Boston singer-songwriter and guitarist weaves a tale of leaving the past behind through a dynamic indie folk-rock single out Friday, August 14
It’s often said that blood is thicker than water, but there’s truly no thickness quite like the personal boundaries that we set for ourselves as protection from those once closest to us. Whether done in defense or defiance, a significant part of establishing who we are as a person comes down to an inner strength, and one that sometimes helps establish a hard decision to step away from a toxic situation and reclaim our sense of self.
That journey is chronicled in Baxter Hall’s captivating new single “The Work,” a rousing and emotive twirl of indie folk-rock set for release on Friday, August 14. With a north star lyric of “Not all hurt people make people hurt,” the introspective ballad is a declarative act of resilience as emotional vulnerability gives way to potent decisiveness once it unfurls into a powerful anthem of self-preservation.
“‘The Work’ is about my personal experience handling the emotions of going no-contact with a parent,” Hall says. “The feelings of loss and sadness that come with that decision, but also having your boundaries be stronger than your empathy and empowering yourself to break the cycle and not internalize and inherit toxic behavior.”
A striking composition of rock, roots, and pop, “The Work” is also the first new music from the Massachusetts singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in more than two years, and serves as the title track to Hall’s forthcoming four-song EP, due out September 18.
The storyline around “The Work,” and the EP overall, is one that is personal to Hall while still being entirely relatable to others. Addressing family dynamics is nothing new for the rising artist, a musical old soul who was raised in New England surrounded by multiple generations of professional classical musicians, experiencing the allure and magnetism of live music while his father performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops.
Along the way, Hall quickly found influence in his father’s career, and developed a relationship with mentors like BSO percussionist Will Hudgins and celebrated blues guitarist and Bob Dylan collaborator Duke Robilliard. The relationships with Hudgins and Robilliard helped cultivate his guitar skills at an early age, honing his craft as a teenager amongst established and celebrated musicians.
With his musical confidence locked in, Hall turned his attention to storytelling, drawing from his personal life to write songs about his own upbringing and perspective.
“I’m at a place where I’m more comfortable sharing more personal and autobiographical songs, but the themes of introspection and quality of life still remain – even if I’ve gone deeper into more specific experiences,” Hall admits. “At this point in my process it’s as important for me to fine-tune my lyricism as it is my guitar playing. I no longer feel like I’m hiding behind my guitar.”
Produced by Hall, Bella Lepore Hall, and Jon Evans, “The Work” was recorded at Brick Hill Studio in Orleans, MA. It features Hall on vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, organ, and drums; and Evans on upright and electric bass, percussion, and programming. And like all great songs, the music and message flowed freely through Hall as he processed the situations from which it was inspired.
“This song came through very quickly and was one of the ‘easy writes,’” he adds. “It was a very healing and cathartic experience for me, and truthfully my first thought was it was not being some big single to promote. It felt very personal and something I just sang to myself for a while.”
But Hall also realized that his own personal situation could be one shared by many, and early snippets of “The Work” posted to his TikTok, where combined with Instagram his videos have generated views in the millions, garnered a wildly enthusiastic response. This track captures the ethos of where Baxter Hall is right now as a songwriter, and a newfound trust in opening up about his personal journey is only fueling his voice – both through his whipsmart lyricisms and engaging guitar playing.
Setting personal boundaries often allows us to bloom as a person, and that is reflected in the sweeping conclusion of “The Work” – where the tender ballad eventually blossoms into an emotional catharsis at maximum volume.
“It’s a crossover between the singer/songwriter world, but opens up into an electric guitar solo moment,” Hall notes. “That format very accurately represents me as an artist so it was important for me to convey that in the lead single and focus track. To be recognized as a singer-songwriter, but also as an instrumentalist.”
With brand partnerships with VOX Amplifiers, JBL, and Elixir Strings, Hall’s guitarwork is still a core tenet of his sound, reflecting his carefree rock and roll spirit, and incorporating a spectrum of styles and influences into one cohesive creative vision.
A frequent collaborator with others on his path to becoming a solo artist, Hall’s 2021 debut album Somewhere in My Guitar and 2022 EP Real Conversation / High Vibe Friends showed what was stirring inside his soul, a place where folk and rock intertwine around an experienced world-weariness that belied his age. “High Road,” Hall’s 2024 stand-alone single, brought in a slight Americana twang, further expanding his sonic palette.
Now with “The Work,” and the EP to follow, Hall leans into a sound not by choice, but by simply opening up his soul and capturing what is daring to come out. Traditional folk elements with diary lyricisms are met with the grandiosity of rock and roll’s most ambitious moments, lending confidence to the subject matter Hall could not face until recently.
“The Work EP is really four different versions of the same story told from completely different emotional states,” he says. “There’s anger, sadness, and even some passive aggressive humor, but the title track I felt encapsulated it all and enforces the theme of resolution and alchemy — which is ultimately what songwriting is all about for me. I always try to make a conscious effort to bring the light with me whenever I go to dark places in songwriting.”
This new single not only sets a tone for the EP through its lyrical subject matter – even the artwork, depicting Hall and his guitar sat under a tree, a single gold leaf falling his way overhead defined by the lyric of “If it weren’t for me / Healing all the leaves on the family tree” – but also encapsulates Hall’s ability to balance a singer-songwriter vulnerability with the boldness of his guitarwork.
