NASHVILLE (August 2, 2022) – Halley Neal announces the release of her folk single, “Somebody Else’s Daughter,” co-written with long-time collaborator Suzie Buist. It’s off the album, “Beautiful & Blue,” due out September 30. A touchpoint on the album, the single finds the good in life – while contemplating how each decision can alter our reality, and ultimately resting in acceptance of the outcome, even when it’s painful.
Opening with the line, “What if I was somebody else’s daughter?” the song centers on the idea that if I were somebody else’s daughter, I would be an entirely different person, and this life I live is simply fate I was dealt. The song toys with the thought, “What if I changed some big, grand thing about myself? And how would that change me as a person?” The chorus sings, “people were born to find their way/to take what’s good and run/back and forth like the moon and the sun.” The song describes that wonder and also the ultimate realization that we’re all just living our lives, and each thing we do or step we take is what makes us who we are. Neal says, “I love the idea that everyone in the world makes mistakes, and we all are searching for the good in our lives.”
Neal made the record while grieving the loss of her grandmother to dementia. Dedicated to her Gram, on “Beautiful & Blue,” Neal discovers the joyful parts within sorrow. Neal chose to call the album “Beautiful & Blue” because the songs are all bits of stories that came naturally and are also things she needed to say. She says, “I put in an effort to line each sad and painful lyric/song with a bit of joy and hopefulness, even down to the last track, which is about my grandmother’s battle with dementia.” The record details positive, loving, inspired moments in Neal’s life and also anxious, painful, sad, and reflective ones. She continues, “On this album, I chose to allow space for positivity even when telling stories that brought me pain. That’s an idea that I wanted to tell through each story on the album, and exactly what I believe ‘Beautiful & Blue’ means.”
Sonically, “Beautiful & Blue” is beautifully cohesive and extraordinarily Neal. It creates the perfect intersection of her stories through the lyrics, along with her personal growth and positivity through the production of the tunes. Neal recorded the album at The Planetarium and at Sweeris Studios with Keith Harris. The Planetarium’s Thomas Dulin (Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Ben Rector) engineered all of the tracks.
Beautiful & Blue Track Listing
- Somebody Else’s Daughter
- A Reason to Try
- When I Get Off of This Mountain
- From the Kitchen
- Feel Something
- All We Can Ever Do
- The Night Before I Moved to Nashville
- Love is Different feat. Jesse Terry and Rj Cowdery
- She Lives in Me
Tour Dates
Aug 12 – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriters Showcase – Lyons, CO
Aug 13 – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Wildflower Pavilion Stage – Lyons, CO
Sept 8 – Private House Concert – Palm Harbor, FL
Sept 9 – Coastal Lifestyle House Concert – Dunedin, FL
Sept 11 – Coconut Cabana House Concert – St. James City, FL
Sept 20 – Music My Mother Would Not Like – Virtual Show
Sept 30 – The Buttonwood Tree – Middletown, CT (album release show)
Oct 1 – Acousticool House Concert – Bristol, CT
Oct 2 – The Big E | E Stage – Springfield, MA
Oct 8 – Wolf Howl House Concert – St. Petersburg, FL
Oct 9 – Concerts at Our Home House Concert – Largo, FL
Oct 28 – Big View House Concerts – Westcliffe, CO
Oct 30 – Pat’s Place House Concert – Hot Springs, SD