I recently caught up with Meghan Hayes to discuss Latecomer, and our conversation wandered from songwriting to nostalgia to her affection for all things ambrosia. I couldn’t resist letting that inspire a dish for Lhyme. It sparked Christmas Ambrosia Pie, a recipe as colorful and comforting as her new record. Check out the recipe below! 

When Meghan Hayes talks about music, she talks the way some people talk about home—softly, knowingly, with the kind of reverence that tells you it has been her compass for as long as she can remember. And in many ways, it has. Music was always playing in the background of her childhood, weaving itself into every corner of the house until it became part of the air she breathed. At fourteen, her great aunt placed a classical guitar in her hands, and with Bob Dylan’s songbook as her guide, she taught herself her first chords. Still, she’s quick to clarify that the guitar isn’t really her instrument. Her voice is. Singing is the thing she has never lived without.

This year, Hayes begins a new chapter with Latecomer, her highly anticipated fourth studio album and her first full-length release since 2019’s Seen Enough Leavers. Produced by Joe McMahan, the album strips away layers to reveal what she does best: truth, simplicity, and emotional precision. Her crystalline soprano leads each song, supported by arrangements focused on intimacy rather than spectacle. It’s the kind of album that feels like a hand on your shoulder—steady, honest, and unafraid to confront the complex truths of life.

Listening to the record, I kept returning again and again to “Tornado,” “Evangeline,” the title track “Latecomer,” and “Unlock the Door,” each offering a different perspective through which Hayes explores loneliness, betrayal, hope, and the delicate process of starting over. When we talked, she described the album as the emotional aftermath of her previous one. There is a sense of arrival in this album, but not in the triumphant, cinematic way we often picture. This arrival is quieter, steadier—earned. It’s the kind of growth that appears late but runs deep, shaped by time, grief, curiosity, and the hard-won understanding that healing doesn’t follow a clean timeline.

Part of what makes Latecomer so special is that Hayes didn’t just write the songs. She painted them. Literally, each track has a corresponding watercolor she created herself—a visual companion that transforms the album into a multisensory experience. Fans have already started asking if prints will be available, and postcard sets of all ten paintings are available for purchase. It’s fitting, really, that this record doesn’t just sit in the ear. It also sits in the eyes, and somehow in the chest, too.

Hayes most recently celebrated the album’s release with a show at The American Legion Post 82 in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday, December 5th, featuring many of the musicians who played on the record. Slowforce (Megan Palmer and Bob Lewis) opened the evening, followed by a set from Mando Saenz.  Although she doesn’t have a new album written yet—something she considers a first—she is embracing the idea of creative spaciousness. For once, she’s allowing herself to play without the pressure of what’s next, exploring sound for its own sake, and enjoying the artistic moment she’s earned. Be sure to download Latecomer, available on all streaming platforms. 

Meghan Hayes Linktree

When it comes to food, Meghan’s world expanded even more. She is allergic to eggplant, avoids shellfish when possible, and doesn’t drink alcohol. But her food story is mainly driven by nostalgia. Her father’s Italian family would gather for Sunday dinners that were so extravagant they almost seemed theatrical—fifteen courses starting with antipasti and pasta, and then revealing more pasta, roast meats, homemade cannoli, and enough variety to make anyone fall in love with food culture instantly. Those meals gave her a sense of belonging and history, creating a sensory memory bank that still inspires her.

Yet despite her appreciation for Italian classics and the occasional Michelin-starred meal, one of Megan’s deepest culinary loves comes from the opposite end of the spectrum: B-movie foods, vintage Jell-O salads, and the kind of church-basement desserts lovingly passed around in Tupperware. Her favorite is something called the Blue Smurf, a bright blue ambrosia-style creation from a friend’s mother’s recipe collection. When she talks about it, she lights up the way some people do when they talk about falling in love for the first time.

Her love for pie runs just as deep. In 2018, to mark her divorce after a twenty-year marriage, she hosted her first East Nashville Pie Bake-Off, a celebration of reinvention wrapped in a sweet display of community. A house full of pies, real bakers judging, friends laughing, and during the pandemic, a drive-by pie event kept the tradition alive. Meghan is unapologetically a pie person: apple pie, cranberry mousse pie, Derby pie with caramelized walnuts, shoofly pie—you name it. If it fits in a crust, she loves it. Her everyday eating style is seasonal and intuitive. When we spoke, she’d just made lentil soup with Irish soda bread—perfect for a cold, rainy day. Winter brings out her love for warmth and comfort foods; summer nudges her toward yogurt, frozen fruit, trail mixes, and simple meals that keep up with her busy schedule. In her professional life, she is a Nurse Practitioner who teaches at a nursing school, runs her own landscape design firm, and is a certified Healing Touch provider. Her days move quickly, and food becomes a grounding ritual rather than a performance. Salt-and-vinegar chips, nuts, plenty of fruit, and the occasional box of Mike & Ikes remind her that joy can be small and spontaneous. She’s also gradually eating less meat, guided by her body and her awareness of environmental impact.

And then came the moment that sealed the direction of this feature: Meghan loves ambrosia. She loves pie. And with the holiday season approaching, it only felt right to create something that bridged those two passions into one vibrant dish. Inspired by her Blue Smurf memories, her watercolor album art, and her bright, textural world, I dove into vintage ambrosia desserts—no coconut, per her request—and came out with a recipe that feels like it belongs in her universe. A Christmas Ambrosia Pie made with crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, pistachio pudding, crushed pecans, and both red and green maraschino cherries. Light, creamy, fruity, and colorful enough to sit beside one of her paintings—it’s a dessert that celebrates the season, her palette, and the tenderness of Latecomer. So cue up the album, take in the watercolors, and enjoy a slice of a pie inspired by the woman who knows how to turn late arrivals into lasting beauty. Check out the recipe below! 

Christmas Ambrosia Pie

Ingredients for the Crust

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6–8 tbsp melted butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for Pie Filling

• 1 box instant pistachio pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 1 cup cold sour cream
• 1 ½ cups Cold milk (for the pudding)
• 1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip OR 2 cups freshly whipped cream
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, VERY well drained
• 1 cup mandarin orange segments, drained
• 1 cup red & green maraschino cherries, well drained
• ½ cup pecans, chopped
• 1–1 ½ cups mini marshmallows
• ½ tsp almond extract

Directions

1. Mix the graham crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter until sandy. Then press firmly into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan.
2. Chill the graham cracker pie crust for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the pistachio pudding mix and 1 ½ cups cold milk. Let it thicken for 5 minutes.
4. Then add the sour cream and whisk until smooth.
5. Fold in Cool Whip or whipped cream.
6. Gently fold in mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries, pecans, mini marshmallows, crushed pineapple, and almond extract. *Important: Blot the oranges and cherries with paper towels to prevent color bleed into the green.
7. Spoon the green pie filling into your cooled crust. Smooth the top.
8. Garnish with a sprinkle of pistachio pudding mix.
9. Refrigerate overnight for the pie to set. Serve and enjoy!