HAYDEN PHILLIS
Australian Country/Roots/Folk Artist
Three-time CMAA Academy of Country Music Graduate
2025 Gympie Music Muster Mothertone Talent Search Top 12
2025 EKKA Country Music Showdown Top 12
2025 TCMF Best of Buskers Top 10
ABC Country ”CMAA Academy alumni Hayden Phillis has the voice of an angel and the heart of a troubadour proving you're never 'Too Young' to impress”
Tamworth Country Capital News “Too Young introduces Hayden to those who want their country music to make a statement.”
Country Music News International Magazine “Too Young is more than just a debut; it’s a testament to the power of authentic storytelling and the remarkable talent of Hayden Phillis. It’s an album that offers a window into the mind and heart of a young artist grappling with complex realities, delivering profound insights with a lyrical and musical sensibility that belies his age. This is not just “the beginning of everything” for Hayden Phillis; it’s a compelling arrival that promises a significant and impactful career in music.”
Authentic Australian stories delivered with a gritty Americana sound
Southern Sydney based
Influences - Shane Nicholson, Kevin Welch, Noah Kahan, Kevin Bennett, Cameron Whitcomb, Kasey Chambers
Hayden Phillis is a young songwriter who is drawn to stories with purpose, on lived experiences and the complexity of issues facing young people today. Hayden’s musical foundations are distinctly Australian, but with clear Americana influences that defy strict descriptions of musical genre and draw influence across Folk, Bluegrass and new-age Country music.
A three-time Graduate of the CMAA Academy, Hayden has fostered a strong connection within the Australian country music community. In 2025 he travelled and played venues up and down Eastern Australia and was recognised with awards at major country music festivals including Tamworth, Gympie and Brisbane’s EKKA show.
More recently Hayden has leaned into broader influences and has been co-writing with others who cross-over Folk and Country Music, including Kelly Cork, Felicity Dowd and Esther June, a young award winning artist based in Regional Tennessee, a writing relationship that has meant exploring an Appalachian sound and has produced the title track for Hayden’s upcoming second album!
Hayden also kicked off 2026 as a featured Artist at the National Folk Festival. His first major exploration in the Australian Folk scene.
Debut album, ‘Too Young’ was recorded at the creative home of Kasey Chambers and Brandon Dodd, and has received glowing industry reviews and even recognition in NSW Parliament. Apple Music rewarded ‘Too Young’ with 7 individual Editorial Playlist song placements and Spotify listeners have now streamed his songs well over 100,000 times.
Hayden returned to the Rabbit Hole Recording Studio in early 2026 and these sessions have produced 12 new tracks that will form his follow-up album, with first releases expected in the second half of 2026.
Although Hayden was born and raised at the very south end of Sydney, his music shows influences well beyond that fringe-urban upbringing. Scratch the surface and you’ll find that his four Great Grandfathers were a Coal Miner, a Farmer, a Shearer and a Christian Minister, plus a Great Grandmother who studied piano at Melbourne’s Conservatorium of Music. You then start to appreciate the values and experiences that have influenced the thinking of this rapidly rising Australian Songwriter.
Stage Intro
Hayden Phillis is a young Americana songwriter drawn to purposeful stories. His new-age Country foundations sit somewhere between Country, Folk and Bluegrass and he has new music on the way, having just finished recording his second album at the creative home of Kasey Chambers, the Rabbit Hole Recording Studio. Keep an eye on his socials for those releases to start coming out over the next few months.
ENQUIRIES - haydenphillis.music@warraba.com.au
0407 275 470
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