Summer Sanford Events :: Historic Downtown Sanford Florida Shopping, Restaurant Dining, Special Events, Retail Stores and Festivals

 Video of The Jeff Hall Group >

At the ripe old age of four, my passion for music was ignighted by the music boom of the 1960s, particularly the music of the Beatles and many of the other great "British Invasion" bands that followed. In fact, if you come see us play, you'll definitely hear a lot of that influence in our shows....more

 

I started playing guitar at age eight, and since then have rarely been seen without a guitar in my hands.  Other than God and my family,music and playing guitar are my greatest passions in life.  

I got my first professional gig in 1977, while still in high school, playing "Paul" in a Beatles cover band.  I'm a lot shorter and squatier than Sir Paul, but I think the fact that I play left-handed and, at the time, owned a lefty Hofner bass kinda helped seal the deal for me to land that gig.  

After doing that for about three and a half years, I became the lead guitarist for a country band, and from there I played in several other bands and just about every genre of music in and around South Florida, as well as doing some studio session work for local commercial jingles and artist demos.  Probably the most memorable studio project I ever worked on was for a series of jingles for a mental hospital in Lakeland, FL!

In 1993, I decided I was ready for a change and made the decision to "retire" from live performing (I'd had it with the whole bar/nightclub sceen by that time).  I wanted to focus my attention on other things like finding a good woman (which I did), settling down and raising a family.  I've been married to the true love of my life for nearly twelve years, and we have three fantastic kids, a boy and two girls.  Sounds like the perfect scenario, doesn't it?  Well, it was except for one thing; I was miserable in my professional life!  I dabbled at several potential careers while jumping from job to job trying to find my niche---and hating every bloody minute of it along the way!

In 2004, my world changed dramatically when, at age 44, I was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer.  I had surgery to remove the tumor and underwent six months of intense chemotherapy, and it was then that I came to realize that life's too short and too precious to be working and toiling just for the purpose of bringing home a paycheck.  

The Bible even says in the book of Ecclesiastes that the best thing a man can do is eat and drink, and find satisfaction in his work.  I knew God had gifted me to do one thing well, and one thing only---make music.  Hence, the Jeff Hall Group was born.  For the record, I never would have come up with the idea of calling us the Jeff Hall Group.  That name was suggested by a friend who was partnering with me to help get the group launched.  Before I had the chance to veto the name, it was already on business cards and posters, not to mention the world wide web!

I'm having the time of my life doing what I'm doing now--just two acoustic guitars and two voices.  Whenever I'm asked to describe our sound I always say, "If MTV Unplugged and classic oldies radio ever got married and had a kid, that kid's name would be the Jeff hall Group!"  

Working with Howie is a blast.  He's so talented, and such a sweet, humble guy.  I'm proud to call him my friend.  We've also developed a wonderful relationship with Ken and Debra Martin, the owners and proprietors of the Sanford Wine Company.  We love playing there.  The Martins treat everyone like family.  In fact, you are part of the family when you're there.  If you live in or near Central Florida, and you want to spend a nice evening out sipping good wine, enjoying good music and good friends in a friendly, non-pretentious atmosphere, you owe it to yourself to come out and see us at the Sanford Wine Company.  The dates we're booked there are listed on our homepage, with additional dates being added as they're confirmed.  Hope to see you there.