Meet Indianapolis musician Taylor Hall ahead of Mellow Yellow show
We caught up with the Indy-born artist and activist who told us about growing up in Indy, her time in LA and the role music has played in her life.
Taylor Hall is used to eyes being on her.
More than 115 million viewers caught her at Super Bowl LVII in a blink-and-you’ll miss it appearance in a McDonald’s commercial. More than 10,000 Hoosiers followed her and other organizers of June 2020 Black Lives Matter protests at the Indiana State Capitol as they put together one of the largest demonstrations Indianapolis had seen in 30 years.
And from 2014 to 2018, students at Crispus Attucks High School could hardly go a day without seeing her face or hearing her voice. As an Attucks student, Hall was a talent show regular, host of the morning announcements, student council member, basketball player and member of the school’s band and choir, in addition a handful of after-school clubs.
“I was all over the place,” Hall said. “Anything you can be in, I was in.”
Indy to LA and back
Hall, 25, is a singer, songwriter and activist with a few modeling and acting credits under her belt. Born and raised in Indianapolis, she spent three years in Los Angeles before returning to her hometown last May for the birth of her son Elias in August 2024. And, earlier this year, Hall celebrated another life milestone — the release of her debut EP.
During her three years in California, Hall picked up those extra gigs while cutting the “Cheaper than Therapy” EP. Now she’s back in town, performing tracks from her album at local mainstays like the Chreece hip-hop festival and the Butter Fine Art Fair. She’ll showcase a set full of the new material at Broad Ripple’s Mellow Yellow Festival Sept. 13.
A natural performer, music has followed Hall her entire life. Her father — fellow musician Eddie Hall — had a studio in their family’s Pike Township house, and by the time she officially picked up the guitar at 12 years old, she was already intimately familiar with writing, recording and performing.
Hall sang, strummed and wrote songs casually throughout high school, but it was that June 2020 protest the summer after her sophomore year at Ball State University that turned a hobby into a life goal. She performed “I Can’t Breathe” — a song written by her father in response to the police killing of George Floyd — on the steps of the Indiana State Capitol, and she began to understand music as a powerful conduit for activism and community organizing.
“It was a huge turning point,” Hall said. “I was like, ‘I can really do this. I can really be a full-time artist and advocate.’”
Hall launched herself into her art after that, graduating Ball State a year early and moved to Los Angeles in 2021 to pursue music more seriously. She quickly formed partnerships with producer Trey Kams and cowriter Jean Marc, and they began recording a batch of songs that she’d eventually trim to the seven tracks on “Cheaper than Therapy.”
‘Cheaper than Therapy’ EP
Inspired by her post-college efforts to make inroads in the entertainment industry, “Cheaper than Therapy” chronicles Hall’s move from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and career pursuits. Music became a refuge as she struggled to find her footing in a new environment, Hall said.
“I was going through the realities of life, living in LA, being a fresh 21-year-old trying to pay my rent,” Hall said. “It was cheaper than therapy to go to the studio and work.”
Hall cites artists like Lauryn Hill, Corinne Bailey Rae and Joni Mitchell as top influences to her singer-songwriter style. Her acoustic, guitar-forward musical backdrops are the canvases for confessional, autobiographical lyrics, of which “Cheaper than Therapy” is chock full.
The EP predominantly sees Hall set her own pace, making peace with the progress she’s made while still chasing her career ambitions. Songs like “My Way,” the first song Hall wrote for the project, and standout single “What I Choose” highlight hope in the uncertainty and gratitude in the discomfort — “finding the good in the bad moments even when it seems impossible.”
See Indianapolis’ Chreece hip-hop music festival at Fountain Square
The Chreece music festival featured more than 70 artists, DJs and producers across a cluster of Fountain Square stages on Saturday, Aug. 23.
Looking forward
Four months after the release of the EP and a year into motherhood, Hall faces a fork in the road. She’s back in Indianapolis and intends to stick around for a while, but Los Angeles still entices her.
Here she has a strong community, Hall said. The music scene has embraced her as she releases more music. Friends and family help her care for her son. Engagements like Chreece, Butter and Mellow Yellow are putting “Cheaper than Therapy” in front of audiences, and her live performances of her upcoming single “M.I.A” are generating buzz for the song’s eventual release.
But just as undeniable were the strides she made in Los Angeles — the Super Bowl commercial, an advertising campaign with beauty brand SheaMoisture, her song “Taking Notes” in Mary J. Blige’s Hallmark film “Family Affair.” The successes gave tangible proof that Hall could make her entertainment career happen.
For now, Hall is making the most of her hometown stay. But she’s not sure how long she’ll stay.
“It always has been and always will be home,” Hall said. “But I think most people here leave to become an artist.”
Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.
