For Hayley Wallis, vulnerability is a sign of strength [Video]

Unmistakable confidence and a powerful voice—that is what Hayley Wallis brings to the artistic table. 

Through personal, emotional music, the Indigenous singer-songwriter melds many good things together: pop, R&B, folk, hope for better days, and vulnerability. 

“I think having any type of emotion portrayed through music is really important,” she says. “It needs to be authentic.”

Wallis is part of the Kitasoo/Xais’xais Nation, originally from Klemtu: a small, isolated island in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. Singing for her family and community from a young age sparked her desire to pursue her artistic aspirations outside of her hometown, so Wallis moved to Vancouver in 2018, looking for a balance between work life and family life.

“I’d love to represent perseverance: being a mother of two and working full-time, and being able to pursue music as an Indigenous woman,” she says. “And hopefully inspire other people to pursue what they love.”

In 2022, she released her debut single “Coffee Cup”. The song touches on …