TAYLOR HALL lived in Los Angeles but came back home to Indianapolis. “I found myself here and created my identity here,” says the 24-year-old artist, activist, and Indianapolis Monthly Hero of the Pandemic. “In Los Angeles, everyone’s the same and trying to pursue the same thing. But it was in Indiana that I was able to find my own voice.”
That strong voice cried out loud and clear on a national stage in 2020, as Hall performed her debut single “I Can’t Breathe” at the Protest for Racial Justice in Indianapolis. But it was also in those fateful months of 2020 when Hall says her mental health struggles began.
“I wasn’t really taking care of myself,” Hall says. “I was out protesting for six or seven hours a day and not eating enough and not drinking enough water. I was making sure everybody else was taken care of, but I was not really taking care of myself.”
By October 2021, Hall—still a full-time resident of LA—felt her mental health worsen. “I had no family there, no support there, no friends,” she says. “Being alone in a new city was so isolating. Some days I just wanted to give up. I kind of forgot that I had a family and a home that I could go back to in Indianapolis.”
Those dark times also inspired the songs that now make up her new EP, Cheaper Than Therapy. “These songs are about the struggles of life, whether that be the financial hardships or just mentally not trusting in myself or my capabilities,” says Hall, whose album release party will be held at Re:Public Artspace (2301 E. 10th St.) on May 23. “While my lyrics are so heavy, I wanted the production and the sonics to be a lot brighter and lighter. I want my listeners to realize that while we might be in this dark place, we can get out of it.”
“The sessions for Cheaper Than Therapy were my therapy,” she admits after a pause.
Hall moved back to Indianapolis a year ago this month. She gave birth to her son, Elias, a few months after that. “Life is serious now,” Hall says with a laugh. “It was serious before, but now it’s not just me—I have somebody else to take care of and to think of.”
“I told myself, if I’m going to do music and really pursue this, I have to do this now. I have to give it my all, not just for myself, but for him so he knows that I did the best I could.”
