Maya Hawke has learned what love really is

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Sitting at a picnic table in Griffith Park with an iced tea and a notebook, Maya Hawke says she’s still enjoying her latest album.

The 27-year-old singer and actor explains that with past albums, he’d end up disliking the finished product by the time it was released. He felt burnt out by the constant attention and online pressure, and didn’t want to promote something he wasn’t excited about. This time, he intentionally planned a different release strategy, hoping to make the process more enjoyable, and it appears to be succeeding.

Just over a week before the release of her new album, “Maitreya Corso,” she’s been touring small venues like the Troubadour. The album explores themes of love and art, and she performed last night with Christian Lee Hutson, who also helped her create it. This tour is designed to build excitement for her fourth LP.

Ethan Hawke’s daughter, Maya Hawke, recently married musician Christian Hutson, who has worked with Phoebe Bridgers. They collaborated on her albums “Moss” (2022) and “Chaos Angel” (2024) before getting married on Valentine’s Day in New York City. Photos of the couple with Hawke’s parents, Ethan and Uma Thurman, as well as her “Stranger Things” co-stars, appeared in People magazine.

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During our conversation, Hawke was still wearing the classic Beastie Boys T-shirt she wore at the Troubadour. She had to rush off to the airport immediately after, as she and Hutson were heading to Denver for their next performance.

I noticed you and your husband making a lot of eye contact last night. I’m new to playing guitar on stage, so I was a bit nervous and really focused on keeping the beat. I was watching both his eyes and his hands – his chord shapes are different from mine, but I was following his rhythm to stay synchronized.

I started playing guitar when I was eleven, but I eventually felt like my progress was much slower than others, especially my brother. It was frustrating – I’d try to play, and immediately someone would want to jam, interrupting my own practice or songwriting. I’d end up just putting the guitar down. Later, when I began working as a professional musician, being around incredibly talented players made me question why I’d even bother playing if I wasn’t at their level. Honestly, it made performing live really unpleasant.

Was that the reason? I don’t see myself as a dancer or a pop star, and I don’t have the vocal range of someone like Adele. Just standing and singing felt wrong – it felt more suited to a poetry reading. So I decided that if I were to make another album, I’d have to play guitar and write songs I could actually perform myself.

It was interesting how focused you both were while performing the songs, but then so relaxed and conversational in between. I really wanted to create a show that felt like a concert I would enjoy. I’m a bit unusual – I don’t typically love concerts, but I do like when artists interact with the audience. I can listen to the recorded music at home, but what I can’t get at home is a sense of the artists as people.

Who would you say are some of music’s great between-song talkers?
Hmm.

I honestly believe Adele is one of the most incredible performers I’ve ever seen. I remember going to see her show when I was younger – my dad took me to see a lot of popular female artists that year. What struck me was that watching her filled me with pure joy, not envy. I realized I could never replicate what she does, and that’s a special talent, a true gift. I didn’t feel any need to compete with that; it was simply amazing to witness.

After she delivers that initial impact, she’ll then just speak spontaneously for three or four minutes. That’s what I’m hoping for too—I want to see genuine emotion, especially now when everyone is constantly bombarded with images of unrealistic perfection and grace.

Music

The long-running Southern California ska-punk band kicked off a series of shows at the new, modern dome-shaped venue on Wednesday night.

There are a tremendous number of words on this record.
It’s very verbose.

Let me tell you, as someone who really connects with songwriting, lyrics are everything to me. This album actually started with a song called “Devil You Know,” and it was a really interesting process. I decided to try writing a poem in free verse – something I don’t usually do! It’s funny, because my husband and I actually had a debate about it. He’s a big fan of free verse, but I definitely prefer a more traditional poetic structure. It was a fun challenge, though, and it ended up shaping the direction of the song.

Honestly, I really enjoyed the poem, but if I had one small critique, it would be about the rhythm. While I love free verse, I think it could have been even stronger with a little more attention to how it sounds when you read it aloud. Just my two cents!

It felt like starting over, like a rough draft. Working within a specific poetic form – like a sonnet or villanelle – forces you to think differently about how to express an idea. But when I tried writing in free verse, I really enjoyed it and wanted to explore that style further. I usually aim for the directness of a Willie Nelson lyric – finding the simplest way to convey a complex thought. There are moments of that on this album, like in the song “Bring Home My Man.” However, I also experimented with doing the opposite – taking a simple idea and expressing it in a more complex way.

So, about that essay – the one philosopher Justin Smith-Ruiu wrote about the album – I barely understood any of it, maybe 11 percent. But I’m a huge fan of his! I read his Substack, called ‘The Hinternet,’ all the time. He’s incredibly smart, and I was curious to see what he’d say, even if it was a little over my head. I figured I’d still get something out of it.

To be honest, I probably didn’t understand everything in some of the songs either. But I don’t really care if listeners get my intended meaning. I want people to connect with the music in their own way. It’s actually really cool when people develop strong, personal connections to my songs – and even more interesting when a whole group of people interpret the meaning completely differently than I do. That’s far more fascinating to me than everyone understanding exactly what I intended.

