Meet Hailey Fines, the Mind Behind Ragamuffs

Ragamuffs, a local indie music brand headed by Hailey Fines, taps into those feelings of nostalgia, growing up, and releasing trapped energy through its dreamy falsetto vocals and soft guitar riffs. 

Ragamuffs was founded in 2017 in Honolulu, Hawai’i after developing the idea with a friend. Once her past-bandmate decided to pursue a different career path, Fines took over Ragamuffs and turned it into the O’ahu indie staple it is today. 

Although Hawai’i might not offer as much area for growth as the mainland does, Fines expressed her appreciation for basing Ragamuffs in her hometown instead of abroad. Ragamuffs recently had a hot streak of opening for major artists such as Jimmy Eat World, MAX, Mom Jeans, and Wallows during last spring of 2023.

“I feel like if I were in L.A. or something, and the Wallows came to L.A. for a show, I don’t think I would’ve gotten the same opportunity competing with all the other L.A. artists,” Fines said. “So I definitely feel like I’ve built a solid thing here [in O’ahu].” 

The business behind the art 

Something listeners typically don’t realize about being an indie artist is that they’re essentially operating as a one-man-band. Without the help of record labels doing the marketing, budgeting, and scheduling, the artist is in charge of those responsibilities aside from producing their own music. 

Once Fines took full ownership of Ragamuffs, she shared that there was a lot to tackle that she hadn’t previously anticipated. As her own boss, Fines learned that she could set her own rates – and while this may sound like a dream, it presented her with the dreaded question of, “how much am I worth?” 

“It’s interesting how every artist can set their own rate of how much they want to charge, you know, when it comes to gigs,” Fines said. “I think that was surprising to me ‘cuz that’s like – especially for someone who has to be a business person and artist it’s like now you’re pricing something so personal to you and there’s no standard way of saying, ‘oh this is how much you’re supposed to make’ – it really comes down to how much you value yourself and believing in that.” 

During the first few years, Ragamuffs often performed for free. However, after demand for new music and shows increased, Fines had to accommodate the costs of time and resources. 

Although it was challenging at first, overcoming the anxiety that came with confronting promoters with rates has paid off by greatly expanding opportunities and exposure. Now, Ragamuffs is one of O’ahu’s most recognizable indie artists.

Listen in! 

If you’d love a taste of Ragamuffs’ indie ear candy, check out her Spotify. 

Ragamuffs also has a YouTube channel that features music videos along with additional content such as covers, behind the scenes, and live performances. To stay up to date, follow her Instagram. 

by Vanessa Hathaway

As a writing intern for Honolulu Vibes, Vanessa Hathaway is passionate about creating quality content that allows audiences across oceans to collectively share her zest for adventure. Raised in Washington D.C and Las Vegas, Vanessa moved to O’ahu to pursue a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in English at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. She spends her free time playing gigs with her band, Blue Tuesday, and surfing at the local longboard spots in Honolulu.

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