Sweet HayaH

Today we present you the inspiring story of Sweet HayaH band. Originally formed in 2011, Sweet HayaH’s founding members were lead vocalist and keyboardist Nehal (pronounced Knee-Hell) Abuelata, guitarist Devin Moreno, bass player Aaron Marquez, and drummer Josh Gardner. Each of these musicians had their own unique musical backgrounds and interests. Nehal, who came to San Jose via Egypt and France, was a singer-songwriter who has vocally been compared to Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, and Alanis Morissette. Devin’s musical preferences are heavily influenced by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Aaron is a metal guy, and Josh a reggae drummer. The four of them combined to form a genre salad that they called rock/soul/funk. Since the initial founding of the band, they have added trumpet player Brandon Garcia, and percussionist Kosuke Okamura. The band is now officially a sextet, uniquely combining individual musical styles to create a powerfully infectious and high energy brand that draws in people of all ages and backgrounds. The band’s name derives from the Arabic/Hebrew word for life. HayaH is a palindrome, with the first and last “H” intentionally capitalized in the band’s name to emphasize the symmetry. Their music and performances are truly a celebration of the sweetness of life, and how lucky we are to have friends and family in our lives. In 2013, Sweet HayaH released their first full-length album called “Sweet Awakening”. The songs were all written by the band members, highlighted by a powerful single called “The Truth”. This pulsing crowd favorite reminds us that life can be “your best friend and worst enemy….lifts your spirits up and lets you down easily.” During the summer of 2015, Sweet HayaH embarked upon their most ambitious project to date. Along with SF Bay Area musical veteran Todd Jeremias as their producer, the band wrote and recorded their first fully-produced full-length album. “Gentle Lies”. The recordings took place over a time period of several months at multiple recording studios and session. This included two weekends at the famous Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati. A single from the album, “Yourself”, along with an official music video for that song, was released in November 2015. The album was released in April 2016, followed by several shows and festivals in the Bay Area and beyond. Sweet HayaH performed at the Novato Festival of Art, Wine, and Music, the Fremont Festival of the Arts, Napa Porchfest, and Napa City Nights, just to name a few. In October 2016, Sweet HayaH opened a sold-out show at The Independent in San Francisco for the world famous UK based Two-Tone ska band, The Selecter. Sweet HayaH has a song called “Ain’t Looking Back”, which very much summarizes this band’s plans and forward looking thoughts. They hope to bring their positive messages of multi-culturalism and inclusion to fans all over the world. Plans for 2017 and beyond include larger shows and festivals, and tours across North America. Stay tuned!