Kevin Hayden is a drummer/producer who is known to articulately translate speech through musical notes on the drums. Born on May 25, 1980, in Fort Wayne IN, he began to take an interest in drums at the age of 2.  Coming from a long line of family drummers to include his father, Tracey Hayden, Kevin seems to have developed a natural and somewhat genetic passion for his craft.  He was brought up in church and afforded the opportunity to play drums for various choirs.  When he was 13, he was noticed at his church by a well known community choir director, Chris Ford, which led to his involvement in hundreds of local performances, a live recording and tours in Georgia and Texas.  

During the year of 1994, as Kevin grew and matured on the gospel scene, his father introduced him to the music of jazz drummer Will Kennedy (Yellowjackets) which changed his entire approach to drums.  A year later, his uncle introduced him to the cassette tape “Masterplan” by fusion drummer Dave Weckl.  Kevin studied night and day to gain these new concepts of jazz and fusion. His combination of gospel, fusion and jazz led to a distinct and unique style which captivated his listeners.  In 1998 Kevin entered into the US Marines but his musical journey did not stop.  In 1999 while stationed in Camp Lejeune NC, Kevin found a church to play for.  This is where he met drummer Lamont Sydnor (Christina Milian, Wayne Brady) who was also in the Marines and at that time playing for the Mike Corrado Band.  After hearing Kevin’s skills, Lamont saw his potential and quickly embraced him as a friend and began to broaden and shape his skills on the drum set. 

After completing the Marines in 2002, Kevin moved to his mother’s home town of Milwaukee Wisconsin.  It wasn’t too long before he drew the attention of other great musicians at various jam sessions and auditions.  Since then, Kevin has worked with well known Milwaukee acts such as Christopher’s Project, De La Buena, Street Life, Growing Nation, the Terry Sims Band, the Evan Christian Quartet, Choir Fight, Isaiah Joshua Group, the Adventures of the Static Chicken, SLM, Ethan Keller and a host of other musicians and singers. In 2007, Kevin enrolled in the music program of Milwaukee Area Technical College where he studied music under one of Milwaukee’s premiere jazz drummers Ben Hans.

In 2009, Kevin decided to fulfill his music career by starting his own jazz fusion band, the “Kevin Hayden Band,” recorded and released his debut album, “Delegations & Assignments,” and took part in the production of a bass DVD (Bass Sessionzs Vol 1) for Gospel Chops.  Here he had the privilege and honor to work on the same set as drumming legend Peter Erskine (Weather Report, Michael Brecker) and veteran pianist John Beasley (Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard).

In 2010, Kevin released his hit single “Distant".  He also earned the Kevin Hayden Band a spot at the Milwaukee World Festival “Summerfest” and continued to perform regularly on the area’s premier jazz scene to include clubs and festivals.  2011 proved to be a busy year as well with the release of the gospel performance track "Awaken" and the debut release of the Kevin Hayden Trio's "The Winter Project".