Noëlle Hampton is a comeback story of sorts -- about an artist who, not long after her live debut on the stage of the legendary Sweetwater club, was featured on the very first Itunes commercial (along with Iggy Pop and Barry White,) won a slot on the Lilith Fair, and opened for Bob Dylan, Wilco, Chris Isaak, Jewel and Richard Thompson to name a few. With her self-produced debut Under These Skies, the ingénue won praise as one of the best Bay Area artists, was nominated for the California Music Awards as ‘outstanding female singer’ alongside Gwen Stefani, received radio airplay, and entertained record label inquiries.

But that was at a time when the dot.com boom was ending, and a major shift in the music business was happening. She got the message from most record labels that they ‘had enough Sheryl Crow’s’ -- not to mention, San Francisco wasn’t the most affordable place to live for a burgeoning artist. After a few years of touring, Noëlle and her husband (and music partner/guitar player) André Moran sought out new inspiration and relocated to the artist haven of Austin, TX – but in the intervening year of settling in, a deep depression settled in as well. “I was exhausted and felt like I had nothing to give creatively. I thought I might never play music again. I was feeling forgotten.”

But then everything changed. A unexpected request for one of her songs from a major network television show was the first step out of her hole, quickly followed by renowned producer Mark Hallman (Carole King, Ani DiFranco, Eliza Gilkyson), drawing Noëlle back into the studio to record Thin Line.

With a voice that sparkles, Noëlle fuses roots rock with deft songcraft and hints of country and the alternative rock of her late teens. On the title track a dirty guitar riff introduces a song that Noëlle sings almost as a duet with herself – about the complex walls in relationships, born of our own fears and of our own making. “I originally didn’t want to use a song as the title of the record,” says Noëlle. “but I realized that overall there was such a statement of the fragility of love, life and death going on, and that ‘Thin Line’ spoke volumes about what the whole CD was about.”

With songs like ‘Thin Line’, ‘Blackwing Butterfly’, and ‘Always The Same’, this CD has already seen a ton of radio airplay on everything from AAA, Commercial and College Radio to Internet Radio, and Europe has embraced this artist as well with substantial airplay. She was interviewed by Radio legend Bob Edwards, (formerly NPR, now SIRIUS) who said “I like every track on the album.”

In Austin, Noëlle and André continue to thrive, and have performed at such venues as The Cactus Café, Momo’s, Antone’s, The Saxon Pub, Jovita’s, and many more. Their chemistry together on stage is engaging and André’s lush and exquisite guitar playing has created an unmistakable sound for the band.

It is a comeback story of sorts, but a very personal one. “It’s like the six degrees of separation from the music business,” says Noëlle. I have felt like I am one degree of separation from a ‘successful’ music career for many years now, but somehow that one degree has kept me going, keeps me working hard. But most importantly, it keeps me humble and it keeps me grateful.”

There is a lyric in Noëlle’s song, ‘Firecracker’, that says, “The wheel of this world keeps turning round, bringing me up and dragging me down, but in these darkest times one light will glow, from that firecracker burning slow.”