For Langley’s Hailey Morgan, the Canada Day weekend will have a bit of an international flair this year.
The 16-year-old singer-songwriter has been invited to be the opening act for well-known Hong Kong artist Kenneth Choi, at the Red Robinson Show Theatre on Saturday, July 2.
Also a DJ, television host and an actor, Choi is bringing his 2011 World Concert Tour to the Coquitlam show lounge.
For Choi, it’s one more stop on a global circuit.
But here in B.C., Hailey is still a young artist working to make a name for herself in the pop music industry, by performing at as many local events as she can.
Recently, that included the Father’s Day Bloom Market in Fort Langley and the Langley Community Farmers Market on the grounds of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Langley campus (see photo, page 16).
For the past several years, the teenager has been building her resumé, performing four or five shows a month, whether that’s singing the national anthem at the Cloverdale Rodeo or stepping onto festival stages around the Lower Mainland.
Each performance includes her own, original songs as well as cover versions of artists who inspire her, including Sara Bareilles and Arcade Fire.
As well as sing, the home-schooled teen accompanies herself on the piano when she performs live.
“I’m just trying to get my name out there,” she said.
Yes, it’s been hard work, but if genetics are any indication, Hailey was always destined for the stage.
Both her parents are musicians, who operated a performing arts school while she was growing up.
As a little girl, that meant she was learning to sing, dance and act by the time she turned five.
At eight, she wrote her first song, ‘Come to my party.’
No, the lyrics weren’t particularly deep, and there was no complicated subtext for listeners to work out, she laughed, but it was a start.
These days, her songwriting skills having markedly improved, the young artist is getting noticed outside the Langleys.
She recently earned a top 10 spot in Youthink Magazine’s B.C.’s Best Teen Band Contest and between writing new songs and finishing her last year of school, she plays shows weekly at venues all over the Lower Mainland.
She is also currently promoting her debut record You & Me.
The July 2 Red Robinson Theatre concert marks the next step for the young performer.
“I love making music and going into the studio to lay down songs, but nothing compares to playing
them live, so I’m pretty stoked to be sharing my music with that big a crowd,” she said.
For more about Hailey and upcoming show dates, visit her website at www.haileymorganonline.com.
