Haley Heynderickx Chooses Hope on “Seed of a Seed,” Her First New Single Since 2018

Portland, Oregon, singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx shared her first new song in more than six years this week, the serene “Seed of a Seed,” heralding a return that has been much anticipated since the 2018 release of her acclaimed full-length debut, I Need to Start a Garden, via Mama Bird Recording Co.

“Seed of a Seed” centers Heynderickx’s purposeful vocals and percussive acoustic guitar strums, with understated accompaniment from William Seiji Marsh on tenor guitar, Caleigh Drane on cello and string arrangement, and Matthew Holmes on double bass. The song’s uncomplicated instrumentation is in service of its message: “If we don’t know better,” Heynderickx sings, stopping her thought short, as if in fear of what it may say about the world we live in—but each time, she resolves to live in hope, continuing, “Well, did my parents know better? / No, but they tried.”

Though it clocks in at under three minutes long, the song is littered with the exact sort of little grace notes it celebrates, from “a glass of wine” to “a hand next to mine.” Drane’s strings stir the ones inside one’s heart, particularly in the song’s instrumental bridge, while Holmes and Heynderickx’s upright bass and guitar interplay at times evokes Jaco Pastorius accompanying Joni Mitchell. “Seed of a Seed” is lovely in both sentiment and execution, as any listener to I Need to Start a Garden will find entirely unsurprising. 

“I first sent a demo of ‘Seed of a Seed’ to my friend Tré Burt and he loved it,” recalled Heynderickx in a statement. “For three years he kept asking me if I’d finished the ‘better better’ song. It felt like a throwaway song to me, at first. It’s so simple, but I didn’t realize how much angst I’d woven into it: a desire for simplicity, and how far away that felt. It seems I accidentally pressed my story—the last four years of my life—into a tiny little tune and I love it now, too.”

The “Seed of a Seed” music video (dir. Evan Benally Atwood) renders the song’s introspective emotions through interpretive dance, with expressive, intimate performances by Jared Dancler, Katherine Rose, Atwood and Heynderickx.

Heynderickx recently announced a U.S. headlining tour spanning September through November, featuring two-night stands in Salt Lake City and Portland, as well as stops in Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, D.C. and Brooklyn. You’ll find her complete itinerary below.

Haley Heynderickx Tour Dates:

Aug 2 – Ninilchik, AK – Salmonfest

Sept 5 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground

Sept 6 – Exeter, NH – The Word Barn

Sept 7 – Easthampton, MA – River Roads Festival

Sept 22 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry

Sept 23 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club

Sept 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room

Sept 25 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room

Sept 27 – Fort Collins, CO – Washington’s

Sept 28 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater

Sept 29 – Boulder, CO – eTown Music Hall

Oct 1 – Albuquerque, NM – KiMo Theatre

Oct 3 – San Diego, CA – Lou Lou’s

Oct 4 – Los Angeles, CA – Aratani Theatre

Oct 5 – San Francisco,CA – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Oct 6 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild Theatre

Oct 8 – Sacramento, CA – Sofia Theatre

Oct 11 – Seattle, WA – St. Mark’s Cathedral

Oct 18 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater

Oct 19 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater

Nov 8 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club

Nov 9 – Milwaukee, WI – Vivarium

Nov 10 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall

Nov 11 – Lakewood, OH – The Roxy

Nov 13 – Albany, NY – The Egg

Nov 14 – Somerville, MA – Somerville Theatre

Nov 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Music Hall at World Cafe Live

Nov 16 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

Nov 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg