The Yagas, the New York alt-rock band fronted by actress Vera Farmiga, released ‘Runaway’ on October 23, an ’80s-inspired, synth-heavy single that marks a stylistic shift for the group. The song arrives with a music video directed by Sam Reiss.
‘Runaway’ was produced by keyboardist Renn Hawkey, Farmiga’s husband, together with Brian Virtue, whose credits include Jane’s Addiction and Deftones. Hawkey played keyboards in Deadsy, recording ‘Commencement’ (2002) and ‘Phantasmagore’ (2006) with the band, and in 2011 served as producer and music director on ‘Higher Ground’, Farmiga’s directorial debut. Drummer Jason Bowman and guitarist Mark Visconti round out the lineup.
The video, released just ahead of Halloween, casts the band as the ghostly house band of an old asylum, with Farmiga playing a former patient who escapes. “‘Runaway’ is a love song invitation,” the singer said. “The longing is universal: to want to leave behind whatever made life feel unpredictable, dark, or small. There’s no grand plan. Just two people grabbing one another’s hands and running like hell toward sunlight.”
A Song About Their Daughter
Farmiga traced the song back to a chapter in her family’s life. “This song stems from a time long ago when our young child’s autism diagnosis had left Renn and I frightened,” she said.
“Now, 16 years later, our daughter has opened our hearts and changed the way we see the world,” she added. “Being her parents is one of the great privileges of our lives.”
On the timing of the release, she said: “We’re releasing ‘Runaway’ now because we finally understand where we were going.” Farmiga and Hawkey married in 2008 and have two children.
From Rock Academy to ‘Midnight Minuet’
The members of The Yagas met at Rock Academy, a Woodstock music school run by Bowman, while playing in its adult program. The band takes its name from Baba Yaga, the witch of Slavic folklore. Farmiga was born on August 6, 1973, in Clifton, New Jersey, to Ukrainian parents and grew up speaking Ukrainian, not learning English until she started kindergarten at six. That heritage shows in the video for ‘The Crying Room’, the band’s debut single, released in late 2024 and filled with Ukrainian symbolism.
‘Midnight Minuet’, their independently released debut album, followed in April 2025 with ten tracks produced by Hawkey. It yielded singles including ‘She’s Walking Down’, ‘Life of a Widow’ and ‘I Am’. In September of that year, the band released ‘Illusion’, a song tied to ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’, the film in which Farmiga returned as Lorraine Warren opposite Patrick Wilson‘s Ed Warren; she has said she wrote it during the shoot.
Before music, Farmiga built an acting career that includes a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for ‘Up in the Air’ (2009) and an Emmy nomination for playing Norma Bates in ‘Bates Motel’ (2013-2017). She has played Lorraine Warren in the ‘Conjuring’ universe since 2013, across five films.