Risa, great-niece of Estee Lauder and friend of The New York Dolls, was born in New York City where she attended Forest Hills High, the same school as Simon and Garfunkel and The Ramones, who were friends of both her and her brother. The school was immortalised in The Ramones’s ‘Rock and Roll High’.
Following some time working as an actress and musican in London, Risa now resides in Manchester, England. After appearing as Frenchy in the Broadway Cast of Grease, touring as Mae in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, working as a voice over artist and performing in radio plays (Radio 4, Red Dwarf, Emmerdale and Stuart Little 2) Risa was inspired by KT Tunstall and Nerina Pallot to take out her guitar and start writing, tapping into a latent talent for infectious melodies and insightful lyrics.
After the release of her self-produced EP ‘Apple Tarte’, Risa worked with producer, Nigel Stonier (Waterboys, Thea Gilmore, Sandi Thom) resulting in an eclectic collection of ten self-penned songs. Risa has earned coveted support slots with Nerina Pallot, Alice Gold, James Apollo and Jess Klein as well as headlining Bury Met and ‘An Intimate Afternoon with Risa Hall’ at BBC Radio Lancashire. She has also appeared on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Nottingham, All FM, BBC Radio Cornwall and BBC Radio Merseyside as well as Radio Verulam and Vixen 101. In the USA she is regularly played on WPKN.
Cover art – Paul Manina
“Risa’s vocals are first-class…[she] deserves all the acclaim that must surely come her way.”
Penny Black Music“‘Glass Half?’ is an album that lacks only a consistency in style. Across the album is a plethora of music styles, jazz, pop, folk, rock and yet the whole manages to feel like an album rather than a song book. The main reason for that is Risa Hall’s incredible voice, she can make it sound so natural in each of those styles that it binds the whole like egg tempura giving the album a vivid soundscape rather than colour.”
Fatea Magazine“Wide-ranging and really very enjoyable.”
Keith Ames, the MU“Risa has a lusty, Broadway babe voice.”
The Music Fix“Risa breathes her music into the microphone. With Hall the music is real, touchable and tangible.”
Rambles.Net“More than a touch of Bacharach melody here; classy voice and piece of songwriting.”
TunA the Day
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http://RisaHall.com
