Country music star Walker Hayes performed at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center as part of IDEA Week, an annual event celebrating entrepreneurs, innovation, and the incubation of new ideas, in April 2023.
Hayes, a native of Mobile, Alabama, has released three albums, and his single “Fancy Like” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs list. In 2005, Hayes worked in Nashville as a songwriter for Colt Ford and Rodney Atkins. In 2017, he signed a contract with Monument Records and released the single “You Broke Up with Me.” Following the success of “Fancy Like,” Hayes released Country Stuff the Album in January 2022 and had the hit singles “U Gurl,” “AA,” and, most recently, “Y’all Life.”
IDEA Week is hosted by Notre Dame, the South Bend-Elkhart region, and various community organizations and businesses. It was held April 15 through 21 at the University and other locations throughout South Bend and Elkhart.
Ingrid Andress and Breland opened for Hayes. Andress is a Michigan native and four-time Grammy nominee. Her single “Wishful Drinking” featuring Sam Hunt garnered more than 130 million global streams and is platinum-certified. Andress’s album Lady Like was named one of Billboard’s Top 10 Best Country Albums of 2020. Her album Good Person was released in 2022. Breland is the son of ministers and a graduate of Georgetown University. His music bridges the genres of country, R&B, hip-hop, gospel, and pop.