A.J. Haynes spent her early childhood in rural Columbia, Louisiana, before becoming a longtime resident of Shreveport, where she began singing in church at age six. Her adolescence was spent weaving between DIY punk clubs, blues jams, and AME and CME youth choirs — a musical upbringing further shaped by her mother, who sang in a bossa nova band in Japan before Haynes was born. After earning a B.A. in English and briefly teaching high school American Literature, Haynes committed fully to music, forming Seratones in Shreveport in 2014.
Seratones' genre-expansive sound blends punk, gospel, and soul into what critics have called a swampy, garage-rock-powered statement, showcased across albums including 2019's Power and 2022's Love & Algorhythms, released on New West Records. Haynes has described the latter as a protest album built around finding abundant joy even in difficult times. Beyond music, Haynes has worked at Hope Medical Group for Women, a Shreveport abortion care provider, since 2008, and in 2020 traveled cross-country to play music for protestors gathered on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments in June Medical Services v. Russo.
Haynes has served as an Artist-in-Residence at Centenary College of Louisiana, co-creating a course on the Art of Protest Music, and is a member of the Recording Academy's Black Artist Collective, an advisory group dedicated to amplifying Black voices within the Grammy organization. In 2025 and 2026, Haynes participated in the Artists At Work collective serving the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans, and in 2026, Haynes was individually recognized as a contributor to the Grammy-winning A Tribute to the King of Zydeco compilation (Best Regional Roots Music Album, Various Artists) — not a Seratones win — capping more than a decade of work blending artistry and activism. Seratones remain a regular presence at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, bringing their singular fusion of rock, soul, and unapologetic joy to Louisiana audiences.
