Haley Klinkhammer sitting and smiling. Photo found as her profile picture on her Soundcloud website.
Haley Klinkhammer, as an aspiring musician, is the genuine article and can be seen as a bright light in the YouTube generation, representing herself and the purity of her heart and her love for music are sure to attract many more subscribers if they simply give her the time of day.
Haley Klinkhammer performed at Western Carolina University at the UC Coffeehouse on Feb. 23. The concert was a part of Klinkhammer’s ongoing college tour.
According to her website Klinkhammer started her career at the age of 14, and “…picked up a guitar and filmed her first YouTube video. She never could have imagined where it would take her. Nine years and more than 250 videos later, Haley’s passion has turned into her career, with much thanks to her 210,000 subscribers.”
Haley Klinkhammer has two EPs under her belt as well as her first full length album, “From Where I Stand,” which debuted in Dec. 2014 with the help of a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Album cover of Haley’s first full length album, “From Where I Stand”.
Her presence gave way to a talented, passionate but down to earth singer who could have easily just been anyone who came to see a show at WCU. Klinkhammer called upon the crowd to sing along if they knew the songs she was singing, closing the distance between herself and the crowd in an impactful way that made the audience feel as if they were on the same playing field.
“I always want to be me, no matter where I go,” Klinkhammer said after the concert on what her goals were, which included a new album to be released hopefully by the end of 2017. “I don’t want to sign with a label unless I can be genuinely myself, because I feel that with companies would tell me who to be and what to wear…I never went to do that.”
However, Klinkhammer doesn’t rule being on a label out entirely.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be signed,” said Klinkhammer, clearing up her ambitions. “I would really love to headline a band. But if the cost of signing means I lose who I am, that’s too much. I just want to be free.”
As Klinkhammer playfully demonstrated her loop pedal into her many covers and original works with only a few performance stumbles in her act, she spoke in between songs about her excitement of going to Harry Potter World and times she felt at odds with the world, particularly friends and family. Her social media promotional armbands promoted the slogan “I Am Human Too“.
“At our core, no matter how many differences we have, we’re all human…The world would be a better place if everyone realized that.” Klinkhammer spoke on “Human Too” before performing passionately strumming and belting for her original song.
Longtime fans and even newcomers were excited to see her.
“I’ve been a fan of (Haley) for about 4-5 years now, and seeing her in person is an entirely different world,” said Kevin Wood, a student at WCU. “I started watching her covers, and I loved her. I especially love what she does with her loop pedal.”
A loop pedal records short passages played on an instrument or voice and plays them back in a repeating loop, which Klinkhammer often incorporates for rhythm and vocal harmonies.
“I loved the show, it was awesome!” said Arthur Price, WCU student. “My friend Kevin showed me (Haley) a little while back, and I’ve become a big fan of her as well. Her voice is amazing.”
Just a brief clip of what tonight has been like #haleyklinkhammer pic.twitter.com/rhSJDNbKoT
— Alec Simkiss (@pinklemonarcade) February 24, 2017
