Spotlight On: A.J. HAYNES of SERATONES

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S SHERO IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

The first thing you notice when you meet A.J. Haynes of Seratones is her presence; she radiates joy. As a frontwoman, she is full of energy and power, and even some swagger. A.J. owns the stage, with a voice that was singing in church when she was a child growing up in Louisiana. A.J. eventually gravitated to the punk and DIY scene in Shreveport, where Seratones was born fusing a heady mix of punk, garage rock, jazz, soul, and blues. Seratones’s debut Get Gone came out in 2016, and Power, their sophomore album arrived in 2019. During those years, A.J. Haynes worked on and off at an abortion clinic in Louisiana, one of only three abortion facilities in the state, and the last couple of years has seen that role become more essential and more endangered than ever before, culminating with the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade. While her abortion advocacy work became increasingly more urgent and intense, A.J. found ways to ground herself, and began to prioritize self care. She got certified to teach yoga, and worked on the songs that would become Seratones’s newest album, Love & Algorhythms. A.J. Haynes is this week’s SHERO In The Spotlight.

Our playlist includes new music from Wyonna and Waxahatchee, Tegan and Sara, and Alvvays, who have announced a new album Blue Rev, set to arrive in October.

SHERO BIRTHDAYS: We celebrate the SHERO birthday of Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls on 7/22. And on 7/27, Happy Birthday to SHEROES Molly Rankin of Alvvays who turns 35, Juliana Hatfield who turns 55, and Bobbie Gentry who is 78!

This week’s Radio SHERO: Taylor Wallace from KUTX joins us and gets deep about her journey of finding herself again. Her pick is a song that she tells us was a special part of that journey: “Body” by Julia Jacklin.