And he credits the work with Evans at Brick Hill Studio for capturing the initial rawness found in early demos and outtakes, while applying a studio polish that gives the finished product the grandeur in sound it deserves, echoing the dramatic nature of the song’s storyline.
“In the production process it was really important that we preserved the original acoustic demo and kept that alive, but there are many juxtaposing sounds — from the bowing of an upright bass, to the untamed feedback of an electric guitar,” Hall notes. “These sonic choices reflect the lyrical content being both sad and empowered.”
Hall knows that his situation is not unique, and hopes that others who have dealt with or are dealing with a similar situation find “The Work” to be a compass toward a personal solution. We all have to establish boundaries in our lives, and Hall hopes “The Work” plants the seeds for others to feel a sense of assurance when making an oftentimes difficult decision.
“I hope that the listeners who have a shared experience feel validated by the song the same way I’ve already felt validated by their response to it,” he concludes. “From my initial social media of myself singing it, it became very clear to me that people connected with it and I want to give people who have gone through the same thing the representation they deserve, because I personally can attest to the seeking of that validation and representation. The audience made me feel okay to talk about it and I just want them to feel the same way.”
Connect with Baxter Hall:
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‘The Work’ EP production credits:
Music and lyrics by Baxter Hall
Additional lyrics by Bella Lepore Hall
Produced by Baxter Hall, Bella Lepore Hall, and Jon Evans of Brick Hill Studio in Orleans, MA
Mastering engineer is John Mailloux at Bongo Beach Productions
Baxter Hall: Vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, organ, and drums
Jon Evans: Upright and electric bass, percussion, and programming
Single artwork by Baxter Hall and Bella Lepore Hall
EP artwork by Baxter Hall, Bella Lepore Hall and Alandra Hall
Press photos by Alandra Hall
Baxter Hall official bio:
It takes a true explorer to simultaneously traverse a familiar path and the road less traveled, but Baxter Hall is nothing if not a musical multi-tasker. With one boot planted in his family’s path of professional musicianship, and another kicking up dirt in the realm of roots rock, the Boston singer-songwriter wields a carefree rock ‘n’ roll spirit fortified by a lifetime of discipline and dedication to his craft. Hall’s hard-earned chops have established him as an old soul offering modern wisdom against an inviting backdrop of shape-shifting rock.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Hall has honed his sound for most of his life. Music was a way of life in Hall’s childhood home, where he was surrounded by multiple generations of professional classical musicians. Symphony Hall would serve as his childhood playground, where he was weaned on the wonders of live music while his father performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops. Peeking at performances from backstage, he learned the meaning of world-class musicianship at a young age, as he watched legendary instrumentalists like Yo-Yo Ma take the stage. But another sound spoke to him as well – a rugged fusion of folk, roots, and rock from visiting acts like James Taylor and Warren Haynes.
Wielding his guitar and a wealth of inspiration, Hall entered the world of professional musicianship early, tapping BSO percussionist Will Hudgins as a mentor. Jam sessions at Hudgins’ home molded Hall into a receptive young artist; by 13, he was working as a professional guitarist, taking work as a session musician and performing with other acts across New England. Hall’s industrious nature soon caught the attention of Grammy-nominated artist Duke Robillard – once a touring guitarist with Bob Dylan and Tom Waits – who adopted Hall as a mentee and collaborator. Recording sessions and live performances alongside Robillard further developed Hall’s sound throughout his late teens, preparing him for a thriving solo career.
Hall took the plunge into solo musicianship with his 2021 debut album Somewhere in My Guitar, which he quickly followed with the Real Conversation / High Vibe Friends EP in 2022. The two-track project furthered Hall’s sense of duality, backing cool tones of soulful pop with hooky roots rock. Philosophical cut “Real Conversation” spurns toxic chatter – what Hall calls “surface level trivialities” – with a low-key but deceivingly strong guitar groove. “High Vibe Friends” revs Hall’s rock ‘n’ roll ethos to double down on his rejection of superficiality, as he seeks meaningful connection in a world that glorifies little more than likes and appearances.
His spring 2024 release “High Road” dug deeper into these meditations, yet reveals a touch of previously unheard twang from Hall. A foundation of stripped-down folk underscores his challenge to find the (often lonely) moral high ground: “You know, the lowest roads are still higher than hell,” he professes on the bridge. A new EP, The Work, led by the magnetic and emotive title track single, is slated for a September 2026 release.
These rich layers – insightful lyrics, extensive training, and a malleable palate of rock, folk, roots and pop – overlap at Hall’s dynamic live shows, which have touched every part of Boston, from the Paradise Rock Club to hotel rooftops downtown. Online, his influence stretches even farther, reaching listeners across the globe through Instagram videos of his performances. As his view tally (which currently soars over a few million) has grown, so has his list of esteemed admirers. Performer dubbed Hall a “gifted axe-slinger” in a longform profile, while VOX Amplifiers, JBL, and Elixir Strings have all backed his vision with brand partnerships.
But ultimately, it’s a lasting, positive impact – not digital plugs and shares – that Hall is after every time he picks up his guitar.
