Client Spotlight - Hallie Jade
Get ready for a soul-stirring, whimsical journey—Hallie Jade is a force. Songwriting teacher, storyteller, and full-time creative, she draws inspiration from legends like John Prine and Brandi Carlile. We had the joy of recording her EP at Studio45b, where her luminous perspective and magnetic teaching spirit lit up the room.
Hallie views the universe through a deeply luminescent lens. She traverses life like a beautifully complex game of Super Mario, viewing fleeting moments of inspiration as floating question mark boxes and golden coins. If she does not jump up and grab a melody the second it appears, someone else will. That fierce, creative devotion means she writes every single day—sometimes at midnight after putting her kids to bed, and sometimes right in the middle of our own control room while her tracks are being mixed.
She is a storyteller first and an artist second. Drawing profound inspiration from the honest, rootsy truths of John Prine and Brandi Carlile, Hallie weaves the kind of simplicity that saves lives. She knows this power firsthand, having relied on those very songwriters to pull her through her own dark times. Now, she crafts that same guiding light for others.
Her roots run deep and wild. Mentored by Atz Kilcher (Jewel’s father) from the tender age of ten, she learned early on to observe the world and honor her foundations. You can hear the profound echoes of her indigenous heritage in every note she sings. It is a wild, ancestral rhythm that pulses through her veins and directly into her breathtaking new EP.
Beyond the microphone, Hallie balances a wonderfully chaotic life as a mother to two girls and a son, a playful puppy, and a classroom full of teenage dreamers. As a full-time songwriting faculty member at the prestigious Idyllwild Arts Academy, she stewards the next generation of creators. She helps them navigate a noisy, AI-driven world by teaching them the most valuable lesson of all: radical authenticity.
We recently had the absolute honor of hosting Hallie here at Studio45b to record her brand-new EP. She stepped into the recording studio with our producer, Grady James, and completely surrendered to the creative process. Together, they turned 2 AM dream-melodies into total bops, struck guitar cases for makeshift percussion, and brought the galloping sounds of wild horses to life.
After the final vocal takes were captured and the studio monitors quieted down, we sat down to talk with her about this incredibly vulnerable record, her magical songwriting process, and a life entirely guided by sound waves.
Let’s jump right into what shapes your sound identity, your background at Idyllwild Arts Academy, your children, your mentors.
If someone had never heard your music but sat across from you for five minutes, what part of you would they meet first—the artist, or the storyteller?
The storyteller for sure - I am a storyteller first and an artist second. I view the artist component as merely a means to express the stories.
There’s always a kind of invisible thread running through a person’s life… what’s been pulling you forward lately?
Honestly my kids... They weren't alive yet for the first chapter of my public music journey and watched me write and sang with me exclusively at home for their entire lives until a few years ago, when my oldest looked at me and said "mom, why don't you play shows?" As soon as I knew that my kids were watching, I had no excuses but to pick myself up by my bootstraps and get out there again. Every time I think about pulling back on the reins, I think of what I would say to them in the same position - it's your dream, keep going...
What an amazing response - you carry such an incredible responsibility in showing your children how important it is to live out your dreams. You had the rare experience of being mentored by someone deeply rooted in songwriting—what’s a piece of wisdom that never left you?
I had the great honor of being mentored by Atz Kiltcher, Jewel's dad, starting at age 10. To this day, he is one of my biggest champions and inspirations. He taught me that stories come first, to be observant, dig deep and never forget your roots.
What an honor to be connected to such an incredible writer! How did your time at Idyllwild Arts Academy shape not just your craft, but your sense of self? How does it feel to be back as a part of the faculty teaching the next generation of songwriters?
Idyllwild Arts saved my life as a young artist. There is truly nothing like being surrounded by like-minded peers at such a turbulent and vulnerable time in your life. My time as a student allowed me to find myself as an artist, collaborate with artists that are still some of my best friends to this day, find confidence in my unique voice, and to remember, especially when the ground is shaky - who I am and what I stand for. Returning to Idyllwild Arts as faculty has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I feel such an intense sense of responsibility to steward this next generation of songwriters in an honest and authentic direction, considering their often inauthentic surroundings on social media, with AI, etc. There are truly no words to describe how proud I am of my students and how grateful for the gifts they give me every day.
What a beautiful connection you have with that school. Thinking back on that time, what did a younger version of you believe music would be—and how does that compare to what it is now?
Oddly enough, my perception of what music should be hasn't changed much since I was a kid. Growing up, I idolized Jewel, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, James Taylor... and I'm still out here trying to follow in their storytelling, rootsy, troubadour footsteps.
Can’t get much better than those inspirations when it comes to songwriting! What kind of stories are you drawn to telling right now? What inspiration do you pull from and how do you stay authentic?
I was actually just reflecting on this the other day, because it's always interesting to look back at my catalog over the years and recognize shifts in perspective and common themes. For years, there was a real rambling nature to my songs - I wrote a lot about being on the road, exploring places and self, leaving home... - but recently, I've begun to settle more into my life and am writing more about going back home, finding out what home means and finding beauty in staying.
Let’s chat about your songwriting process!
You write every day - you even wrote songs while Grady was mixing your record! — What are you chasing when you sit down with a blank page? How do you stay motivated to write every day?
Haha yeah... it's kind of a problem, but a good one? Honestly, I can probably thank my therapist for this one. I've done so much work over the years with both digging deep and staying open energetically. Through that process, it's gotten so much easier to recognize inspiration when it comes my way. This is so nerdy, and I tell my students this all the time, but I view a songwriter's journey as a game of Super Mario - we're all just running through life with these question mark boxes and coins in our path - that's the inspiration, and if you don't grab it when you pass, somebody else will. I suppose that's my competitive nature coming through, but I try to never let an inspiration pass without at least taking note. Sometimes it's just a funny or inspiring phrase, sometimes a melody, but either way, I sit down every night (even if it's at midnight, after I've put the kids to bed, picked up the house, etc., pick one and flush it out. I was so inspired being in the studio with Grady, that I think I wrote 3 songs one day while he was mixing. I certainly don't have time to do that in the incredible chaos of my typical daily life, but there was something about being in that space and all in with my music that flooded me with ideas. It's honestly a great business model for Grady if ya'll can figure out how to capitalize on it! If I didn't have a flight back, I probably would have just stayed and recorded the new songs. ;)
That is such an incredible way to think of things - Super Mario?! Even that is artistic. We loved having you in the studio and found you just as inspiring. Speaking of all this inspiration - what’s something you’ve written that scared you to put into the world?
Honestly, everything I write scares me a little bit. I write from such a vulnerable place, about my own life and experiences, good and bad. Every time I put songs out, both recorded and live, I feel like I'm revealing another piece of myself that I might not be necessarily proud of, but is so intrinsically me. While I've battled this a lot, I keep coming back to finding solace in knowing that chances are, somebody else will resonate with my stories, and this power that songs hold to bring us all together continues to be one of my biggest driving forces.
Vulnerability can be exhausting - how do you keep showing up on days that inspiration doesn't?
You know, some people have meditation, some have journaling, some have exercise... Either way, for better or for worse, it has to become routine to remain effective. The more I write, the easier it is to find, process and finish an idea. I've grown addicted to making the process "easy" for myself, by practicing it every day. Not easy, like it's mindless and meaningless, but easy in that I don't have to work so hard to access the depths of what I'm trying to say. I won't lie and say it's always easy, especially when life gets messy, but that's where the power in routine comes into play - when it's just what you do, no matter what day you're having, it's pretty incredible how quickly you can slip into a flow state.
All of your answers have us swooning over here - we might just have to take a break and go write a tune!
You love John Prine and Brandi Carlile. Can you chat about how some of your influences shaped you?
You know me so well... haha. I've listened to and loved both of them since I was a kid. For both of them as writers, I'm inspired by their combination of simplicity and truth. There is nothing fancy or complex about their songs, but they tell the stories that are both lyrically compelling, but also relatable. This kind of stuff is tough to admit, but I can credit both of them for saving my life. In my deepest, darkest times, their songs were just enough light to keep me going. To know that songs hold that kind of power, is enough to inspire me to maybe someday be that storyteller for someone else.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for - Your EP! We can’t wait to dive deep into the songs, the process and your favorite moments on the record.
Is there a thread—emotional or sonic—that quietly ties every song together?
I certainly took a journey with these songs. Broken Record tells a story of a young person breaking free of their silent battles, digging deep and finding hope in this wild life we live. Sticks and Glue is the next step on that journey, about leaving your past, exploring love and building a foundation with somebody else. Mercedes then feels like home - you've settled down and have somebody that comes back to you regardless of hardships or your past. Wild in Me ties everything together as a story both about loss, cherishing what you have, going back to roots and finding yourself again.
How did you choose these four songs, out of all the incredible songs you've written over the years?
