ALBANY — Hayley Jane’s return to the Capital Region last Thursday at White Lake Studios for the Upstate Unplugged series was less a concert than a glimpse into the spirit that drives her music.
Sitting before an intimate crowd on Aug. 28, she skipped the formality of a setlist and instead scrolled through her iPad catalog, treating each selection like a page in a family photo album. Songs surfaced like memories—some carried with ease, others tugged out slowly, with Hayley strumming until the words arrived. At moments, she laughed with recognition, at others she wrestled past forgotten lines. The result was a performance that matched the Unplugged mission: pulling back the curtain on the creative process.
Hayley’s connection to her audience rests in part on her unguarded approach. Her stage presence carries remnants of her theatrical background, but the segues between songs show a performer comfortable enough to be herself…