Hayley Jane will show off two sides at the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival
The Hayley Jane experience will be two-pronged when the singer-songwriter makes her debut Friday at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance.
Jane and her band, the Primates, will jam out to rock, soul, blues and whatever else inspires the act.
“We’re impossible to classify,” Jane says while calling from her Morrisville, Vt., home. “But I think that’s a good thing. We love to move in so many different directions.”
And then there is her side project, Yes Darling, a duo with close pal, singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau. When they perform, she appears as a demur woman. Her left arm, a sleeve of tattoos, is covered.
Both of Jane’s acts will play sets Friday night, and they’re definitely different in tone.
“The really cool part of playing Shakori is that you get to see me just letting loose as I can be with the Primates,” Jane says. “I’m myself amplified with the Primates but something else is going on with Yes Darling.”
The Shakori Hills festival will feature more than 50 performers over four stages Oct. 4-7. The lineup includes GrassRoots festival founder Donna the Buffalo, Lettuce and Grammy-nominated Latin band Los Por Juanas.
Durham native G Yamazawa, known for his viral hit “North Cack,” and Sierra Ferrell will appear at Shakori Hills for the first time.
The festival is a family-friendly event with camping, teen programs, dance workshops and a parade on Saturday with Paperhand Puppet Intervention.
It’s evident that Jane, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, has a theatrical background.
Jane, 33, struts around the stage with the Primates, sometimes vamping it up during certain songs.
”I can’t help myself,” Jane says. “The music moves me.”
And with Yes Darling, she puts on a different persona.
“I look so different,” Jane said. “I’m literally dressed like a ‘50s housewife and that’s a statement in its own right. We’re acknowledging stereotypes and blowing them to pieces. When we start the set you see me putting on my makeup and talking about our life. I can handle this. I used to work for Disney.”
Jane says Yes Darling allows her to use different creative muscles and to work with a fellow musician who she has admired for years.
“I never would have dreamed that we would work together,” Jane said of Montbleau, who will perform as a solo act Saturday.
Their friendship is one reason their on-stage chemistry really clicks.
“The great thing about Ryan and I is that it’s totally platonic between us, so we can be nothing but honest about the music,” Jane says. “That’s what makes this work.”
She’s excited to make her first appearance at Shakori Hills to check out other acts.
“I’m also excited about being in the Raleigh area,” she said. “It’s ideal down there.You have this amazingly cool city. You drive a couple miles out of town and you’re in the country. Raleigh reminds me of Austin. It’s a forward-thinking city with plenty to do and then you’re out in our own space, if that’s what you want.”
But the primary reason for Jane to play the Shakori festival is to spread the word about her band.
“We need for those below the Mason-Dixon line to hear what we’re doing,” Jane says. “It’ll be fun because music fans down there can experience two different sides of me.”
Hayley Jane and the Primates perform Friday at 7 p.m. on the Meadow Stage. Yes Darling performs at 11:30 p.m. Friday on the Carson’s Grove stage. Ryan Montbleau will perform Saturday on the Meadow Stage at 7 p.m.
Details
What: Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance
When: Oct. 4-7. Oct. 4, 10 a.m. to midnight. Oct. 5-6, 9 a.m. to midnight. Oct. 7, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: 1439 Henderson Tanyard Road, Pittsboro
Tickets: Tickets are $30 to $45, depending on the day. A four-day pass is $125. Fees vary for camping.
Info: shakorihillsgrassroots.org
This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 2:45 PM.