Courtney Hale Revia

As the leaves turn and the temperatures in Texas finally drop below 70, the holiday spirit awakens and starts that incessant tapping on the little windows in our minds.

Sometimes it’s memories: family gatherings, meals shared. Hopes. In other dark corners: anxiety, stress. Not having enough. Thinking about others who don’t have enough.
Whether dark or light, a change in season is a time for evaluating, a moment to ask yourself what your legacy will be. In this age of empty accolades, our shared goal should be to work towards something more substantial than peer or social media approval; to use our time wisely.

Local singer/songwriter Courtney Hale Revia has done just that. She’s spent the last few years finely cultivating her personal legacy: an intimate album called “Simple Things” that showcases her unique approach to songwriting. The album comes out Nov. 27.

With a seasoned perspective on life and love, “Simple Things” is a country-tinged anthem of motherhood and love and the appreciation of all things simple.

Yes, her lyrics are full of fear and worry, but at the same time, they exhibit tenderness, power, empathy and appreciation. But it’s not all heavy — and it’s not all country.

In songs like “Cause-n-Effect,” it’s all rock, with Revia’s vocals coming in loud and bold and blaring. And in “Cambodia,” you get a more light-hearted tune, full of folksy melodies and humor.

We chatted with Revia about her upcoming her recent album and how her musical balancing act works.

Q. In “Simple Things,” at least two of the songs — “That’s a Mom” and “Right Here Right Now” — discuss motherhood. How has being a mother influenced your songwriting and perhaps your life perspective?
A. Being a mom has changed my definition of love. It brought me outside of myself, taught me to look at life differently.

Being a mother is the most important thing and toughest thing in life, for those called to this role. You are responsible for shaping, inspiring, and helping little lives find their purpose and connection with God.

My song “Right Here Right Now” describes a time when I was at Crystal Beach watching my girls play and the sun set. Life is all about the simple things and that’s how my motherhood has influenced my songwriting — learning to make the best of the little moments when it’s all you have is the best recipe for happiness. My music is my legacy that I want my kids to hear even when I’m long gone.

I’m not only a mom, I am a step mom to three kids who lost their mother five years ago. I have been in their lives for 11 years now. “That’s a Mom” was written three years ago and it was in hopes of celebrating all kinds of moms, as we all tend to feel we aren’t doing it right at times and to give some credit to the big jobs they conquer everyday. The conservative ones, the cheering ones, the ones who cook, who nurture, who are here and gone. My step kid’s mom was such a great cheerleader. It was big shoes to fill in that area for sure. The first line was written in her memory.
Q. Is everyone in your family musically inclined?
A. I was raised in a musical family. My dad, James T. Hale, is a Texas singer/songwriter and has had a music group with my step mom, Priscilla all my life. He had a chance when we were young to go to Nashville and record “Candy Coated Cowboy” (one of about 500+ songs ), a song about my little brother, but chose being a family man over life on the road.

Both of my brothers, Ryan and Chris, play guitar, with Chris also having an interest in drums and recording. My brother Ryan and I were in a band in our early 20’s and he helped write the melody for “Cause-n-Effect” on my CD. My sister, Piper, has a beautiful voice, and older sister Brandee plays the flute.

Both my daughters, Jordan and Autumn, were in the high school band and are currently learning guitar and ukulele. They both sing as well. My step son Easton is learning percussion and has great rhythm on the dance floor. He is always the life of the party!

My husband, Lance, and my mom, Piper Lynne, are some of the best listeners and supporters I have ever met. I definitely got my creative side from both parents. My mom is so smart and can make just about anything rhyme.

Lance balances me with his grounded spirit and when they say opposites attract, we are living proof.
Music is something that connects us when words fail, so of course I encourage and have offered it to all my kids. I tell them it’s the cheapest and safest high they will ever encounter.

I love teaching music as well, both at a private school and FUMC Winnie, where I am currently developing the youth choirs/music. It’s all about passing the torch or simply lighting the candles of others.

I took a 10-year break from playing out to raise kids. I missed it terribly. There is just something beautiful about helping others to relax, relate and forget about their troubles — thankfully, music does that.

Q. There’s definitely a more playful side to your album in the song “Cambodia.” Besides the unpredictable Texas weather, what else inspired the song?
A. Actually, I was at this place downtown called Antone’s back in the day and I honestly can’t recall the band I was there to watch, but the lead singer, after coming on stage said something to the effect of, “Man, it rained just enough out there to make it feel like Cambodia.”

I thought to myself, that would make a great song. And so I wrote it. It’s the simplest of songs, but it was my mom’s favorite and it’s why I kept it alive for so many years and have now recorded it formally.

Our weather is pretty drastic here — why not have fun with it?

The song was so much fun for me, I even decided to create a small music video incorporating my family, friends (including my BFF Amy who so happily dumped a bucket of water on her head) and the talent of Tayler BreAnn Hatcher who shot the video and is producing it. The video will be out this spring.

Q. How often do you write and perform?
A. I write when there is inspiration. I have many journals of thoughts and poems. Not all escape those journals as songs. Some will stay there forever until read by my kids when I’m gone.

I have been waiting so long to record my earlier life’s work, “Simple Things,” that it in a away gave me a bit of writers block. Here in the last few months, as the CD process started to come to an end, I could feel inspiration and new ideas coming aboutm ideas of things I want to share or things that would help others to say “Hey, I’m not alone in this” or “Yes, God is alive and moving in this world”.

I play out and about as much as the word balance allows. The Winery in Winnie, Vine 2 Wine, is one of my favorite places to play. It’s a relaxed environment with a great couple of owners, Stacy and Clay Rollins, who know a lot about simplicity and kicking back.

During the holidays, the trio I play with — the NightOwls — tends to play a few private parties. Jan McCall, who plays fiddle, guitar and sings, is a joy to work with and is actually a close friend. Carlos Castellanos, who plays piano, keeps us young and adds so much fun to our time together.

This year’s season is booking up and we love being able to incorporate Christmas music into our repertoire.

Q. Aside from traditional country, I hear something else that must have influenced your voice. What other genres helped shape your sound?
A. I was raised on anything from Bill Monroe and bluegrass/gospel to classical music and beyond. I used to love Jewel, and even tended to be drawn towards the alternative rock side, as you will see in “Cause-n-Effect”.

My ultimate goal is to just write stories about life, the ups and down, with the resolution and praise always being about the purest connection with God that one can find while on earth. I find that when you are connected, you find yourself. You find your talents, your calling, your voice, truth and hope. Sharing those things with others is what life is about.

Fall Festival & Grape Stomp
Featuring: Courtney Hale Revia and the NightOwls
When: 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21
Where: Vine 2 Wine, 14773 Coon Road, Winnie
Cost: Free - Cat 5

Courtney Hale-Revia loves music, and she wants you to be able to enjoy it, too, while meeting new musicians in a personal setting. Hale-Revia and husband, Lance, are the owners of 7 Oaks Event Garden in LaBelle.

“This house was built by Lance’s great grandfather in 1932. We have remodeled it twice, and now we are excited to be offering small house concerts,” Hale-Revia says.
Hale-Revia’s life has always been full of music. Singing since she was a child, she parlayed that into jobs playing with bands, recording with other artists, performing in clubs and restaurants.

Everything changed after one night at Courville’s.

“I played that night for Bob Schneider, and it changed my world,” Hale-Revia says. “I realized what it felt like to truly be heard as a singer/songwriter. I no longer wanted to play in bars and restaurants.”

Life took another turn when, in 2006, she stepped away from performing to focus on her new marriage and family.
“I teach private guitar and voice lessons. I am also the music director at First United Methodist Church in Winnie. But I always had this idea in the back of my head. In 2017, I told my husband that my path and passion is to provide a place for singer/songwriters to be heard,” Hale-Revia says. “I had already spoken with musicians such as Redd Volkaert and Lipbone Redding. I told them about my plans to open a listening room. They both love small house concerts. When I was ready to start scheduling, they both accepted my invitation. Volkaert, who played with Merle Haggard in the early ’90s, played here last October. Redding closed out our first series last November, and will be back May 7.”

Right now, seating is limited to 30 people. Guests can enjoy complimentary food and beverages on the porch or inside in one the seating areas that Hale-Revia has named after flowers, birds or “something from the garden.” The performance follows and lasts no longer than 90 minutes.

Hale-Revia released her second album, “Tattered,” this past November. A mix of folk, country and blues, Hale-Revia says her genres jump around as evidenced by “Dollface,” a haunting tune reminiscent of gypsy music. The official video, produced and edited by Hale-Revia, was shot at Julie Rogers Theatre and can be viewed on YouTube.