When you listen to music you enjoy, do you ever wonder about the story behind the songs? I often do, but honestly, I don’t need to be correct in my interpretation. I’ve spent hours with friends dissecting lyrics – like with Elliott Smith’s “Say Yes” – trying to prove a point. But ultimately, it’s just a playful exercise in connecting the pieces, and the actual meaning isn’t important to me.

Please describe the timeline of your relationship with Christian, remembering that you created this record while you were engaged, not married.

How did this album differ from the last one? When we created “Chaos Angel,” we were in a strange place – close as friends, but not actually a couple. However, we’ve always worked incredibly well together, even back when we first met on the “Moss” project. Christian was a huge inspiration; he’s the reason I started playing guitar and writing songs. He challenged me, asking why my music wasn’t good enough just because I hadn’t gone to jazz school – pointing out that he hadn’t either! That kind of encouragement and belief really guided me from the “Moss” days right through to making this album.

Do you work better with someone guiding you? I thrive on encouragement and often need a little nudge or approval to get things done.

I’ve been thinking about something strange. Recently, I realized I wanted to see a certain person less, but I also wanted them to feel the same way. I didn’t want to be the one to create distance—I wanted them to initiate it. My therapist suggested we could explore why I feel this way.

Is this classic child-actor people-pleasing stuff?
I wasn’t a child actor.

I had my first audition when I was fifteen, but I didn’t get the role. I didn’t start working professionally until I turned eighteen.

I’d argue that at 18 the world still sees you —
As a young person, yeah.

I understand what you’re saying. I’m not sure how it relates to trying to please others, though. I think my behavior is more related to being the oldest sibling – I find the idea of sibling order and how it shapes personality really interesting, and I believe it’s a much more accurate predictor of who someone is than astrology.

So, you’re the oldest in your family? I’ve noticed that firstborns often have a unique dynamic – they tend to be both natural leaders and still crave approval.

Music

With a new album on the way, here’s a look back at some of the most popular songs by the 85-year-old music icon.

People always ask if getting married to Christian has changed how we work together, and honestly, it hasn’t! We were best friends for so long before we even started dating, which makes all the difference. I used to have this really weird pattern in past relationships where I’d be drawn to people who seemed out of reach. I didn’t have a lot of self-worth, so I thought if I could win over someone who didn’t immediately like me, it would prove I was worthy. I’d end up changing who I was to fit what they wanted, and it would work for a little while, but then I’d get tired of pretending. Being friends first meant I couldn’t really do that with Christian – he already knew the real me, so it was much harder to try and be someone else to impress him!

It’s definitely noticeable that some of the new songs are about us as a couple. Absolutely. This album explores a lot about what I’ve learned about love – what it truly means and how to be a good partner. My understanding of those things has really changed over the past few years.

Growing up with divorced parents, I wasn’t hesitant about marriage at all – quite the opposite. I actually really wanted to be married, even twice. When I was 18, I was desperate for the stable family I didn’t have as a child. Later, I became more neutral about the idea. Then I met Christian, and I realized I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a serious relationship, but I knew he was the one for me. We stayed together, and eventually the timing was right.

Plenty of people find their person without wanting to have a wedding.
Are you a romantic?

I honestly don’t know. I used to think I’d want a relationship where both partners had some freedom, like a traditional French marriage, but without ever discussing it – just with a foundation of respect. But instead, I found my best friend. It’s amazing that you know my flaws and still love me, and that I still wake up happy to see you every day. That’s incredible – we should celebrate!

After finishing “Stranger Things,” which had been a huge part of my life, I felt like my whole perspective shifted. For about a year before and after the show ended, I was honestly quite anxious and unsettled.

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Were you prepared for such a significant shift?
I didn’t know what I’d become afterward. Even when I felt frustrated about commitments preventing me from pursuing other opportunities, the show kept me stable. I felt completely adrift without it. I’m not anxious about the change anymore, but I’m currently figuring out what I want my life to be like moving forward.

Do you still feel connected to the people you worked with on that show? Everyone reacted to things differently, and had varying levels of willingness to discuss what happened. But we all went through a really, really difficult time finishing the last season together.

You’ve got upcoming acting projects —
I didn’t actually die like I thought I was going to.

After that job finished, did it give you more room to focus on music? Actually, it could have had the opposite effect. I was in a show that took a whole year to film, which meant a lot of downtime. I think that’s why a lot of the actors from “Stranger Things” are pursuing music – you can’t work on other film projects, but you can make music at home. Honestly, since the show wrapped, I’ve been really motivated to focus more on acting. I’ll always continue to make music, but the music industry is challenging for me. Maybe it’s just because I grew up around acting and I’m more aware of its problems.

I’ve always found the music industry a bit harder to grasp than film. Honestly, I struggle with the self-promotion aspect. With movies, you’re part of a team, pushing something out there. But when it comes to promoting my own music, it feels… different. It’s like saying, ‘Hey, buy my work, support me,’ and that just feels a bit too self-centered. It’s not really how I’m wired, you know? I’m much more comfortable letting the work speak for itself than actively asking people to pay attention to me.

Better start making those TikToks.
Yeah, I can’t. I really can’t.

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2026-05-12 00:02