Haley Heynderickx dedicated “Swoop” to “tiny Filipino mothers and the sacrifices they made for weirdos like me.” She might be a bit of a weirdo, but in a charming way, and her set delighted the crowd at the 9:30 Club during her recent early show there.

One of the more charming parts of the show was when Haley introduced her band and asked them to share a fun fact about themselves. We learned her trombone player was an undocumented immigrant for two decades, and that her guitarist speaks English as a second language — his native tongue is Japanese. He’s also married to the band’s cellist, and they recently welcomed their first child. When it was Haley’s turn, she demurred, saying she didn’t have a fun fact, because “I’m not a fun person.” I disagree!

Just a few weeks ago, Heynderickx released her second full-length album, Seed of a Seed. It’s her first since 2018’s I Need To Start A Garden. The songs, she said, were mostly written during the pandemic, and brought her comfort during that difficult time. “I hope they may be of use to you,” she said. Introducing the title track at 9:30 Club on Nov. 16, she said, “I didn’t know what it was about until people started reviewing it.” She later clarified that she knew what the individual songs were about as she was writing them, but not the overarching themes of the record.

Watch the official music video for “Seed of a Seed” by Haley Heynderickx on YouTube:

Haley noted that the album is “only 35 minutes long” and played almost the entirety of it, excepting “Spit In The Sink.” “Sorry Fahey” is a reference to the great folk guitarist John Fahey, who’s unique fingerstyle playing has influenced Heynderickx. (There are strong traces of ’60s and ’70s folk in her style, both in her guitar playing and in her singing.) “Redwoods (Anxious God),” she said, is about “believing plants can talk us.” “Jerry’s Song,” surprisingly, is about her friend Andrew Stonestreet, who “has a lot of Jerry energy.”

The band briefly took a break while Haley played “Drinking Song,” which she was “written because of pink wine.” The set was rounded out by “No Face,” which is inspired by and takes its name from a character in the animated film Spirited Away (one of my personal favorites), and “Bug Collector,” her most popular song. Heynderickx told the audience she was trying to improve her boundaries, so she eschewed leaving the stage and returning for an encore, instead going directly into “Oom Sha La La,” which is about “existential dread.”

Kalia Vandever got the evening started with one of the most unique opening sets I’ve seen. A trombone player, her music is very influenced by jazz and is mostly instrumental. Her most recent album, We Fell In Turn, is influenced by her Hawaiian heritage. Her grandparents, she explained, immigrated there from the Philippines. Her song, “Recollections,” was inspired by the experience of being visited by her grandfather’s spirit after his passing. She finished her set accompanied by members of Haley’s band on “Fall Again.”

For such a large venue, this was a particularly intimate evening. Both Kalia and Haley have a way of drawing their audience in and making them feel like they’re in a small room. It was an evening that was like a warm hug from an old friend.

Here are some photos of Haley Heynderickx performing at 9:30 Club on Nov. 16, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.

Here are some photos of Kalia Vandever opening Haley Heynderickx at 9:30 Club on Nov. 16, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.