What you need to know about 29-year-old Monument Records artist Alex Hall is that the guitar-slinger from Georgia leads with his heart. That lens shades every track on his first full-album, Side Effects Of The Heart, available now, with Hall eloquently capturing a journey through the primary plight of anyone’s lifetime: love, and the rewards and consequences of following your heart. Listen to the album HERE.
“I hope that I’m honest enough in them that people can hear themselves in these songs,” Hall shares. “I remember when certain albums came out that I could put on while cooking dinner at the end of a long day and they set a mood, and that’s what we aimed to do with this 10-track album.”
With so many of his influences swirling around throughout the writing and recording – from the guitar playing of Vince Gill to the vocals of Lee Ann Womack and Willie Nelson – Hall, “an astute guitarist with an expansive vocal range,” praises Billboard, “explores a variety of sounds on his first album. The project conveys an optimistic worldview, but it’s clearly filtered through real-world heartache and familiar disappointment.”
Released as the first taste of the project, album opener and title track “Side Effects Of The Heart” finds Hall bringing “a fresh kind of honesty to the studio as he draws from the sounds of both modern and classic country to pen this rollercoaster of emotions,” shares Country Now. The title track gives listeners insight into what to expect on the project, along with an understanding of all that Hall has been through in his life:
First comes love and then comes the lonely
Then you’re climbing up the walls till the phone rings
You’re in Heaven, then you’re dying
Then you’re just so happy that you can’t stop crying
There’s no cure for it, and that’s the hardest part
We’re all a mess living with the side effects of the heart
The album also boasts a collaboration with 10x GRAMMY nominee Brandy Clark with “Women And Horses,” while “Her To Here” is a retrospective look at a series of events that ended a relationship. “I Know A Guy” finds Hall wittily suggesting he’s the guy to meet the laundry list of qualities a girl wants, as “Radio Waves” feeds the nostalgia of hearing a song that makes you revisit your younger years.
Rounding out the album with “Dad Now,” Hall poignantly and honestly tells the story of becoming a father, accompanied by wife Bri on violin.
Following the release of his critically acclaimed Six Strings EP, Hall and his fiancée eloped to California and shortly after found out they were expecting. With a European tour on the horizon and his debut album nearly complete, a new baby wasn’t necessarily in the plans: “Went from planning for a honeymoon to planning for a kid / Nine months fly by, first breath, first cry…Life makes you grow up in a moment…there’s so much more I gotta figure out / I’ll do my best ‘cause I guess I’m Dad now.”
Driven by an intense work ethic that was instilled on the North Georgia horse farm he grew up on, Hall began playing the guitar at 14, and by 16, he had bartered a deal with his guidance counselor allowing him 60 absences in return for maintaining a passing GPA so he could begin pursuing his career. Intent on honing his skills, Hall formed a band and played over 125-dates-a-year across the southeast while completing his high school curriculum.
After graduating, Hall made the official move to Nashville and the journey to truly crafting his artistry began. After five years, in 2019, the stars finally aligned. Within a matter of two weeks, Hall signed his record deal with Monument Records and began writing with some of his most admired songwriters.
Hall hits the road this fall, supporting Tanya Tucker on tour stops in New York, N.Y., Knoxville, Tenn. and more. He’ll also perform at the Annapolis Songwriters Festival on Sept. 16 and 17, and at AmericanaFest in Nashville on Sept. 22.
For more information, visit MusicByAlexHall.com or follow @MusicByAlexHall on all social media platforms.
About Alex Hall:
Alex Hall launches the next chapter of his career with his brand-new record, Side Effects Of The Heart. A project that tells the stories of everything the singer, songwriter, and guitar player’s heart has been through these last few years.
Growing up on a small horse farm on the outskirts of Gainesville, GA, Hall’s earliest memory is hearing Elvis Presley on his grandfather’s radio. It’s a sound he never forgot, and one that prompted him to pick up a guitar for the first time when he was only four years old. He started learning the instrument seriously in middle school, and quickly graduated from choir solos to bar gigs. By the time he was in high school, Hall was playing over 150 shows a year.
After graduation, Hall moved to Nashville, TN and signed with Monument Records. He spent the last few years opening for Tanya Tucker and hitting the road with Brandy Clark, Little Big Town, and Tenille Townes. His debut EP on Monument Records, Six Strings, was a guitar focused project featuring the playing and vocal stylings of Hall’s heroes and friends – Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, John Osborne (of Brothers Osborne), Brad Tursi (of Old Dominion), Tenille Townes, and Kassi Ashton. Six Strings gained national acclaim from the likes of Vintage Guitar Magazine, Rolling Stone and Cowboys & Indians, and helped Hall to be named to the Fender Next 2021 program.
Now, ready to bare it all, Hall is releasing his first full project as an artist with Side Effects Of The Heart. Out now, the album has a song for everyone…and a few for the dreamers out there like Alex Hall himself.
