Hayley Sales, Changing the World One Lullaby at a Time

The adventures of singer-songwriter and environmentalist, Hayley Sales, read like a New York Times bestseller. In fact, she admits on her MySpace page, “Many of the experiences that make up my rather short history sound fictional.”

She was born in Washington DC, went to a performing arts school in Portland and currently resides in a cottage on an organic blueberry farm on Vancouver Island. She frequents Australia, where she met her boyfriend at one of her shows, and proceeded to write love songs to win him over. The iTunes critics have dubbed her the female Jack Johnson. And she interviewed the Dalai Lama at age 15. She released her first album, Sunseed, at the tender age of 19, and her self-written sophomore album, When The Bird Became A Book, was released in Canada on June 22nd.

“I think the music’s just a bit more naked, a bit more honest, and I had more fun with it,” says Hayley, describing her latest album. “[I was inspired by] people, places, and definitely my restlessness. I think it’s this age, being young. You want to see everything and go everywhere and you don’t want to settle into one place, so it [the album] reflects all of that.”

When The Bird Became A Book is more than a lyrical travel diary, however. It is a collection of barefoot-friendly songs with an environmental conscience, reflecting Hayley’s passion for conserving the natural world. Encouraged from a young age to care for the planet, she’s grown into her role as environmentalist over the past few years, embracing the opportunities her music offers to spread her messages. “I always cared about the environment and people in third-world countries and whatnot, but I didn’t know exactly what to do,” she says. “I feel like in the last several years I’ve really figured out how to organize my crazy thoughts and do something with it.” She stresses that age shouldn’t be a barrier when creating change. “We aren’t powerless, being young.”

Her advice to teens is to get outside this summer. “Just go on hikes, go surfing, because it just makes you realize how important it is. That, for me, started everything, just loving being in the water or loving going on a hike, and then looking out over the trees and being like, 'What if that was gone?'"

Hayley’s own summer will be filled with song writing, touring and, of course, plenty of travel. She also hopes to volunteer her own time with MBARI, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Leading by example, she says, is the best way to encourage others to care about the environment. “If you can show them that you have power with what you care about, that you can do it, then I think that’s all you need.”

If Hayley’s life reads like a novel, then this is one story with an important message. “I really hope that I can just spread awareness to people. And at a certain point it’s not about me. Like, I hope that the music can. And I hope that it motivates people and it opens their eyes to how much we have and how sad it would be if we lost it.”

The chorus of her single, Lullaby, sums her up in a single line: “I’ll change the world... with a lullaby.”