Hailey Ann Smith was on I-85 heading home from a wedding at the Atlanta Country Club where she had been hired as the harpist. Suddenly everything stopped. A major accident had blocked the highway. After sitting there for a while and looking at all the other bored faces and she had an idea.
She got her harp out and gave an impromptu concert.
Other stranded motorists gathered to watch. She took requests, and played, among other tunes, “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban, “Canon in D,” “Oh Shenandoah,” and Elvis’s “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.”
Hailey says God has been guiding her music career for as long as she can remember. “God put it in my heart. I was 4 when we went to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and I saw the harp there, and when we left I was like, ‘Mommy, I want to play that!’” “I took a year of piano first and then got into harp, and it’s been just like breathing ever since.”
She has a business called Harpist for the King. On the site she explains She feels that God has given her this special gift and the desire to play for him.
The motorists stuck on I-85 appreciated the 30 minutes or so of music. As she was packing up the harp when traffic started moving again, an 18 wheeler honked and the driver yelled out the window "that was awesome"!