Massey Hall presents

Massey Hall welcomes back one of Toronto’s most beloved singer-songwriters, Hayden on Saturday, May 27, 2023.

Hayden – the legendary Toronto indie-folk rock fixture whose heartrending songs are a soundtrack to coming of age – today announces Are We Good, his first full-length studio album since 2015, due out April 5 via Arts & Crafts. The news arrives alongside lead single “On A Beach (feat Feist)” and its cinematic, star-studded official video, also featuring the inimitable Leslie Feist with cameos by Matt Berninger of The National and beloved actor Steve Buscemi (who Hayden last worked with on the music for Trees Lounge, Buscemi’s 1997 directorial debut).

Spearheaded by “On A Beach” – a song unmatched in his canon for its immediate catchiness and clear blue sky production – Are We Good posits Hayden Desser, peppered and grizzled (by the pandemic or parenting), in an attic studio stand-off with writer’s block during early lockdown. A couple’s duet about turning to hypnosis in search of the spark of their youth, the song’s ambling bass line and sparse hand claps blossom into Feist and Hayden’s indelible chorus of ‘We’re on a beach, oh yeah, we’re on a beach / We’re drinking income taxes and you’re fond of me’ with swirling synths adding to the ambience. Accompanied by a transportive music video directed by Yael Staav, who has directed most of Hayden’s videos for the last 25 years, “On A Beach” brings an all-star cast together into a timeless artist’s singular realm.

Hayden is also the co-founder of Dream Serenade, an annual benefit concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall for children with developmental and physical disabilities and their families established in 2014.