bio via ColinHay.com
Born in Scotland, Colin Hay moved with his family as a teenager to Australia, where he first came to international fame with seminal ’80s hitmakers Men At Work. While the band would reach the heights of stardom—they took home a GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist and sold more than 30 million records worldwide on the strength of #1 singles like “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Down Under”—by 1985, they’d called it quits and gone their separate ways. Hay released his solo debut the following year and, over the course of the next three-and-a-half decades, went on to record twelve more critically acclaimed studio albums that would help establish him as one of his generation’s most hardworking and reliable craftsmen. Rolling Stone praised his “witty, hooky pop” tunes, while NPR’s World Café lauded his “distinctive voice,” and late night hosts from David Letterman and Craig Ferguson to Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have all welcomed him for performances.
Over the course of his remarkable solo career, Hay developed a reputation as a gifted raconteur with serious comedy chops, and his frequent appearances at LA’s Largo club helped garner him a legion of fans in the entertainment world. Among them was actor/director Zach Braff, who called Hay’s mix of heartfelt songwriting and hilarious storytelling “one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.” Braff would go on to feature Hay’s music prominently in the GRAMMY-winning soundtrack for Garden State and invite him to appear as himself on the hit series Scrubs, which helped introduce his music to a whole new generation of listeners.
On top of his rigorous schedule as a solo artist, Hay has also managed to tour the world several times over with Ringo Starr & His All–Star Band, release an audiobook of Aesop’s Fables, star in the award-winning documentary Waiting For My Real Life, and even provide the voice for Fergus Flamingo in Disney’s The Wild.
“When the pandemic hit, I was forced to stay put for the first time in years,” Hay recalls. “It was horrendous every day to watch the news and see so many people struggling, but even so, musical ideas were creeping into my head, so I followed where they led and embraced the freedom that came with sitting still for a change.”
With no tour dates on the horizon, Hay allowed himself to slow things down and work at a different pace than he was used to. For the first time in his career, he had several uninterrupted months to work continuously with his longtime friend and collaborator Michael Georgiades, and the two began penning a series of gorgeous, thoughtful tracks that would eventually form the framework of Now And The Evermore.
Carla Hall bio via CarlaHall.com
Carla Hall first won over audiences when she competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: All Stars” and shared her philosophy to always cook with love. She believes food connects us all, and she strives to communicate this through her work, her cooking, and in her daily interactions with others.
Carla spent 7 years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy award winning, popular lifestyle series “The Chew”, and is currently featured on the Food Network in shows such as “Thanksgiving, Holiday and Halloween Baking Championships” (judge), and “Worst Cooks in America”.
Her latest cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, was published in 2018, landing on annual “Best Cookbook” lists across the country and receiving an NAACP Image Awards nomination. In 2024, Carla is being honored by Les Dames d’Escoffier as Grande Dame, a lifetime achievement award and honorary title is given to members in recognition of extraordinary contributions within the fields of food, beverage and hospitality.
Hall published her debut picture book, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread, in November 2021, with Denene Millner Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Illustrated by Cherise Harris, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread is a heartwarming tale loosely based on Hall’s childhood growing up in Nashville, TN, that celebrates family traditions, old and new, and also includes a child-friendly Christmas cornbread recipe perfect for the holidays.
She is active in many charitable endeavors and focuses her board member-level participation in organizations where she can make an impact advocating for children such as with 4H, Pajama Program, GenYouth, and Helen Keller International. In addition, Carla volunteers time to promote other non profit organizations such as: The James Beard Foundation, FEED America, Jacques Pepin Foundation, The Smithsonian Institutes and their membership of museums, and many others.