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Jim Halfpenny, a singer / songwriter and former resident of the greater Dripping Springs area, has just released his fourth album, History Pays a Visit. Jim, who now lives abroad, is one of the founding organizers of the Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival.
“It's somewhat of a concept album in that most of the songs deal with people, places, and events, either real or imagined, and how they have affected both myself personally and the world throughout our human history,” Halfpenny said. “It might sound a little heavy, but many of the song lyrics are injected and arranged with bits of humor and irony for good measure.”
Halfpenny is a former film composer, and he said that over the years he had had to deliver his music in a wide variety of genres.
“This album reflects that, with me bending rock, folk, blues, and traditional styles into a shape that is all my own,” Halfpenny said.
From introspective ballads to lively anthems, the album captures mini freeze-frames of the world’s history while still managing to connect with modern listeners. The album also contains three previously unreleased tracks from Jim’s own songwriting history that have been rearranged specifically for this project.
Halfpenny personally performed almost all the instruments on the album, but the drums tracks were played by his former band mate, and current Drippings Springs resident, Brandon Storms.
“We performed many years together at various Austin and Hill Country venues with our band, The Jim Halfpenny Band,” he said. “I really miss performing at Founders Day!”
Halfpenny was born and raised in Brawley, California, a rural Southern California desert farming community. On evenings and weekends, he played with his band, Westwind, with which he began writing his first songs.
Later he moved to Los Angeles, where he had built a successful career as a film composer, with over 25 feature film scores, countless movie trailers, and television series credits to his name. He also performed with his band, Native Alien, at various venues on and around the famous Sunset Strip.
After attending SXSW in Austin one year, Jim and his wife decided to leave LA behind, purchasing land in the Texas Hill Country where they built a recording studio. It was there that he created and released his debut album, First Things First, in 2006. His second album followed in 2010, and the third in 2021.
Now, after a recent international move, Jim said he is fully immersed in a new creative chapter of his life. In addition to his music, he’s taken up painting and begun writing a novel.
History Pays a Visit was released Feb. 7 and is available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and other platforms.
For more details about Jim Halfpenny, his music, and upcoming projects, visit www. jimhalfpenny.com.