Surprisingly, it was one of the easier decisions I've made. I always felt like these songs needed to exist together in some way. While written over the course of 5ish years, they each highlight really pivotal moments in my life, and tell a story of my own evolution during that period.
“Wild in Me” carries something deeply personal—how did that song find its way out of you?
I wrote Wild in Me the day that my grandfather passed last year. It was deeply cathartic to process everything he means to me through song and honestly, the song wrote itself - it never ceases to amaze me how urgently a song can make its way into this world when the time is right. Although my grandfather never heard the song on earth, he was with me when I wrote it and I feel him with me every time it gets played.
Wow - The same day that your grandfather passed. You really do use writing as therapy! While we don’t wish grief on anyone, this song definitely is a beautiful representation of love. Did writing it feel like closure, or something else entirely? Can you share with us a little of the relationship you had with your grandfather that sparked the emotion in this track?
For sure it felt like closure, but also an exploration of self. Unfortunately, I think we all at times take for granted the blood in our veins. While we may have complicated relationships with our families, at the end of the day, their stories and experiences led to our existence, and both biologically and energetically impact our own story. While growing up, I loved the wild nature of my grandfather, I don't think I fully appreciated his take on life until long into adulthood. He cherished this wildness of this earth more than anyone I've ever encountered and continues to serve as my reminder to go back to nature and ancestry, whenever I start feeling out of balance due to the chaos of our world.
How do you hold grief and beauty in the same space when you’re creating?
I mean, I think they go hand in hand. You can find beauty in chaos and chaos in beauty, depending on how you look at it. I find the exploration of such dichotomies incredibly inspiring and appreciate that I can view and write about the world and experiences from a completely different perspective than somebody else.
"I'm glad your blood runs through my heart" "Thank you for leaving some wild in me" - these lyrics are so beautiful. Can you tell us how you landed on these words in particular?
“I’m glad your blood runs through my heart” is an ode to returning to ancestral roots. My ancestors were Indigenous people, whose heritage and connection to the earth resonates in every cell of my body. That “wild in me” keeps me in a state of wonder about where I came from and gratitude for those who helped steward my path long before I was here.
"Mercedes" is such a bop. We can't get it out of our heads. Upbeat songs can sometimes be a challenge for songwriters, especially in the "folk" genre. How did you come up with this tune?
It's truly an anomaly and I worry to this day that I may never write a "bop" again, haha. I want to say that I was in just the right energetic state for that song to come to life, but honestly that song woke me up out of a dream one night at 2am. I was so groggy, but I couldn't escape that chorus in my head, so I got out of bed and finished the chorus. The next morning after a couple cups of coffee and residual hype from that chorus, the verses and pre-choruses came together. If I could recreate that scenario to write something like it, I would, but unfortunately it simply came down to "grabbing" the inspiration when it hit. All I can hope for is that it hits again... and maybe at a more reasonable hour of day.
We think you have another bop in you for sure! Do you have a favorite song on the record?
It changes every day... Since Wild in Me just came out as the last Single on the EP, and I just had a super cathartic and emotional experience playing it live last weekend, it's my favorite.
There’s a real art to making something feel simple without losing its depth, and "Sticks and Glue" does that beautifully—melodically and lyrically. How do you strike that balance between simplicity and emotional weight in your writing?
While I consider myself to run pretty "deep," I'm also a hopeless romantic at heart. Sticks and Glue is a combination of what I imagined falling in love would look like as a kid and personal experience... but of course I've NEVER done bad things on the beach. ;)
"Broken Record" is the album's title track and carries a beautiful message of hope, courage, and strength. Can you tell us about the moments that are mentioned in this song? You shared a lot of vulnerability within this single.
Oof, this one's tough. I was mentoring a young person many years ago, who in their short 14 years of life, had experienced some of the worst things life could throw at you. I wrote this song for them, but also to serve as a reminder for myself or anyone else going through a tough time, that hope and light is always around the corner, if you just open your eyes.
We are completely honest when we say that we had an absolute blast having you in the studio. Let’s chat about your experience while you were here recording the EP.
“You found all your peace where wild horses play” — these lyrics really seem to match the production of Wild in Me. Was this “ranch” sound a style you were after, or was that an idea from Grady?
That was 100% Grady’s genius. I fully told him to take the reins (no pun intended) on that one after we had a long conversation about what the song means to me. He took the time to really understand my style and matched the vision to the song perfectly. I could not be more proud of how it turned out. You can literally close your eyes and hear the wild horses.
What was the most unexpected moment during the recording process?
