Backstory: Walt Haleigh, 30, started playing music at age 7, when he got his first drum kit. The singer-songwriter went on to play in bands—until recently. “I was at a point in my life where I was like, I just want to rely on myself …And it’s proven to be a great reset for me.”

Sound: Haleigh draws inspiration from a melting pot of music. On “Woman So Fine,” he channels the country of Waylon Jennings. On “Not Afraid No More,” he embodies the psychedelic soul of My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.

Man of 100 songs: Prior to the pandemic, Haleigh lived in LA, where a producer challenged him to write 100 songs to sharpen his skills. The artist started with one song a week, but soon, he was writing several a day. That exercise led to a therapeutic debut album, which Haleigh recorded in his parents’ Las Vegas basement. “The last song is more of a letter to myself,” he says. “It’s a refresher of me moving back to Vegas and refinding yourself when you’ve been trying to find yourself in other people this whole time.”

Next up: Haleigh already has another album’s worth of songs ready to go. He says he also intends to release music he recorded with his co-producers under the name Arnold, Benton, Smith, and plans to play shows in Las Vegas, LA and Arizona.

WALT HALEIGH Linktr.ee/WaltHaleigh