do you write for an album, and how do you decide which ones make the record?

I’m still learning how to do that. I easily write a hundred songs but if you really dig through and look at what was considered for this project and only looked at what was written specifically for ‘Red Sky’, you would miss half of ‘Red Sky’ because the record is a combination of multiple albums and later projects that we brought together.

Straying away from your early country roots, 'Red Sky' is a different sound from what fans are used to. How do you think this album will translate to the die-hard Hunter Hayes fans, and what has been the fan response to the singles so far?

The response has been amazing. As you describe the album on paper, technically, it is different from what I’ve done before, it’s very adventurous. It’s new, but I don’t think it’s surprising to my core fans that have been with me for so long as they’re familiar with how much love I have for blending genres and sounds and just really going for it. That is my version of being bold; combining sounds and building my own genre inside a song, and they’ve always supported that. They’ve always championed that.

With every great album, comes one great tour! How does it feel to be hitting the road again?

I love every single part about what I do. It’s exciting because it’s the closest you get to the end goal, which is play the song in front of and for people. I was working on this album in a sort of vacuum; I had a great team of collaborators, but a lot of the process required me to work solo. Going from that to being able to finish it with my collaborators and finally bring it to the stage is what I really love. I didn’t really get to do that with ‘Wild Blue’ due to covid, so to be able to do this with ‘Red Sky’ is really important, and it’s everything that I love and want

The tour life we know can be rather challenging, are you ready to sleep in a bunk again? What is in the Hunter Hayes survival kit to make those long days on the roads a little easier?

I love being on a tour bus. I very rarely use dressing rooms; I typically give those to the band so everyone can spread out a bit more. There’s something about being on a bus; it’s more than just a way to get from Point A to Point B. There’s a consistency to it, there’s like this sacredness to being on the bus, and it gives me this energy of being on the road and it helps me stay on a tour focused mind set. So, anything that makes me feel like I’m at home: incense candles, instruments that won’t go on stage. I typically have a little studio set up in the back because for me that is home: a place where I can keep my relationship with music separate from what I’m there to do. That’s a necessity for me because it allows me to stay excited about music in a new way every day which is really important to me.

 Which cities are you looking forward to the most? Are there any new cities on this tour that you haven't been to yet?

I’m looking forward to all of them. To share where my headspace is, I don’t really get excited about an individual place, my excitement now is in building the tour and that we’re touring and getting to play for actual people.

You've always been very connected to your fans and now you get to connect on a deeper level with the upcoming Meet and Greet opportunities on the 'Red Sky Tour'. How excited are you for the 'M&G's' and what can fans expect from the experience?

We put a lot of thought into ‘Meet and Greets’ and work hard to protect those moments and create a safe space of connection. There’s an element behind the scenes where you get to see the show you’re about to watch being built. There’s an element of this was curated specifically for you {the fans} through musical connection by sharing stories and answering questions and performing. Most importantly, though, is the human connection.

Concluding the interview so the singer could finish preparing for the night's performance, I asked one final question

“What do you want fans to take away from listening to 'Red Sky'?” Hunter thought for a moment before responding, "This is quite ambitious, but I would love for the listener to have a better relationship with themselves." This was the first album that wasn’t about one chapter in my life but a combination of a lot of different chapters and life lessons. It’s the relationship you have with yourself and how you see yourself. Self-love. Self-respect. It carries all those themes, and that’s what I really want.”