The hot sparks between singers Megan Stuart and Brooks Vaughan ignite Hayfire.
“Brooks is like my big brother,” said Stuart, 25. “He can be a pain in the butt, but I love singing with him.”
Vaughan hears those words and just smiles.
“That’s Megan,” he said. “She brings powerful vocals and a lot of attitude to this band.”
This country band can rock out with Lady Antebellum or get down to roots with Merle Haggard. Hayfire is turning into one of the most popular country outfits in The Villages.
The Central Florida band is a big attraction at all three town squares. And on Nov. 2, the group will make its Savannah Center debut, appearing with Petrina and Johnny Wild and the Delights. That show is called “Starry Rocks” and benefits Dollars for Scholars.
Hayfire also plays Brownwood Paddock Square on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m., and Lake Sumter Landing Market Square on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.
“We love playing in The Villages,” Stuart said. “We get big crowds and you can just feel the energy.”
“That’s what brings out the best in us,” Vaughan added.
Villagers Max and Kent Holwell are big fans.
“We love their energy and their music,” Max said. “It’s a good time and they make you want to get out there and dance.”
“They have a real and authentic country sound,” Kent said. “They’re nice kids and they play music that gets you moving. And they sound great.”
Hayfire was formed in the Orlando area about a decade ago, and Stuart came along three years later. The group features Jordan King on guitar; Bill Bernhard on bass; Steve Becker on steel guitar and Brandon Irons on drums.
Becker gives Hayfire a unique sound with the steel guitar.
“That makes a big difference,” Vaughan said. He added that the band also uses technology and can create any sound from a piano to bagpipes.
But Hayfire percolates with energy without any techno help.
Stuart is a quintessential contemporary female country band singer. Groups like Lady Antebellum, Sugarland and Little Big Town have put women center stage – and Hayfire is no different.
Stuart possesses a dynamic, alluring stage personality and brings passion and grit to the music. She covered Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “I Feel Lucky” with flirtatious guile while briskly dancing and swaying on the Spanish Springs Town Square stage.
Vaughan, meanwhile, delivers whiskey-soaked vocals and rocking riffs with a cool demeanor. He seemed to channel the ghost of Merle Haggard on a melancholy “Silver Wings” but offered some glossy pop on Blake Shelton’s “Gonna.”
“We like all kinds of country music and we play all kinds of country music,” Vaughan said.
Although the set list includes such current country artists such as Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Sugarland and Miranda Lambert, Hayfire also can play classic rock and oldies.
After all, this is a band with a sense of history.
“I’m 25; I like to rock but I love Patsy Cline,” Stuart said. “Nobody else sings likes Patsy Cline.”
Tony Violanti is a veteran journalist and writes for Villages-News.com.
