The first time you hear Presley Haile sing, your reaction may be much like mine: “Who is that?”
The 23-year-old native of Hamilton, less than 100 miles west of Waco, released her debut EP, Off to Find a Sunny Day, in June on Columbia Records. A full-length debut will follow in 2026. In the space of just five songs, Haile cements herself as one of the most extraordinary talents to emerge from Texas in recent memory.
There’s an arresting, lived-in quality to Haile’s (pronounced hay-lee) voice — a wisdom transcending her years — even as she’s singing of wistful, harder times amid melodies and rhythms which feel fresh, despite evoking decades of her sonic forebears in folk and country.
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Even hearing her speak about the art of songwriting is to behold someone fully alive to the mystery of the craft.
“That’s one of my favorite things about songwriting — the evolution of it as you’re writing it,” Haile said during a recent conversation. “Oftentimes, I have no idea what the heck I’m trying to write about. I sit down just trying to write. A lot of my favorite songs kind of evolved that way, and it’s really cool. I think that’s where the magic of songwriting really comes from.”
Ahead of an Aug. 16 Denton gig, I spoke with Haile, who still calls Hamilton home, about her approach to songwriting, what drew her to music, and the mind-melting realization she’s labelmates with Leon Bridges. The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed.
Imagery plays a huge role in your writing — the songs, at least the ones on Off to Find a Sunny Day, are very image-driven. Are there novelists or writers or visual artists you admire, or is that sort of detail your natural way of songwriting?
I think that really is my natural way of songwriting. I will say I grew up reading a whole lot of Stephen King, and I still do — he is a very visual writer. He paints such an incredible picture. It’s almost like you can smell the room that he’s talking about. But I also love Townes Van Zandt — I think Townes paints really beautiful pictures. And Guy Clark and Nanci Griffith. … I also love looking at nature — it’s one of my favorite things. I’ve always been an outdoor kid. I love being able to tell people what I’m writing about in that way, like I want them to see the trees and feel the water.
That leads into my next question: You also seem very inspired by the world around you. So, hearing you say you’re an outdoor kid makes sense because I think about “Sunny Day,” I think about “Mountain Daughter” — the way you write about it, it’s almost like they’re love songs to nature.
I love that you said that because that what I’m going for a lot of the time. I love the world around me, and I’m my happiest when I’m outside, specifically by trees or water …
… And Colorado seems to have also struck some kind of artistic nerve with you, in terms of this group of songs.
Oh, absolutely. My boyfriend, Nick Brumley, and I and a friend of ours took us to Uncompahgre National Forest back in 2021 and … Nick and I were left to our own devices during the day. … To put things bluntly, it really was so eye-opening, and I just fell in love with it. It changed the trajectory of my writing, for sure.
What drew you to music, to the idea of songwriting and making music? If you have a passion about writing and storytelling, you could have put that energy into any number of pursuits. What was it about music?
I tell everybody I came out of the womb singing. Like, truly one of my first memories was my great-grandfather singing “Rock-a-bye Baby” to me. I was a really quiet kid, but I was always singing. I was always singing in my room and making up random little songs on my bike, but my parents got me a karaoke machine when I was four. I would stay up all night; wake up at the crack of dawn — I was on that karaoke machine. I sang in church … I played my first show a month before I turned 17, and the rest is history.
Obviously, you’re on the same label as Leon Bridges …
Which is insane.
… But it’s interesting because he talks about Fort Worth the way you talk about Hamilton, about, you know, why would I live anywhere else?
It’s just something about home.
Well, maybe you can get him on your album.
That would be in-sane. Can you imagine? Like, “Hey, I know you’re from Fort Worth. Do you like this song?” Oh my God, is it insane? I’m gonna start manifesting that right now.
What are you hoping people ultimately take away from your music?
It may sound cliché, but a lot of my songs come from very personal experiences, and some of them tackle difficult subjects. For me, I try to make the song lighter, but almost all of them have a really deep meaning to me, and they can resonate with literally anybody over anything, even if it has nothing to do with what I wrote it for. … I want people to feel good. I want them to feel seen. I want them to feel heard, and I want them to form an attachment to it.
Presley Haile at Dan’s Silverleaf, Denton. 9 p.m. Aug. 16. Tickets are $12-$75.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
