Hayes was born on The Wirral, but moved at the age of two and a half to the village of Warkworth in Northumberland.

[2] After being a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award for three years in a row (2000 – 2002), she attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2005.

[7] With Jennifer Austin (piano) and Fiona MacAskill (fiddle), Wildings was released on 29 July 2015.

[8] Woven began as a commission for New Voices, a series designed to produce new work from artists on the Scottish traditional music scene, at the Celtic Connections festival in 2014.

[9] The Guardian described Woven as an "inventive concept work" and "a fresh, emotional collection that shows her skills as a composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer.