Halley Neal and Harrison Goodell Named Grand Prize Winners of The Music Hall’s 2025 Emerging Artist Grant

PORTSMOUTH – The Music Hall is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2025 Emerging Artist Grant Program, an initiative created to spotlight and support rising contemporary musicians with both financial assistance and high-profile performance opportunities. This year’s Grand Prize Winners—Halley Neal and Harrison Goodell—will open for Grammy-winning artist Sara Bareilles during the sold-out Emerging Artist Benefit Concert on Sunday, May 11 at The Music Hall’s Historic Theater.

Before the main event, the public is invited to a FREE Chestnut Street Party from 5-7 p.m., featuring performances by three additional grant winners: Skye Darling, Preston Lydotes, and Abby Scharff.

Now in its second year, the Emerging Artist Grant Program continues The Music Hall’s mission to champion early-career talent. This year, two Grand Prize winners were awarded $5,000 each and three runners-up received $2,500 awards to support their professional development in the music industry.

2025 Grand Prize Winners – Performing at the Historic Theater

Halley Neal
Halley Neal is a folk singer and songwriter whose live shows center on themes of positivity and peace. After spending five years in Nashville, she recently returned home to New England to focus on her growing career, developing her straight- up Americana songs that are met with upbeat instrumentation and soaring vocals.

Harrison Goodell
Harrison Goodell is a singer-songwriter from the Seacoast, weaving indie-folk songs that feel like home restless, familiar, and always shifting. Rooted in vivid storytelling, his music draws from the quiet hum of suburban streets, the vastness of the White Mountains, and the longing to hold onto something fleeting.

2025 Grant Award Winners – Performing at the Free Chestnut Street Party

Skye Darling
A singer-songwriter and violinist weaving stories and songs from her little corner of Boston. With a sound that drifts between old- time fiddle tunes, jazz textures, maqam-infused melodies, and Celtic elements, her music is rooted in tradition and memories.

Preston Lydotes
Preston is a Boston-born singer-songwriter with a folk-rock edge. The 22-year-old is a dedicated lyricist, producer, engineer, and arranger, boldly stamping his creative DNA into every part of his project.

Abby Scharff
Abby is like the emo Taylor Swift. Her lyrics cut deep, her stage presence captivates, her voice soothes, her banter amuses. You’ll feel as though she’s invited you into her own living room, conversing with you through song.

Event Schedule – Sunday, May 11

5-7 p.m. – Chestnut Street Party (FREE & open to the public)

• Live music from Emerging Artist Grant Award winners Skye Darling, Preston Lydotes, and Abby Scharff

• Cash bar & hors d’oeuvres | No ticket required

7 p.m. – Emerging Artist Benefit Concert (SOLD OUT)

• Featuring Grand Prize Winners Halley Neal & Harrison Goodell

• Headliner: Sara Bareilles

About the Emerging Artist Grant Program

The Music Hall is committed to uplifting the next generation of artists. Through the Emerging Artist Grant Program, The Music Hall is expanding that support beyond their stages by offering direct financial assistance to rising musicians. These funds are designed to fuel professional growth—helping artists book live shows, cover studio and recording expenses, create music videos, and invest in marketing assets and strategies.

In addition to financial backing, grant recipients benefit from The Music Hall’s industry expertise and network, gaining access to valuable mentorship and connections to help take their careers to the next level.

Applicants must have ties to New England and be actively performing. Artists signed to major labels or booking agencies are not eligible. Recipients are selected based on artistic merit and alignment with The Music Hall’s vision to spotlight tomorrow’s superstars today.

About the Benefit
The Emerging Artist Benefit Concert is The Music Hall’s signature fundraising event, making it possible to showcase artists like the 100+ emerging talents who have performed at The Music Hall’s venues over the past 20 years. With elevated ticket prices that include a 50% tax-deductible donation, your contribution helps to present the next generation of superstars.

Funds for this mission-aligned event are raised through:

• Concert sponsorships ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

• Concert ticket sales, which include a 50% tax-deductible donation to The Music Hall.

Proceeds from this event directly support The Music Hall’s mission to invigorate audiences, nurture healthy communities, and drive economic vitality in the region. Previous headliners have included Jason Mraz in 2024 and Brandi Carlile in 2023.

This year’s headliner, Sara Bareilles, is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, producer, activist, and New York Times best-selling author. Her accolades include two Grammy® Awards, three Tony® Award nominations, and three Primetime Emmy® Award nominations. She has sold more than 3 million albums and 15 million singles in the U.S., with her songs streamed over 3.5 billion times worldwide.

In musical theater, Bareilles composed the music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical Waitress and starred in the show both on Broadway and the West End. She also earned a Tony nomination for her performance as ‘The Baker’s Wife’ in Into the Woods. Additional credits include writing for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical and starring as Mary Magdalene in NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live (earning an Emmy nomination). Bareilles currently plays Dawn Solano in the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Girls5eva and is developing a musical theater adaptation of The Interestings with Sarah Ruhl.

About the Emerging Artist Series
The Emerging Artist Series is The Music Hall’s ongoing initiative to spotlight exceptional talent on the rise. For decades, we’ve showcased artists poised for national attention, providing them with a platform to perform, grow their audience, and develop professionally.

Recent Emerging Artist Series performers include Carly Pearce, Brandy Clark & Hayes Carll, Madison Cunningham, Nolan Taylor, Chris Pierce, Amythyst Kiah, Smithfield, The Wellermen, Haley Reinhart, and many more.

The Music Hall offers gratitude to the patrons and sponsors who have supported this thrilling endeavor to nurture and celebrate the next generation of superstars, all while ensuring the organization's mission thrives:

Presenting Sponsor: McKeon Charitable Giving
Event Sponsors: Karen & David Della Penta; Gail & Francis Dinuzzo
Emerging Artist Grant Donors: Karen & David Della Penta
Angel Sponsors: Ben Auger; Jude Blake & Mike Bailey; Jen & Eric Chinburg; Steve Gaykan; Suzanne & Jay McFarland; Amy & Ben McLaughlin; Edward Mehigen; Tina Sawtelle & Mike Pilot; Morgan & Tara Rutman

Production Partner: Malloy Events

ABOUT THE MUSIC HALL
The Music Hall, established in 1878 as a Vaudeville theater, has become a cornerstone of Portsmouth’s vibrant arts scene. Over nearly 150 years, it has evolved into a premier performing arts center, featuring two distinct venues: the landmark Victorian-era Historic Theater, designated an American Treasure by the National Park Service, and the modern Music Hall Lounge, an intimate 116-seat cabaret-style space. Together, they host over 130,000 patrons annually, offering a diverse array of live performances and on-screen programming that foster creativity and community.

In 2024, The Music Hall expanded its cultural offerings by taking over the New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF), the state’s longest-running film festival, which attracts thousands of visitors each fall with independent films, panels, and networking events. That same year, it opened a new Members Club with McKeon’s Bar and the Box Office & Ticketing Hub, housed in the historic Kearsarge House on Congress Street. This exclusive speakeasy-style club allows members and sponsors direct access to the Historic Theater.

Since 1987, The Friends of The Music Hall, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, have upheld its mission: to present diverse, high-quality arts programming as a vital cultural hub for the Seacoast community. Today, The Music Hall continues to enrich Portsmouth’s cultural fabric with world-class entertainment by generating over $15M in economic impact to the downtown economy.

For more information on the Music Hall please visit www.TheMusicHall.org.