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The Eastern Echo Tuesday, July 8, 2025 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

Colin Hay to play at Ark in Ann Arbor

As Colin Hay gives his phone interview his GPS interrupts him, telling him to keep left on interstates and make a left at the next exit. He’s on his way to the Garde Arts Center in New London, Conn., the fifth stop of his twenty-date spring tour. The shows are all acoustic, stripped down to just a man, his guitar and nearly three decades worth of wisdom and tales of the music industry.

Hay, better known for his work with the popular ‘80s band Men at Work, lives up to the name of his former band these days. He describes his frequent touring as a solo musician a factor of supply and demand starting in the late ‘80s.

“The acoustic shows just came out of circumstance,” Hay said. “I couldn’t afford to have a band because a touring band was expensive. But somebody in Boise, Idaho; or Boston or something said ‘I’m interested’ to my booking agent, ‘We want to book that guy and this is what we’re offering,’ and they’re only offering enough for me.”

After the breakup of Men at Work, Hay kept himself busy. He installed his own studio in his basement where he records ideas for his songs, released 10 solo albums and has played countless shows across the United States. Hay had a large boost recently for his appearance in the TV show “Scrubs,” by performing the Men at Work single “Overkill.”

Hay will be performing at The Ark in Ann Arbor on Tuesday to a sold-out crowd and again on Wednesday due to high demand.

“It feels great,” Hay said. “A lot of the gigs I’ve been doing for the last few years, I’ve been doing one show and they’ve been doing quite well, so a lot of the places have added another show, so it’s pretty heartwarming to know that it’s going in the right direction.”

Hay’s live show is known not only for its music, but also for the stage banter. After nearly three decades on the road, Hay has accumulated a lot of stories. He admits after all of these years, touring solo can be a bit different than playing with a live band.

“The solo tours are very mobile and easy to operate and it’s a very direct relationship with the audience,” said Hay. “There’s a lot more talking in between songs and it’s something that’s been building up over the last 10-15 years.”

With his latest tour, Hay will be introducing songs off of his new album “American Sunshine.” Recorded in Nashville, the album is graced with musicians Hay felt were at the top of their game. The hardest part of the recording sessions for Hay was finding more material to record after the musicians tracked most of his songs on the first day.

Although Hay loved music since he started playing guitar at 14 years old, at the end of the day, he still understands the need to stay motivated as a professional musician.

“It’s just a great job, you know?” Hay said “There’s a lot of hours in the day after breakfast, and I like working, so I just go to work.”