It seems one of our fair cities’ biggest stars has decided to pack her bags & head west. We will definitely miss you Haley, but I’m sure we’ll see you in Portland or back home soon enough.

Here is her letter:

Hello Friends,

I know many of you are already aware that as of July 5th (NEXT WEEK!) I will no longer be a resident of St. Paul, MN. A couple of months ago while I was out in BC, I found out that my landlord wanted to sell the house I’ve been renting for over 3 years, much to my chagrin, and that we had to be out by July 1. Some of you have visited or come to one of our fun soirees here on Dayton ave, so you know how completely amazing this place is. It’s strange, but this is the first time in my life that I have been so completely connected emotionally to a house. My room has fabric wallpaper that is a wild flower pattern from top to bottom, the windows are enormous, the floors are hardwood, many of the original built-ins are still in tact. Even though the winters require many layers of clothes and heavy duty slippers in order to write out the very expensive check for the heat, I have fallen so in love with this place that it spun my wheels completely when I found out we had to leave!

Last October I was thinking heavily about moving to Portland, so I went out there for a week to spend more “quality” time there, as touring through a city doesn’t exactly give you a close inspection. Of course, I loved it, but when I returned to Minnesota, I knew it wasn’t the right time. This last time around out west, however, when the ball dropped on my apartment, I knew it was time to try out another city for a while.

A lot of my friends are asking “Are you leaving for good?” or “are you starting over in Portland?” and the truthful answer is, I just don’t know. When I was 18, I moved from Rapid City, SD to Duluth, MN and was there for almost 4 years before moving to St. Paul, where I have been for the last 4 years. I have met many amazing friends, musicians, artists, coworkers, and kids, and seen a lot of beautiful places, shows, exhibits, etc. This is home to me. So I can’t leave for good! But this is the first time in my life that I have a chance to make a change without strings attached, so I’m diving in.

I already have a couple of trips planned to come back to Minnesota to play shows, so I don’t feel like I’m leaving completely… and I expect that some of you (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) will fly out and see me in my new digs.

Not sure why I am writing this exactly. Maybe for my acquaintances or people I haven’t seen for a while? Maybe for myself? Either way, hopefully this explains that I have nothing but love for this beautiful state of Minnesota, and I look forward to returning after my new adventure.

xo,
hb

PS
I will be playing July 4th at the Walker Arts Center Sculpture Garden with my band. It’s free, open to the public, and all ages. We start at 1pm. Playing lots of new songs, so come on down!
If you can’t make that, I will be playing at the MN Zoo on Aug. 21 at 8pm.