Artist plans west return

Catch musician Jonathan Hayden in Surat this weekend.

FINE TUNE: Jonathan Hayden prepares for his tour out west. You can catch him at the Surat Smith Family fundraiser on Sunday.

COUNTRY musician Jonathan Mark Hayden is returning to the Maranoa, travelling across the southwest on his inland tour.

Last year, Mr Hayden toured the outback and loved the experience.

"This will be my fourth trip,” he said.

"The people were so friendly; I couldn't wait to come back.”

Mr Hayden began his musical journey at aged 21 when his father, Roger Hayden, passed away. He was also a singer songwriter and his son's inspiration.

"He started out playing Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary; they were his idols,” he said.

"That was his passion. He started out with folk music and went to country later in life.”

Mr Hayden's dad played at the Brisbane Folk Centre and mingled with fellow musicians - The Wayfarers and Paul Souki (Peter, Paul & Mary).

In his early 20s, Mr Hayden picked up his guitar again and started playing locally for free.

"I borrowed a guitar and started to teach myself,” he said.

"I started singing his (dad's) songs to keep his music alive.”

A friend invited Mr Hayden to perform at an aged care facility and he nervously went along and played for a couple of hours.

"It started with one (nursing home) and now I'm booked with 17 facilities throughout the year,” he said.

The musician performs genres ranging from Australiana and Aussie rock to ballads, released his Our Land EP in 2016 and has a new rocking country single Desperate Hearts in the pipeline.

Mr Hayden will be playing at Dalby and the Nindigully Pub this weekend.