26 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} Strick, then the co-president of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and he opened a record label for Haley & Michaels. Ryan and Shannon got married in 2015 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. They compiled clips of their wedding ceremony into a music video for “Giving It All (To You),” a hit single they later played live for co-host Hoda Kotb on the Today Show. Their sweetest surprise was hearing the song on a radio in a tiki bar during their Hawaii honeymoon. Navigating the music industry and its hurdles, they charted an independent route. They produced other artists, including fatherdaughter duo Mat and Savannah Shaw, whose Christmas album hit No. 1 on Billboard. Haley & Michaels also released their single “Hail Mary,” which was featured Instinctively, Shannon sent her producer the first song she and Ryan wrote together. Ironically, “The Price I Pay” was a breakup song, but it blended their styles perfectly. Each of their managers and producers agreed that this duo was written in the stars, but it took years to refine their sound. For their first few collaborations, they were still two separate artists singing together. “You really have to, as an artist, shed yourself,” Ryan explains, “and prioritize your artistry in this group.” Their art eventually evolved as they did— from lyrics that felt like watereddown versions of their personalities to bodies of work that truly reflected them both. These days, their synergy on stage is undeniable. It’s in the way they meet each other’s eyes while singing and the way they sway in tandem as they strum their guitars. As they found their rhythm, they caught the attention of Danny PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF JON-PAUL BRUNO / COURTESY OF HALEY & MICHAELS - TODAYNBC
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==