PENSACOLA, FL — When Stephanie Leigh Hall of Pensacola finished high school, the Mississippi native left her family home in Meridian to get married and pursue a career in music at the tender age of 17.
Then life really happened — two kids, including a daughter with special needs, and a son — making it difficult to follow a career that brings lots of late night dues, smoky bars and an unstable income.
“I had like three jobs and sang on weekends,” she recalled in an interview with Patch. “I was busy trying to be a mom, raise kids and be a responsible single mother so I didn’t have time to dedicate to music full time.”
Her son now has a family of his own and a doctorate in pharmacology while Hall lives with her daughter and new boyfriend, Michael Dempsey, in the Pensacola area.
With her kids both grown, she has once again been able to pursue her dream of a full-time music career, playing in venues around Pensacola for the past five years.
“It was a joy to raise my children and I never felt like I was giving anything up,” she said.
With a smoky voice reminiscent of Stevie Nicks and a growing following around Pensacola, Hall may finally be getting her big chance to put her music in front of a larger audience at age 52.
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“I play everywhere here,” she said. “I have like two gigs every Saturday and four or five nights a week other places. Most people who go out and see live music know who I am. You can say I’m a prolific performer.”
On Tuesday night, Hall took the wraps off a music video called “Narcissus” at Frazier’s Country Wines in Pensacola with a red carpet event and party. The video was shot at another venue in town called Rodeo Rock.
“It’s supposed to be funny,” she said of the video. But it also has a message for women. After telling his girlfriend that he was going to stay home and sleep, the male character is discovered at a local bar by his girlfriend and her friends.
“He gets water thrown at him and he gets beat up by the bouncers,” Hall said. “He goes through absolute hell the whole night. He’s just meandering around the bar trying to pick up all of these women.”
The song is from Hall’s upcoming album “Playing for Change,” which is being recorded at Sandy Roots Productions in Perdido Key by Nick Biebricher and Jonathan Newton. Among those playing on her record is Nashville session player Rory Hoffman, who has recorded and toured with country singer Kasey Musgraves.
Hall’s single will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and all other major music streaming platforms.
“It’s a huge deal to me,” she told Patch. “Over the hill doesn’t mean down hill.”
Watch the video below: