We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hal Savar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hal below.

Hal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I picked up a guitar and taught myself how to play, every time I would write I song it felt magical and like It was a gift that I was supposed to share with the universe. But as the years rolled on, and life was happening to me and around me, I started to feel a little guilty chasing my dreams when I had responsibilities and important people counting on me. Slowly my original intentions to create good music to make people feel good started to dim and fade a bit. It wasn’t until everything came to a screeching halt during the pandemic that I had a chance to really take a look at what I had been doing with my music. I had been fighting so hard to be able to continue to do what I love for a living and balance that with being a father to 2 amazing young kids that I put my true dreams on a back burner and I wasn’t even sure how good or not good my own music was that I had continued to write through the years. It all started with a new song i wrote called Next year. I was seeing people in my life reacting in a strong emotional way to my song and I started to feel that magic again. So I drew a line in the sand and decided to not be afraid to fail, that it was time to really do it and take a risk. I really dont know how to do anything half way so I decided I would take my 6 year old daughter, my 1 year old son , and the rest of my family on the road with a few camera guys and try and document my journey trying to make it in the music business while featuring live music scenes across the country. It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot, met a lot of successful people in the music business, but I think the thing that I got the most out of was that I was able to road test my music and se what was out there and I came home much more confident in my own music and skills as a performer / entertainer. I really felt like my stuff holds up and I deserve a chance to show people my music. So for the first year when I came back to Vegas while I resumed my cover gigs as a human jukebox, playing music in every venue, dive bar, restaurant, pub, and casino that I could get my foot in the door, i also spent all my free time and money recording all my new music, setting up weekly showcases for original music to help cultivate a thriving music scene in Vegas, and spend time with my kids. This past year I’ve been aggressively releasing a new single every 6 weeks since January, and trying to build my following. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and It’s clear that I’m an underdog running on my own steam, but I’m still learning about what it takes and I’m willing to take every risk and every opportunity to accomplish my dream of being successful with my music so I can give my family a better life and leave an awesome legacy behind to hopefully bring a lil light into the world.

Hal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was a shy poor kid that was very protective of his younger brother and always worried that the people I loved would go away because when i was 8 years old my parents ended their marriage, my dad moved away and a few years later my mom remarried a great guy who was a lawyer in the air force. So every few years we would have to move somewhere new and start over. Born out of that constant change was a survival reflex where I became a “people person” I realized I could be ok anywhere, and I figured out taht when i was feeling most lonely music was the ting that made feel connected to the world. It became a calling for me This thing that I wanted to do for other people like me, try and help them not feel alone and tell some stories along the way. I was determined to not just play music as a hobby, I wanted to be the best at what I was doing. I taught myself how to play and sing and write songs when I was 17 and after we moved to Vegas I figured out that I was really good at remembering and playing hundreds and hundreds of popular cover songs that span 10 different genres of music. everything from classic rock and country to rap music and Blues.

So for the past 15 years I’ve been a working professional musician in Las Vegas, playing 3-5 shows a week in any venue I could. Because I wanted to offer my audience something special, I started doing an interactive show where the crowd creates the show by picking off a song menu that has 350 options and so I became very well known as “The Human Jukebox” .

In 2021 I went on tour across the country from Vegas to Denver to Branson, to Memphis, to Nashville to Charlotte to Atlanta to Orlando etc… and shot a docu series about trying to make it with my original music. Im not what anyone expects. I’m a 40 year old father of 2 with really pop savy catchy tunes and a gritty bluesey powerful voice. When I came back to Las Vegas I started a showcase for original artists to try and create a true music scene, I continued to play request shows, and I started recording and releasing my new music with a very ambitious 6 week schedule. A new song every six weeks in the hopes that I could build something for myself as a true artist. As it has turned out I’m proud of where I’m at so far. I’m currently sitting at about 13K monthly listeners on Spotify and 539.4K streams this year. And I get to be around to raise my kids!

In the larger scheme of things its not earth shattering life changing numbers but I’m really proud because I don’t have any help, I’m doing everything myself, I’m my own roadie setting up and taking down all my equipment at each show, I had to learn to do my own graphics and make flyers for myself, I do all my own promo, I book my own shows and pay my musicians when I play with a band, typically I sing for 2-4 hours at my shows 4 nights a week, sometimes 2 shows a day and while I do all that stuff , I’m also writing and recording my new music. I think my songs are really good quality tunes. Most importantly I think I’m doing it all for the right reasons. I genuinely love music. I want people to hear my music and feel like it’s for them and they aren’t alone. My brand is authenticity as an artist. i’m always going to be real and honest.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I don’t think the average person thinks about the costs that go into creating and promoting good music. It’s a shame there isn’t a way for society to take care of their artists and creatives better. The way that ancient greece and rome culture put art and music over everything. Those were some of the most important and influential people to them because they were filling the world with beauty and love and telling these incredible stories that connected society, It’s a shame we don’t have a real good way to support an original artist by subscribing to help keep them going. When I want to record a song it takes a lot of time, but also a good quality recording costs a good chunk of money. but its not done there, once I have my song then I have to market it and get it out there and that costs money, and then I have to play shows to help support those new songs so people can hear me live. It’s shocking to me that the majority of venues and clubs don’t pay for original music artists. I can make a living playing 3 hour cover music shows, but if I wanted to only play my music I would need a day job. It frustrating. I think it would be very easy to support artists and creatives. People just need to listen and share their music or art with their friends and family. You could go out to 1 show a month to support your favorite artists and bring a couple friends, if you’re going to spend some money anyway, maybe allocate a lil of that for your artist directly. Venues could budget to pay something for original live music.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The goal that drives everything for me is that I want to reach the most people I can to make them feel a little less alone, and leave a legacy behind while I’m making my kids proud and creating a better life for my family with my music.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.halsavarmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/halsavarmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HalSavar.Music/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/halsavar
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7eZVNet4Adu0k1xJZG2QiN?si=N0NglPkLSDaNJbLQr1wYmA