“Probably the best guitar player in comedy. Or the best comedian in guitar-playing” -Peter Cooper, The Tennessean
Greg Hall, guitar in hand, delights audiences nationwide with his songwriting, singing, and humorous observations of life in America. His entertainment career began in Texas as a singer/songwriter after winning a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition. “When I was 20, I wrote the score for a Garcia Lorca play called Yerma on an old Gibson Blue Ridge 12 string. The guitar won that award. You could play E minor and sound omnipotent,” he says with a smile. Based in Nashville, Hall headlines comedy venues around the country and for over 30 years has played music in diners, drive-ins, and dives.
“Texas in the late 80s was a wonderful school to learn how to be a lone troubadour. I’d watch and open shows for guys like B.W. Stevenson, Steven Fromholz, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Shake Russell, Jimmy La Fave, and the like. They were the real deal. We were Americana before the genre had a name.” The next decade took Hall on a musical journey through thirty states and Europe. Along the way he shared stages with Shelby Lynne, Vern Gosdin, Jerry Jeff Walker, Eric Johnson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Dan Seals, and others.
Then came the car wreck, and the comedy. After recovering from a near fatal automobile accident in 1999, Hall took a dare to get on a comedy stage, spent time learning the craft, and has headlined clubs and corporate gigs for the last 20+ years. “I never put down the guitar or stopped singing and writing. It just went in a different direction. Comedy clubs are fun. You get great hotels, in great places, and I work from Wisconsin to the Bahamas. I still play those clubs, though I’m really enjoying playing my old and new songs and singing in theaters again.” Hall says the one-on-one, direct communication learned in stand-up translates to his current music shows. “I love combining the two. Talking with and connecting with the crowd through stories and songs is the joy of the gig.”
In 2016, Hall’s love for singing his original songs was resurrected when Hall of Fame songwriter Gary Burr gave Him a ‘warm up the crowd’ slot before a PBS taping of Soundstage in Chicago. The show featured Kenny Loggins, Jim Messina, Michael McDonald, David Foster, and Blue Sky Riders. “Being around all that great songwriting for a couple of days was a pivotal moment. I’d sit in the back of the empty theatre and listen to them rehearse and soundcheck ‘House on Pooh Corner’, ‘Danny’s Song’, ‘What a Fool Believes’, and more. It took me back to when I was a kid, watching them on Midnight Special, and later when I recorded my first three indie albums back in the 1990’s.
His 5th and latest studio album of original songs, ‘Beauty from Ashes’ was released to critical acclaim. “It was a great experience. Had a bunch of A-team incredibly talented musicians help out. Felt good to record again.”
Hall observes life’s mishaps with a twinkle in his eye, and hope. The result is an achingly fun musical journey sharing his hard-won, slightly skewed wisdom.
Greg in the News:
To read about Greg in The Dallas Morning News, click here.
To read about Greg in The Tennessean, click here.
To read about Greg in The Herald Courier, click here.
