Full Album show of April 4, 2019

“The lonesome singer moaned through the speaker that was blown, while I was driving alone.”- Driving Alone, Kerosene Jeffrey Halford, a singer/songwriter and guitarist, was born in Dallas, Texas, growing up listening to Roger Miller on a $2 transistor radio. In 1963, his parents, Colin and Effie Lou, headed west with their two young sons to a Los Angeles beach town in their ’59 El Dorado.
“Harvesters raked the barren fields, and the windswept towns just can’t conceal the emptiness of a time that’s come and gone.” - Black Gold, Hunkpapa By the time Halford turned 18, he and his family had crisscrossed California multiple times. Led by his father Colin, who sought a better job and better life, the family lived in many different parts of the state. Though Halford’s environment continually changed around him, there was one thing that remained the same: surfing. “Shooting the Tube” remained the only thing that kept him sane at the time, serving as an escape from his real world issues. Halford’s parents had their low points, including battling the bottle, house evictions, car crashes, and times where Ray Charles would describe the condition as “Busted.”
Surrounded by the best of AM radio, Halford listened to some of LA’s best music, with Wolfman Jack spinning everything from Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye to Howlin’ Wolf and The Doors. Halford soaked up the best of American music and poetry.
“Dreaming ‘bout the ocean, deep blue sea, boats won’t go out, small craft advisory.”
- Small Craft Advisory, Hunkpapa Due to trouble at home and some minor clashes with the law, Halford had the worst attendance record in his high school graduating class, according to his principal. However, next came a sunburnt, resonant nylon string guitar from his father, and things started to turn for the better.
“He strung his line and then he watched it sail, and hoped that all good things would prevail.” - Cry of Hope, Rainmaker After high school, Halford enrolled in architecture school in San Francisco.
Throughout the streets of the city, he fed off of the talent and spirit of the street musicians. He was inspired, and joined San Francisco street legends Harry Spider and Jimmy Ventilator, playing at the corner of Market and Powell. For over a year, Halford cut his guitar chops on the street, playing to crowds in Chinatown and Union Square until the police closed him down. His street gigs led him to play with Oakland blues greats Sonny Lane, Mississippi Johnny Waters, and JJ Malone. Halford later formed the popular rockabilly band, The Snappers, playing around the Bay Area for over four years with artists such as the Blasters and the Beat Farmers.
“Meanwhile, down at The Clayton, they were falling deep into the red. Harry said it felt so good living right on the edge.”- North Beach, Rainmaker Over the last 25 years, Halford has been touring the country with his band, the Healers. They have played shows with some of music’s most acclaimed artists and songwriters, as well as Halford’s influences, such as Taj Mahal, Los Lobos,
George Thorogood, Gregg Allman, Etta James, John Hammond, and Texas Greats Augie Meyers, Guy Clark and Robert Earl Keen. His newest CD, Rainmaker, is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed record Broken Chord and is currently at #12 on the Euro-Americana Charts* and climbing. His original roots rock and roll songs etch a uniquely American landscape.

Album: West Toward South
SAN FRANCISCO (4/1/19) — Soulful, blues-influenced storyteller, Jeffrey Halford who fronts his band The Healers, has announced the worldwide digital release of their ninth album, West Towards South. The album will be available for digital download on April 5th along with its physical release on April 19th via Floating Records.
Praised by LA Weekly as “one of the most important voices in Americana Today", Jeffrey Halford and the Healers are admired for their unique fusion of Americana, blues, and rock n’ roll. The forthcoming LP is a follow up to the band’s previous record, LoFi Dreams in 2017. The album reached #8 on the Americana charts and was a hit among dedicated fans of the genre. The new full-length album is sure to surpass preceding accolades.
Atmospheric, funky, rustic, and raw—this is an Americana narrative at its finest; poetic story songs delivered with the voice of authenticity, sitting atop a moody bed of dirty slide guitars, organic drums, and swampy bass. Subtle touches of violin, piano, and lap steel adorn a song cycle that chronicles the westbound adventures of two mythic brothers in an equally mythic America.
The Healers comprise of Adam Rossi and Bill MacBeath, and guest stars Mark Karan and Tom Heyman. Jeffrey Halford with co-writer Don Zimmer and Adam Rossi {co-producer} created something so many strive for, and yet too few achieve a genuine Americana concept album that is simultaneously devoid of pretension and richly authentic. West Towards South includes the band’s lead track “Deeper Than Hell” which is from the point of view of an elusive, bold man on the run. Opening with the distant wail of a guitar and the subtle sound of sinking through water, the listener is instantly drawn into the story. Jeffrey begins the track with the lines “Bullets pierce the water, I can feel it on my skin. You thought you had me, I took that long jump in.” The volume can’t go anywhere but up from this moment forward as we roll with the band’s snare drums hits and bluesy guitar riffs.
In support of the upcoming West Towards South album, Jeffrey Halford and the Healers have racked up a slew of tour dates across the San Francisco Bay area, starting with their album release party at the well-received Aptos St BBQ on March 30th. On May 21st, the band will embark on their fourth European tour, journeying through the Netherlands, Germany, and others.