Hays performing in Havre Friday

Christy Hays is coming up from Butte this week to perform live at Old Station Brewing Co. Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.

“I would call myself a songwriter,” she said.

She described her music as Americana folk country music, but added that she mainly focuses on songwriting.

When she performs at Old Station, she said, she will be performing accoustically.

“This is not a tour. Half of the year I live in Montana, and the other half the year I live in Austin, Texas,” she said.

She said she is just coming to play a couple shows “up north” and that she tries to make it up to Havre twice a year.

She added that she is looking forward to playing at the different venue — she has never performed at Old Station.

“I’m just hoping by returning frequently I’ll get more of a fan base up on the Hi-Line,” she said.

Hays has five studio albums and two EPs, also known as an extended-play record, a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than a full album.

Her albums include: “Christy Hays,” “O’Montana,” “Caliche,” “Ribbon of Highway” and “Ribbon Swimmer.”

Hays said she began playing the guitar at age 14 and has been professionally playing for 13 years.

She added that she grew up in a musical family and that always had music around.

“I enjoy writing mainly, you know. I love to play, but writing is a big part of it,” Hays said.

Hays grew up in the Tuscola, Illinois, area and attended Southern Illinois University where she received a degree in science.

She added that she did not start playing music professionally until she was 27 and that music has always been a passion of hers. 

She said she started as a writer in residence in an 1891 miner’s four-square cottage in Butte. 

“A solitary place to create song and prose,” Hays said.

For more information about Hays, her music and more, people can visit her website at https://christyhays.com .