Trevor Hall (born November 28, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is a fusion of roots,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

. Many of Hall's themes revolve around spirituality and life exploration.

Early life and education

Hall was born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, and grew up in

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), a ...

. He grew up surrounded by music due in part to his father who was a drummer and musician. After dabbling with multiple instruments including trombone and bass, he decided to learn guitar in hopes of becoming a singer-songwriter one day. At age 16 he recorded his first album. Shortly after, Hall left South Carolina for California where he studied classical guitar at musical boarding high school

Idyllwild Arts Academy Idyllwild Arts Academy is a private school located in Idyllwild, in the San Jacinto Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest, within western Riverside County, California. The school was founded in 1946. It was previously known as Idyllwil ...

in the

San Jacinto Mountains The San Jacinto Mountains ()Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. are a mountain range in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles in southern California i ...

. During his time, he was introduced to yoga and meditation practices and spirituality, which made a major impact on him and has since influenced his life and music. Hall's friend Sam introduced him to the teachings of

Neem Karoli Baba Neem Karoli Baba () or Neeb Karori Baba () (born Laksman Narayan Sharma; – 11 September 1973), also known to his followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Biography Early years Lakshman Narayan Sh ...

and

Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

, and the devotional music of Krishna Das. Hall has stated that one of the most important weekends of his life was when he went to the Laguna Beach Kali Temple for a weekend while at Idyllwild. At the temple, he learned about the Hindu goddess

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

and was happily surprised to find out people worship God as a woman. During his senior year at Idyllwild Arts Academy, Hall was signed to Geffen Records. Hall graduated from Idyllwild in 2005 and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to be near the Kali Temple. On January 1, 2006, Hall converted to Hinduism, receiving a name,

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

, and instruction from his guru, Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati. He has stated that he tries to treat his music as karma yoga, where he wants to create music that will help other people.

Career

''Kala (2015)''

His album, ''Kala'', written in Hawaii and recorded in Los Angeles, was released on August 21, 2015. It debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart.

''The Fruitful Darkness (2018)''

Released on June 1, 2018, The Fruitful Darkness was Hall's first completely independent release. After working with established labels for the first decade of his career, this project was supported solely by his fans and was the No. 1 music campaign in 2017 on KickStarter.

Relix ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concer ...

praised the album, saying "The Fruitful Darkness takes stock of Hall's inner world and, as you observe him wade through the abyss, he challenges you to do the same".

Red Rocks (2019)

Hall headlined the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater on June 16, 2019, playing a packed show with Nahko and Medicine for the People, as well as

Ayla Nereo Ayla Nereo is an American musician known for her solo work and her work with the groups Wildlight and Starling Arrow. Early childhood and education Ayla Nereo grew up in Sonoma County, California. She was home-schooled by her parents until high ...

. After the success of the show, Hall later announced on November 19, 2019, that he will be returning to headline the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater on May 1, 2020.

''In And Through The Body (2020)''

Released on September 25, 2020, ''In And Through The Body'' was another of Hall's independent releases. According to Hall, the album "touches on the timeless human themes of love, struggle, growth and redemption" utilizing a "palette of genres that span from folk, roots-rock, indie, and electronic, all with a consistent wash of authentic far-Eastern influence".

Reception: interviews and reviews

Hall was a guest on

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver and model. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win ...

's podcast "Danica Patrick Pretty Intense." Patrick praised Hall's music, saying he "has a lot of heart, a lot of soul. He writes it all himself. He just has a really cool story".

Personal life

Hall is married to photographer Emory Hall. The two met on an ashram in 2010 while in India, where Emory was studying at the time. They live in

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Discography

;EPs * 2006: ''The Rascals Have Returned'' (

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

) * 2015: ''Unpack Your Memories...'' (

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

) ;Live albums * 2005: ''Trevor Hall Live'' (Geffen Records) * 2008: ''Alive & On the Road (With Chris Steele)'' (White Balloon) * 2010: ''Chasing The Flame - On the Road With Trevor Hall'' (Vanguard Records) * 2024: ''Trevor Hall and the Great In-Between(Live From the Barn) '' ;Studio albums * 2004: ''Lace Up Your Shoes'' (White Balloon) * 2008: ''The Elephant's Door'' (Never released) (Geffen Records) * 2008: ''This is Blue'' (White Ballon) * 2009: '' Trevor Hall'' (Vanguard Records) * 2011: ''Everything Everytime Everywhere'' (Vanguard Records) * 2014: ''Chapter of the Forest'' (Vanguard Records) * 2015: ''Kala'' (Vanguard Records) * 2017: ''The Fruitful Darkness'' (independent release) * 2020: ''In and Through the Body'' * 2023: ''Trevor Hall and The Great In-Between'' ;Compilation appearances * 2007: '' Shrek the Third: The Motion Picture Soundtrack'' – "Other Ways" * 2007: '' Endless Highway: The Music of The Band'' – "

Life Is a Carnival "Life is a Carnival" is the opening track of the Band's fourth album, ''Cahoots''. Written by Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Robbie Robertson, the song features horn arrangements by New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint. The song is the only track fro ...

" * 2009: ''StreetEDGE Program: July Titles '09'' – "The Lime Tree", "31 Flavors", and "Unity (featuring

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 sin ...

)" * 2009: ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

Sampler Issue 54'' – "Unity" * 2010: ''

Summer Sampler'' – "The Lime Tree" * 2011: ''

Putumayo World Music Putumayo World Music is a New Orleans-based record label that specializes in compilations of world music, jazz and blues. History Dan Storper founded Putumayo in 1975 as a retail store in New York City featuring handicrafts from around the wor ...

: Acoustic Café'' – "World Keeps Turnin'" ;With "The Villagers Crew" * 2010: ''All Things Material & Spiritual'' (self-released)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Trevor 1986 births Living people 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American Hindus American male guitarists American male singers Converts to Hinduism Guitarists from South Carolina People from Hilton Head, South Carolina Singers from South Carolina Vanguard Records artists