Announcing the 2025 Emerging Artist Grand Prize Winners

(to open for Sara Bareilles on the Historic Theater stage):

HALLEY NEAL

Halley Neal is a folk singer and songwriter whose live shows center on themes of positivity and peace. Joined by Joe Everett and Devon Gardner on upright bass and fiddle, her lyrical Americana songs are met with soaring vocals and an upbeat bluegrass-inspired instrumentation. Halley has been blazing the folk trail over the last 2 years, performing at festivals such as: Kerrville Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and recently she was named the winner of SolarFest’s Singer-Songwriter Showcase. Halley released her most recent record Beautiful and Blue to critical acclaim on September 30, 2022. Her sound blends effortless layered vocals with Americana production, and is rooted in classic 60s and 70s folk. In 2020, Halley became an official Guild Guitars Artist, and performed a set of original music at the 2021 and 2023 NAMM Shows with Guild. Currently, Halley tours extensively to house concerts, theaters, and listening room venues across the country.

HARRISON GOODELL

Harrison Goodell is a singer-songwriter from Seacoast New Hampshire, weaving indie-folk songs that feel like home—restless, familiar, and always shifting. Rooted in vivid storytelling, his music draws from the quiet hum of suburban streets, the vastness of the White Mountains, and the longing to hold onto something fleeting. With raw vocals and emotive arrangements, he captures the push and pull between nostalgia and growth, staying and leaving, love and loss. His sound, while uniquely his own, sits between anthemic folk and confessional songwriting, earning comparisons to artists like Noah Kahan and The Lumineers.

Harrison’s dedication to his craft has led to sold-out shows and opening slots for artists like JP Saxe and The Lone Bellow. His music has been championed by tastemaker Ari Elkins, whose 2.2 million followers have helped bring Harrison’s unvarnished storytelling to a wider audience. As one of the Northeast’s top emerging artists, he was awarded a grant from The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH, further fueling his rise. With new material on the way and sessions in Nashville with some of the industry’s most exciting writers, 2025 is set to be a defining year.

2025 Emerging Artist Grant Winners
(to perform at The Lounge and Chestnut Street pre-show festivities):

SKYE DARLING

Skye Darling is a singer-songwriter and violinist weaving stories and songs from her little corner of Boston, Massachusetts. With a sound that drifts between old-time fiddle tunes, jazz textures, maqam-infused melodies, and Celtic elements, her music is rooted in tradition and memories, yet always seeking something new.

Her songs have been played around campfires in the cool summer air, as well as in historic concert halls, where she has collaborated with artists like Alireza Khodayari, xander., Sneaky Miles, Ben Laine, Nick Rolser, Vanessa Hale, and Teesa. Her music has also been featured at Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop Festival, sharing the stage with renowned musicians such as Jamey Haddad, Kala Ramnath, Mike Block, Edward Pérez, and Balla Kouyaté. As an orchestral violinist, she can be found in symphonies and theater pits, performing with groups like Celtic Woman, Apollo Ensemble, and Horizon Ensemble.

 

PRESTON LYDOTES

Preston Lydotes is a Boston-born singer-songwriter with a folk-rock edge. Inspired by the yearning pull of Coldplay, the indie grit of The Backseat Lovers, and the poetic wit of Phoebe Bridgers, Lydotes leverages his influences to blaze his own path. The 22-year-old is a dedicated lyricist, producer, engineer, and arranger, boldly stamping his creative DNA into every part of his project. Lydotes has been releasing music independently since 2022 – “Wrong,” “The Fallout,” “The Critic In Me,” & “5 to 9” are the first four singles off of his upcoming sophomore EP.

 

ABBY SCHARFF

The Portsmouth, New Hampshire native cut her teeth on The Beatles and Buddy Holly while her friends were listening to Disney lullabies from their car seats. Music is in her blood. Every year around Christmastime, she’d hear her great-grandmother, Carol Richards, singing “Silver Bells” with Bing Crosby in shopping centers and grocery store aisles. She wrote her first song the day her uncle (half of The Scharff Brothers along with her father) taught her three chords on the guitar. Once Abrielle made a name for herself on the east coast, she set her sights on bigger horizons. Baby steps were never in her vocabulary.

In the last few years, the award-winning songwriter has released a steady stream of singles and EPs following the release of her debut full-length studio album, “You Know the Rest.” Popdust described her song “New York Makes Me Cry” as a “sensitive treatment of well-crafted songwriting.” Her newest collection of songs, “Tumbling After,” is available on all streaming platforms along with her entire discography.

Previous Emerging Artist Grant Winners

The Music Hall’s Emerging Artist Grant Campaign

OVERVIEW

The Music Hall is proud to support the growth of emerging artists by presenting up-and-coming acts across all of our stages. With the Emerging Artist Grant, we are able to extend this aid beyond our own venues by making a financial contribution to artists’ growth. By awarding two $5,000 grand prize grants and three $2,500 runner-up grants to musicians actively performing contemporary music, we can support the projects that will contribute to their professional development. This financial support can allow artists to secure live performance opportunities, recording/studio time, produce music video content, and develop marketing assets and/or strategies. In addition to the financial support, The Music Hall team will help make valuable connections with industry professionals for grant recipients.

GRANT AWARDS

Two grand prize winners will receive $5,000 grant awards each.
Three runners-up will receive $2,500 grant awards each.

ELIGIBILITY

Submissions are currently limited to individuals or duos who are: 

  • Actively performing contemporary music
  • Not signed to a major label or a major booking agency
  • A current resident of a New England state, or has 5+ years of previous residency in New England.
  • At least 18 years of age, or has written consent from parent/guardian.
  • Legally able to receive taxable income in the United States.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

All applications are reviewed and evaluated by The Music Hall’s Emerging Artist committee, composed of Music Hall employees. 

Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Quality of the artist’s creative works submitted
  • Level of alignment with the vision of The Music Hall’s Emerging Artist campaign
  • Feasibility of the proposed project within the parameters of the grant

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications are closed.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

Applications open Tuesday, March 11, 2025 and close Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
All applicants will be notified of their award status by Friday, May 2, 2025.

REPORTING

The Music Hall requests that grant recipients share the impact of the award via social media, word of mouth, and any other ways they feel appropriate.

ACCESSIBILITY

No person on the basis of race, color, national origin or ancestry, native language, disability, age, religion (creed), gender or gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, socioeconomic status, or military status shall be excluded from participation in, or be denied benefits of, or otherwise