Singer Gemma Hayes: ‘When my mum died, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m definitely a grown-up now’. I feel like I’d been pretending until then’

The musician reflects on motherhood, losing her parents, battles with a record label and finding her creativity again after her career ‘fell apart’

Gemma Hayes: ‘There’s a lot of similarities between the first album and what I’m doing now’. Photo: Rich Gilligan

The drive from Belfast to Baltimore can take over six hours, winding through the Irish countryside as winter gives way to spring.

For Gemma Hayes, making this journey after our interview in a Belfast hotel, it’s prime creative time. “I listen to podcasts, I listen to books. I actually come up with lyrics a lot of the time,” she says. “You can just get a free run of things. Nobody interrupts me, so I can actually see a thought through to the end.”