Wayfindings

With the exception of her cover of the Henry Thomas folk standard “Fishin’,” the songs on Wayfindings were written by Boston-area singer/songwriter Hayley Reardon. As of 2014, she's just 17 years old—which is two years older than she was when named 2012 Bostonian of the Year for releasing her debut album, Where the Artists Go. That her music is not American Idol–like pop but in the singer/songwriter folk tradition of Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Erin McKeown, and Mary Chapin Carpenter illustrates an already-grounded musical artist. She sells out concerts and snags rides to them from her parents. “Booze and Blueberries” might not be entirely legal for her, but the emotional depth is obvious. The arrangements are tasteful, with gently sawing strings and modest percussion complementing her acoustic guitar and voice on the hopeful “Make Some Good.” If ex-boyfriends pretended to like Bob Dylan on “Numb and Blue,” it’s a familiar world she’s entering, and one she’s likely to make better the more she writes, performs, and understands.