Discover the sounds behind singer songwriter Bennie Hayfield! For this edition of Off The Shelf, Bennie pulls back the records and hand-picks some of their favourite tracks, the ones that have been on their mind, influencing their sound and shaping who they are as an artist.
James Blunt – High
This was the opening of my favourite album growing up. I must have listened to it thousands of times!
Johnny Cash – Hurt
This song got me into playing guitar!
Stew – Work the Wound
Incredibly relatable song – might be my favourite overall!
Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now
Heartbreaking!
Johnny Thunders – You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory
Beautifully tragic rock’n’roll.
The Swell Season – Falling Slowly
Hard to choose which Glen Hansard song to put on the list – I think this one is my favourite!
Damien Rice – The Blower’s Daughter
Cried the first time I heard it!
Bob Dylan – Ballad of a Thin Man
Got to be one of the coolest Bob Dylan tracks!
Leonard Cohen – Leaving the Table
Hauntingly vulnerable.
Aerosmith – I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
I’m a sucker for a rock ballad!
Bennie Hayfield is a singer-songwriter from Birmingham, UK. After several years fronting a rock ‘n’ roll band, he has traded distorted electric guitars and soaring vocals for a more stripped-back acoustic sound. Blending haunting melodies with songs of change, love and loss, Bennie draws on both personal experience and his observations of the world around him. Rooted in rock but shaped by folk, country and blues, his music carries the weight and maturity of songwriting well beyond his years.
See Bennie live when they support Frances Mistry at The Sunflower Lounge on Sunday, 13th September!
Find them online @benniehayfield
