Hayes, ‘Pig Dance’ and witty banter rocks WINEdown

Misty Sweet
Looking to unwind after a stressful workweek? The WINEdown Lounge at Merlino’s Belvedere afforded just this opportunity last Friday when they featured musician Bruce Hayes.

Hayes is a traveling musician originally from the East Coast who now calls Colorado home. He was in the original lineup of the String Cheese Incident and headlined the Belvedere Blues Fest last year. On Friday he played an eclectic mix of blues and country to a crowded and animated room.

A multi talented musician, he switched between the mandolin and acoustic guitar as well as taking up the harmonica from time to time. The majority of his music consisted of cover songs requested by the audience, including Chris Isaak, Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, and Willie Nelson, interspersed with his own interpretations of the songs. He also performed a few original tunes, which he seemed to extemporaneously make up on the spot by improvising his own lyrics.

The crowd-pleasing moment came with Hayes’ rendition of what he referred to as the “pig dance,” or him stomping around and wildly slapping his face as he sang about the dance of the pigs.

Hayes proved to be not only a talented musician, but also a great entertainer with his interesting dance moves and witty banter with the crowd.

“Basically what I do is songs about food and death,” Hayes said as he joked with the audience between songs.

Edward Adamic, who has designed labels for wine bottles at the Holy Cross Abbey, was the featured artist of the month.

Merlino’s hosts musicians and artists every Friday night from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Bruce Hayes will return on June 3 to continue his mission of delighting his listeners.

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