Country singer Haley Mae Campell brought her original music and covers, including the debut of a new song, to the Deborah F. Stanley Arena in a free concert for students on Aug. 26.
According to Vanessa Taylor, interim director of Student Engagement and Leadership, country music has frequently been a close second on polls about artists for OzFest, the end-of-the-year concert at Oswego. Usually, it loses to something in the rap, R&B or hip-hop genres. Campbell was chosen to visit campus to appeal to the crowds that have expressed interest in the country genre.
One popular moment of the night involved the debut of Campbell’s new song. Titled “8th Day,” it has yet to be released on streaming platforms. The song explored the idea of what God might have done on the eighth day of creation, extending the seven days of creation as described in the Bible. Her answer? God created country music.
Campbell’s band consisted of herself, a drummer, guitarist and notably violinist Becca, who is the newest addition to the band.
Campbell achieved social media fame when a clip of her song “Never Been In Love” achieved over 55 million views on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Her song then debuted at #1 on the All Genre and Country iTunes Charts, according to her website.
Campbell’s gender has been a part of her journey as a country artist.
“As far as the classic quintessential women in music stories, I’ve got plenty of ‘em,” Campbell said. “[…] I was in a record label meeting in 2019 when I kind of had my first bigger song […] and the head of the label told me, well ‘you know, you’re great, but if I sign another female act people here will jump off the roof.’”
Campbell expressed that in the modern day and the social media age, “you really don’t need to be on the radio anymore to, in my opinion, be successful and be happy and have a successful career. So I think that’s been a really cool way to kind of take some power back.”
Campbell has a vision for the future of her music. “As it stands right now, after my last couple of EPs, I’m kind of scheming up a full-length project next,” Campbell said.
Most recently, Campbell announced on Instagram that she will be joining some shows on Alexandra Kay’s “All I’ve Ever Known: The Tour.” This tour begins in November and Campbell will be close to Oswego when performing in Albany and Horseheads, NY. She is also slated to perform on the New York City show. Tickets go on sale on Sept. 15.
Campbell achieved social media fame when a clip of her song “Never Been In Love” achieved over 55 million views on TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Her song then debuted at #1 on the All Genre and Country iTunes Charts, according to her website.
Campbell’s gender has been a part of her journey as a country artist.
“As far as the classic quintessential women in music stories, I’ve got plenty of ‘em,” Campbell said before continuing.
“[…] I was in a record label meeting in 2019 when I kind of had my first bigger song […] and the head of the label told me, ‘well you know, you’re great, but if I sign another female act people here will jump off the roof.’”
Campbell expressed that in the modern day and the social media age, “you really don’t need to be on the radio anymore to, in my opinion, be successful and be happy and have a successful career. So I think that’s been a really cool way to kind of take some power back.”
Campbell has a vision for the future of her music. “As it stands right now, after my last couple of EPs, I’m kind of scheming up a full-length project next,” Campbell said.
The singer has more than 20 million streams on Spotify.
Most recently, Campbell announced on Instagram that she will be joining some shows on Alexandra Kay’s “All I’ve Ever Known: The Tour.” She is also slated to perform on the New York City show. Tickets for Alexandra Kay’s tour go on sale on Sept. 15.
Campbell’s own tour begins in November. It is a national tour, from California to shows in Maine. Campbell is set to perform 25 shows total. She will be close to Oswego when performing in Albany and Horseheads, NY.
Photo via SUNY Oswego