“I write what I feel. To inspire, not sell,” she says.

Hale-Revia brings in local musicians as well as musicians from Houston and Austin. Recently, for a change of pace, she welcomed a storyteller from San Francisco who enthralled the audience with folklore, fairy tales and myths from Vietnam, China, Japan and other Asian countries.

“Everything I have done has prepared me to be in the hospitality industry. I love the arts, and I love promoting the arts. I want people to come here and listen to someone they have perhaps never heard before and escape their troubles for an hour and a half. And at the end of the evening, the performers have 30 new fans.”

Hale-Revia says the listening room started out small with friends and family.
“As the word gets out, we are growing. We are in the process of putting up a building in the garden that will accommodate 80 people. Our motto is ‘no empty seats.’ Even as we grow, we want to keep that intimate setting. Everyone should feel comfortable visiting with the performers and getting to know them.”

7 Oaks Event Garden
Where: 14865 Garner Road, La Belle

Upcoming shows

June 11: Cari Hutson and Good Company Acoustic

July 23: Wild Card

Aug. 13: Curse and the Cure

Aug. 15: El Javi Guiteierrez

Sept. 17: Drop Dead Dangerous

Oct. 8: Brian Kalinec, Rankin Peters and Jack Saunders

Oct. 29: Adam and Chris Carroll

Nov. 12: James T. and Priscilla Hale

Information: 832.594.7526; 7oakseventgarden.com - Beaumont Enterprise

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) CDs are going away and where does that leave merchandise sales at live performances? Performances are one of the few places where artists can continue to earn a nice living. Therefore on site music sales are important and making some profit would be nice too. Brian Baker, President, Sound Arts Recording Studio has a reputation for embracing technologies of the past and getting cozy with new technologies. He realized that the industry was making a major shift and his insatiable appetite for all things technology kept his eyes on new developments within the music delivery systems market. Courtney Hale-Revia is an upcoming forward thinking Americana Folk artist that knew going into the Sound Arts Recording Studio that she wanted to present her music in multi-format options such as vinyl for example. Her train of thought was and remains let audiences decide on what format they wish to take home. While Brian's focus was on the technology Courtney's was on audience appeal.

However, a third factor comes into play from a business point of view, profitability. With all of this in mind the two of them began to review options together. One option was this rather new device which is a credit card size delivery mechanism that was priced right and would not only hold audio files but Courtney's video files and PDFs as well. This would mean that Courtney could add her new video onto the device along with her bio and audio files. You could actually have two different credit card size options if you wanted to - one with just the audio files on it and a second with both audio and video files on it. Therefore presenting two consumer price points. The bottom line is that a trusting partnership between the studio and the artist allows for crystal clear examinations of a non-stop evolving industry, the music industry. In this case it worked beautifully. If you are an independent artist and your CD sales have declined it's probably not your music just that less and less people are using CD platforms these days. Auto manufacturers are not even putting CD players in new cars anymore unless you special order one. Because you need to protect one of the last bastions of profit, income from your live shows, you definitely need delivery options. Courtney Hale-Revia is an insightful songwriter and she is quite the entrepreneur. She comes by it honestly as her father has been a life long folk songwriter and artist for as long as she can remember. As he has shared the beauty of creation and the enjoyment of sharing with his daughter over the years Courtney could not help but fall in love with the process herself. However, Courtney has taken her foray into music a step further. She opened a remote listening room back off the beaten path of interstate 10 just south of Beaumont Texas. Artists and music lovers alike love it. Her listening room embraces the intimate experience of being up close and personal. Sort of like when your Dad or Mom or one of your Uncles or Aunts might have performed at home so many years ago. There's just something about these settings that sets the soul free. - Top 40 Charts

Chicago, IL - 05/12/22

“COURTNEY HALE REVIA/Growing Pains: If only every middle aged (or there about) woman that thinks she's had a revelation about life she needs to share with the world would listen to this coming of age set by one who was once full of piss and vinegar before finding out life had other plans---the world would be a better place. The best personal/confessional singer songwriter stuff since before Laurel Canyon became a cliché and a parody, this Texas gal is to too good to be true. Genre fans can come proudly back into the tent as this set proudly leads the way… – Chris Spector“ - Chris Spector Chicago IL