Hailey Sandoz

Hailey Sandoz is a Texas-bred musician, following a less-trodden path among millennials. Her style is rooted in western swing, jazz, bluegrass, and Celtic. This remarkable young artist captures the attention of audiences young and old through her dynamic performance and representation of Western Swing, “the official music of Texas.” Hailey is known for her exceptional fiddling, jazzy vocals, and creative arranging skills. While Western swing is her most fun wheelhouse, Hailey is at home playing Celtic, Country, and anything in between. For the past thirteen years, Hailey has traveled all across the world performing at festivals and concert halls in the United States and abroad, including the Equiblues Festival in France. At age 18, Hailey was hired full-time with Grammy-Award Winner, Bobby Flores and the Yellow Rose Band. Since then, Hailey has appeared with Bobby Flores on two seasons of the RFDTV series, TruCountry. Hailey is a 4-time recipient of the International Western Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year (2023, 2021, 2019, & 2017). She has also been awarded the 2019 Cowtown Society of Western Music Rising Star of the Year, 2016 Academy of Western Artist Young Artist of the Year, 2015 International Western Music Association Crescendo Rising Star, as well as winning several fiddle competitions. In addition to these accolades, Hailey has had the privilege of performing with several legendary artists such as Leon Rausch and Tommy Allsup, and has opened for Michael Martin Murphy, Billy Dean, Crystal Gale and The Oak Ridge Boys.

Growing up, Hailey competed in numerous sports such as, select soccer, swim team, basketball, and Irish dance. However, at 8 years old, she struck an interest in violin. After two years of classical training, Hailey ventured out into Celtic music, which led her to study with many world-class musicians from all over the world. By ten years old, Hailey was invited to be a member the TIMES Session Players, which is group that features the top traditional Irish musicians in DFW. A few years later, she started a contemporary folk duo with guitarist, Joseph Carmichael, called Óga (2010-2017). The duo released their first album, Fingerprints, in 2014, with outstanding reviews from Live Ireland International Radio Show, Western Way Magazine & The Ceili magazine. In later years, Hailey began branching out into the bluegrass and western swing genres. 

Aside from her musical endeavors, Hailey has a huge passion for horsemanship. Her interest in Reining events has opened up many opportunities for Hailey to hone her skills with a variety seasoned horseman. 

Achievements:

2023 IWMA Instrumentalist of the Year 

2021 IWMA Instrumentalist of the Year 

2019 IWMA Instrumentalist of the Year 

2019 Cowtown Society of Western Music, Rising Star of the Year 

2017 IWMA, Instrumentalist of the Year (youngest person to receive this honor) 

2016 AWA, Young Artist of the Year

2015 IWMA Youth Harmony Contest with Kristyn Harris & Leah Sawyer 

2015 IWMA Crescendo Rising Star Award 

2012 Byron D. Cameron Memorial Music Scholarship 

2009-2011 1st Place Music Award - Oklahoma Feis Music Contest 

2011 1st Place Music Award - Corpus Christi Feis Music Contest 

2009-2011 1st Place & 2nd Music Award - Bluebonnet Feis Music Contest 

*International Western Music Association (IWMA) 

*Academy of Western Artist (AWA)