“I’ve done so many different things in music and I just really want to keep my hands in it because it’s a part of me. I’ve always had the Heart tribute band but there’s always that feeling that there is something more I should be doing; so, I’m going to just keep doing it,” says vocalist and current Josie Award winning “Artist Of The Year” Sandy Hall. “I didn’t think anybody cared and when this nomination happened, I was like; huh! Even with all of those submissions and different age groups, someone took notice and said, this is pretty good. So, it is actually inspiring for me to think, well maybe I should continue to do this because there is an audience for me.”
No stranger to the stage due to years of performing both solo and with Heart tribute band Kick It Out; Hall has released, or should we say, re-released a new and improved version of an old solo album with the help of some long-time friends. Hall explained a bit about some of the songs, spoke of her co-writes and writers and along the hardware she garnered for herself.
“It is called “Sign Language” and it is 10-tracks,” she began. “The person who wrote the title track, is an old friend named John Callaghan. We had a lot of conversations about being in relationships, not necessarily romantic but in any relationship where you’re sort of not being noticed anymore and no matter what you do to kind of get that person’s attention; you may be speaking to them in other ways other than verbally because they’re not really in tune with you. So, that is really what that song is about. There is no cover material, the majority of the songs were written by John. I co-wrote a song called “Listen” on the album and that song is about the first time that I fell in love with music and that’s kind of a cool track. John knew me back then, he kind of knew me for a very long time and we were able to relate to that and he remembered how I felt. So, that song is about a young girl who falls in love with music and how it stays with you. It is an aspiration of mine to do more writing; the funny thing is that John is a compulsive writer; he writes every day, probably every minute of every day” she laughed. “So, we would start with an idea, we’d talk about what kind of theme that we wanted on the album and about what we were both going through at the time and we’d collaborate on that. I’d send him over a couple of lyrics and say, I just need a little more time and a few days would go by and I hadn’t finished and he will have already finished the song (laughs). So, it was really good and I didn’t have to make any changes and it’s fine because he’s used to working that way, he just writes all of the time; he has quite a catalog of songs.”
“There is another piece to this; this album is actually a remix and remaster of the original 13 songs from the original album with a little bit of different arrangements, a little bit more updated here and there. The reason we were doing it was because with COVID and not being out performing, we wanted to revisit the album and wanted to do more with it with the intention of submitting some of these songs to the Josie Awards. I did co-write a song with another friend of mine who did get a “Songwriter Achievement Award” at the Josie Awards; I didn’t win in that category but I was nominated for a song that is not on the album called “Full Circle.” So, I really just started corresponding with John and my friend Chris and saying, we’re not playing as much; what else can we do with what we have here? So, that’s pretty much how it happened and now it’s available on pretty much every streaming platform and is being played on iHeartRadio; I also have them on my own website if people want hard copies of the original album with the additional three tracks.”
Hall, a resident of the Philadelphia, PA area is now a large fan of the state of Tennessee; the Josie Award ceremonies ensured as much. So; how does an experienced talent with an “Old school” mentality step out of her comfort zone and put herself out there? Once again, a little help never hurts and this time it came from a multiple Josie Award winner.
“Coming from the pandemic and looking to do a little more performing and keeping our hands in music; I somehow connected with Sharon Lia who has won Josie Awards in the past. We had talked a couple of years ago when she did her in-person festival and that year it didn’t work out for my Heart tribute band to play because at that time she was utilizing both original and cover acts; kind of like a combo. I saw her post that she was looking for artists with original material because it was going to be an online live Facebook event this year and I submitted for that because she does a whole review process with her team. Sharon organized Ladies Who Rock for a Cause a great organization and this year she was raising funds for an Ataxia organization because one of her friends or team members actually has that condition and that kind of leads into why the album was remixed. I really wanted to pull out some of those songs and also the two songs that I co-wrote that are not on the album and that all sort of connected because of her festival. I would say that was probably the catalyst to get the album remixed and then noting that a lot of the women that were performing were either nominees or past winners of the Josie Award. So, I started looking into it that because I had never submitted, I just never thought of submitting for things; I just did them (laughs). I come from the old school of you just work, you play; I didn’t really ever submit past shopping my demo back in the day to big record companies. I never went the other route of the Indie thing and I have never submitted for stuff like that. So, I thought; why don’t I submit for that? These ladies are really talented and I’d like to see what it is about. So, I did and I was nominated and was surprised because I think it was something like almost 40,000 submissions and only 2.6 percent were nominated. I submitted the songs from “Sign Language” for the artist of the year and as I said I submitted “Full Circle” in the songwriter achievement category. I went there in September, I really liked it, I loved Pigeon Forge, really was impressed by the talent, the organization was professional and the way they ran it was very professional yet personal because it is a family that runs it; Josie and Tinamarie Passantino. I was completely shocked that I won; being a newcomer and a little bit more “Mature” (laughs) than some of the nominees and then when I saw younger people, which I love because I have done vocal coaching in the past and I love to hear up and coming younger people who are talented and doing this; I was so happy to see this and then when I got the award, I was like; what? So, I was really surprised but very grateful.”
Rejuvenated and feeling like her music has been validated; she has a fresh new outlook and renewed sense of confidence and has no plans on slowing down.
“I’m very inspired to do more, I have a session with John Callaghan and my other co-writer Chris DeMuro and we are going to record the two songs that Chris and I did that are not on the CD that I co-wrote; “Full Circle” and another one called “Fall From Grace” and I’m really excited about that. I have a couple of more songs in the works that I’m writing with Chris and I’ve actually contacted a few folks to see if I can play the original songs in the area be it full band or acoustic. So, I’d like to see if I can do that and I’m putting the feelers out there, I feel passionate and inspired to do this live and with some new material that has not yet been recorded. I would love to use those two songs as a starting point and I have a few more in the pipeline; so, if nothing else an EP. That’s my goal, I would love to do that in the next couple of months before the spring; finish it all off.”
To purchase the record or to discover more about Sandy, her solo music and Heart tribute Kick It Out, please visit www.Sandyhallmusic.com. Sandy will also be the October 31 guest of “Danny Coleman’s Rock On Radio” from 7-9 p.m. EST on www.coaradio.com where you can hear her tell her musical tale, the new album and more.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
