“If you gave Elton John a beat pad, you’d get yourself Hayden McHugh” With joyful tones and happy beats, Hayden McHugh looks to make you smile with his brand of feel-good dance-pop. They are a producer, songwriter, and vocalist from Calgary, Canada, and is ‘a vibrant, exciting, and collected individual, poised to make their presence felt in the ever-evolving Calgary arts community.’ Reminiscent to artists like Robyn, LAUV, and LANY, each song is carefully crafted to both move you emotionally while simultaneously inspiring you to dance and sing along. They have performed at venues like the Palace Theater and Pride Calgary, opened for artists such as Scenic Route to Alaska at the Gateway, and has been nominated for Artist of the Year by the YYC Music Awards in 2018, and Single of the Year in 2021. Growing up, Hayden was trained in theater arts and classical piano, and at the age of 12 took a fascination with production and recorded music. After exploring various music-making channels, they settled on Ableton and began to get to work creating their sound. With a direct interest in music by artists such as Jon Bellion and Lights, the preoccupation with synths and electronic music took over and the sunshine pop just flowed right out. Also an avid songwriter, Hayden has also written songs with and for various artists including Rabino, Mariya Stokes, Tom Lewis, and works with songwriters both locally and internationally to write songs for them in genres not limited to EDM, Pop, and Country music.