It sounds silly, but how easy it all felt. Grady is incredible at creating a welcoming, safe space to express yourself and record. The studio felt like home, and honestly, I never wanted to leave.
What was it like stepping into a studio with someone you’d never met and spending days fully immersed in a creative space? Was it hard to open up to Grady and trust him with your vision? When did you know you had found the right producer?
I’ve had experiences all across the board with producers, but working with Grady instantly felt special and different. From the start, he made me feel like he had genuinely connected to my songs and vision, and that he cared most about bringing that to life rather than simply making it his own. I had heard and admired his work before, so I felt totally comfortable leaning into his ideas. You can tell trust matters deeply to him throughout the process. It was such an incredible experience that I later asked him to come work with my students - many of whom had never worked with a producer before - simply because I wanted their first experience to be that good.
Were there moments where a song transformed completely from what you originally imagined?
Yes, but in the best ways. Sticks and Glue is the perfect example. I went in with reference tracks that were very “bubblegum,” for lack of a better word. We had already made Mercedes a total bop, so beyond wanting a different vibe for Sticks and Glue, Grady thoughtfully talked me through what he was hearing in his head. I walked away with a completely different sound than I expected - but one that fits the song perfectly. I’m so grateful to have found someone I trust not to just follow along, but to have the confidence to give the song what it’s asking for.
There is a moment in Sticks and Glue where the instrumentation drops out and it’s just your vocals and synths. It is show-stopping. How did you feel hearing that for the first time? Was it something you expected?
Oh my gosh, I totally lost it in the studio. It’s such a powerful moment, and the fact that Grady knew not only how to create that, but how impactful it would be, still blows my mind.
In Sticks and Glue there are some really interesting percussion ideas. Were you on board from the beginning? Was there any moment where you were unsure of how it would turn out?
Watching Grady pick up random objects around the studio to make cool, weird sounds was honestly one of the best parts of the experience. I had full trust in him to know how to execute what the song needed, so at that point I was really just along for the ride - laughing while he walked around hitting things (including guitar cases) trying to find the perfect sound. He’s a sound genius.
Working with Grady James feels like stepping into someone else’s sonic world for a moment—what did his perspective unlock in your music that you hadn’t tapped into yet?
Haha yes - it is Grady’s sonic world, and we’re just living in it. Listening to a track Grady produced is like Christmas. I hear something new every time - something I didn’t notice before - and it often makes me laugh because there’s so much personality and humor hidden inside his sonic choices. He helped me realize that production can elevate emotion in ways I hadn’t fully tapped into yet. Not just making a song sound good, but making it feel deeper, more vivid, and more alive.
Thank you for taking so much time to chat with us about you, your record and your time recording with us. We can’t wait for your next EP and until then we will have this on repeat. Before you go - lets do a rapid fire round!
Sunrise or sunset?Sunset, doing bad things on the beach... lol jk, but not really!
Ocean or mountains?Can I say both?!I'm from a small town in rural Alaska surrounded by both, which each hold a special place in my heart.
Coffee shop or quiet cabin?My life is insane right now so... quiet cabin. ;)
Rainstorms or golden hour? Golden Hour 150%
Vinyl or streaming? Vinyl. I'm an album girlie and die for moments when I get to listen to a record top to bottom.
Drive at night or walk at dawn?Drive at night... although I can't see well in the dark, so somebody else needs to be driving while I either talk to much or play DJ.
Stay wild or find peace?Listen, I'm currently working on both and will let you know when I find the answer. Haha.
Pineapple on pizza?Yes, give it to me.
Coffee or tea? Americano with heavy cream, please and thank you.
Book or movie?I grew up hating to read and without a TV, so I have a complicated relationship with both. lol. The safest bet is music recommendations for me…
What an absolutely beautiful journey Hallie is on. From turning midnight melodies into studio magic, to guiding the next generation of creators, she constantly reminds us to look for the wonder hiding in plain sight. Her music holds a mirror to the chaotic, stunning truth of life, proving that you can honor your deep roots while boldly carving out your own path. We are beyond grateful to have been a part of her story here at Studio45b, and we know this new EP will soothe plenty of tired hearts.
Now, it is your turn to experience the magic. Go take a listen to her stories, feel the rhythm of those wild horses, and let her songs leave a little wild in you, too.
Where to Find and Support Hallie Jade:
Which track on the new EP resonates with you the most? Drop a comment below and tell us all about it! And if Hallie's story sparked a little creative fire in you, reach out to us. We would love to help you bring your own musical stories to life in the studio.