Hannah McNeil Biography
Hannah was born with the love of music. It showed up at an early age as she would sing along to the radio in the car when she was just two years old, dumbfounding her mother, first at the fact that she knew the words and second that she could belt out a tune, in tune, when she barely knew how to walk! Born in Omaha, NE, number nine out of ten children, she came into the large music loving clan of Richard McNeil and Sharon McMahon McNeil.
Her parents fostered the idea of “making a difference…everyday” by starting a homeless shelter in the Omaha community. Volunteers and donors pitched in generously to make it happen as Hannah watched and learned how important it is to “be there” for others who have deep needs of all kinds. This exposure sparked in Hannah the belief that she could touch people, “be there” for others and “make a difference...everyday” through her love and gift of music.
She attended a private school for 12 years and then went on to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she earned two bachelors degrees, one in biology and one in English, and put herself through college by working 30 hour weekends at a Greek restaurant. (Greek cuisine has been her favorite ever since--opa!). Hannah married the first and only guy she ever dated, Jason Vogt, who is now a pediatric dentist. (psst…make sure you brush!). Although she had plans to pursue music since she was very young, she had a good business sense about her, and months after graduation, she started a pharmaceutical career as she knew music wouldn’t pay the bills right off the bat. Very shortly after, she came out of the dugout swinging, and began her musical journey as she formed a band with the wife of one of the doctors to whom she sold pharmaceuticals.
Hannah honed her performance skills playing honky tonks, 1000+ seater bars, casinos, state and county fairs across the Midwest. In early 2006 she and her music partner/co-writer Rob Higgins invested in a recording studio and started to write catchy, mainstream songs with the intention of trying to “make a difference…everyday” in people’s lives through the music that they wrote and then performed.
In the winter of 2006, Hannah decided it was time to go the “pros”, aka Music City, and do what she was born to do. She and her husband now live on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee where they are building a 2300 sq ft recording studio & office to operate Red Records, Hannah’s label.
Because of the changing environment in the music industry, Hannah is taking the road less traveled and has released her new country single, “What Am I Getting Up For” co-written with Jeffrey Steele & Jesse Wray, as an independent singer/songwriter under Spinville and Red Records. This song is one of 13 on Hannah’s new self titled debut album, featuring her unique take on empowerment and “making a difference...everyday.” During this time of stress in the world, she offers a refreshing, new perspective.
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