(Artist Report)

Written by: Ginny Gaines 

Thorn Haze didn’t come from a big city or a famous music scene. He grew up in a small old oil town in south-central Kansas, the kind of place where the summers are hot, everybody knows your grandparents, and the only entertainment is whatever you make for yourself. His parents were schoolteachers, and the house was always full of books, music, and the kind of quiet encouragement that lets a kid dream without feeling silly for it.

Thorn and his twin brother learned instruments early. Some kids get piano lessons, but Thorn just grabbed whatever he could, a guitar, a bass or drums, and taught himself to play, piece by piece. Music became his way of making sense of things, long before he had the words to explain them. Like most working musicians, he tried a little bit of everything to get by. At different points he was an antique dealer, an audio engineer, a case worker, even a sports videographer. But no matter what he did during the day, he always made it back to writing songs at night, shaping them slowly, like someone sanding down a piece of wood until it finally feels right in the hands.

When Covid hit and the world shut down, Thorn found himself pushed inward. Instead of playing with other musicians or gigging around town, he spent more time recording alone. That isolation turned into a challenge. So, in 2023, he decided to write and record a new song almost every single day. It wasn’t for fame or attention, but, it was just a way to stay sane, stay creative, and keep his heart open. By the time the year ended, he had sharpened his voice, his sound, and his sense of who he wanted to be as an artist.

Those songs became the seeds of his later work. In 2024 he released La Luz, an album that felt like the first real chapter of his story, powerful, emotional, and honest. People started noticing. Not millions of people, but the right people: listeners who like the strange, the soulful, the bluesy, and the haunting. Folks who don’t mind a little darkness in the mix.

Thorn’s sound isn’t easy to pin down. Part of it comes from the eerie, dreamlike world of David Lynch. Part of it comes from the heavy, smoky riffs of Black Sabbath. There’s a bit of Frank Zappa’s experimentation in there, and the soft ache of Nick Drake’s folk music. He blends all that into something that feels like sitting around a fire alone at night, comforting and yet unsettling at the same time.

On stage, Thorn doesn’t make a big scene. No lasers, no smoke machines, no fancy choreography. He prefers small rooms, backyards, and coffee shops, the kinds of places where he can look someone straight in the eyes while he sings. Fans say it feels like he’s playing for you, not at you. The simplicity of it all makes the songs hit even harder. As word spread, his online following grew. TikTok clips, little acoustic bits, and rough demos brought in new listeners. Soon his Spotify page started gaining tens of thousands of monthly listeners, and his singles, like "Little Mama", "Wicked Smile", "Hellhound", "Outside Myself", and more—made their rounds among indie fans looking for something real.

Through it all, Thorn stayed independent. He still writes his own songs, produces his own tracks, and books his own shows. The venues may be small, but the connection is big. People leave his shows feeling like they’ve just spent time with someone who isn’t trying to impress them, but just trying to reach them. That’s who Thorn Haze is at his core, a quiet, hardworking musician from a Kansas town who turned years of struggle, searching, and self-teaching into music that feels deeply personal. His story isn’t flashy. It’s honest. And for the growing community of fans finding him one song at a time, that honesty is exactly what makes him stand out.

That will do it for this report on Thorn Haze. Thank you for reading!! In closing, please just know, Soundwave Music Media will be here and I will always do my best to bring you the rock music report! Please consider supporting me and the crew by purchasing a Soundwave shirt or hat and support our sponsors! Until next time... Rock on friends🤘

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