I grew up on some very iconic music. The type of music greats such as Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, The Rolling Stones, Tom Cochrane, and many more, and what Tasmanian singer-songwriter-poet Bully Hay has brought us with his latest beautifully heartfelt single Bushfire Moon fits right into the category of an instant classic song.
The first two singles from Bully Hay titled Wash Off The World and Black Dogs and Songbirds arrived on the music scene in such an authentic way that it cut through 95% of what I have been exposed to over the last few years. This is not to say that other musicians have not been putting in their best effort to create meaningful music, but where those musicians leaned heavily on what was popular, trending, and digitally heavily produced, Bully Hay has gone back to a far warmer, analog, and story-driven time of music making.
When I first came across Bully Hay it was because Canadian music royalty mentioned his name on a Facebook post, and that legendary name is Jeff Martin of The Tea Party. To say it as clearly as I can, The Tea Party have been one of the most important bands to the soundtrack of my life. They have been there through the best times, the worst times, and all the time in between, and whenever they endorse something, I make sure to listen. The reason that I say this is because I must admit that before I heard a second of Bully Hay’s music, I knew that it was going to be great, because a master musician, a pioneer of songwriting, and a living legend took the time to produce it. With that knowledge also came the feeling that what Bully Hay might bring to the table could be less his artistic vision, and potentially more ‘The Captain’s’.
It only took a few minutes to know that Bully Hay is not just another musician working with a great, but he is a great musician working alongside artists of his own calibre. I truly think that Bully Hay is a true traveling poet in every sense of the word. He is an artist as authentic as John Butler, whose music could very well save someone’s life one day, and it is extremely exciting to know that I managed to discover his music before the world does, because I have no doubt that he will be an artist whose name will claw its way out of obscurity in a truly exciting way!
Bushfire Moon is a gorgeous song. It is a song that acts as a powerful diary entry from the heart of a musician that sings with an unmistakable voice. The level of musicianship here is not about trying to outplay the current generation of Steve Vai prodigies, but rather it is a song that harkens back to an era of music that felt warm, real, and undeniably human. Within Bushfire Moon a listener will find themselves being introduced to a style of songwriting that doesn’t care about current trends and cold digital perfection. This is not a song meant for soundbites and background noise, but it is a song meant to touch your heart and soul, and in that it does most assuredly succeed.
I want to say thank you to Bully Hay for what you created with this new single, because it has become part of the soundtrack to my life, and I just know that this song is going to travel with me down some unknown roads, and across those impossible waters ahead.
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