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“Rebecca Aadland is a storyteller with a voice as captivating as her journey  — a lifetime of observing, reflecting, and pouring all those lessons into music that resonates on a deep, personal level.”  — Stevie Conner, The Sound Café

Rebecca Aadland is a Minneapolis singer-songwriter, bridging styles of folk, rock and blues. Themes of getting unstuck, finding love and wrestling with loss resonate in her songs. Rebecca is also known for her storytelling, humor and inspiration. She was a featured speaker in the world of mental health, holding sold-out seminars for years throughout the Midwest. She is currently focusing on writing, recording and performing her original music. Her lyrics are soulful yet infused with an edginess that resonates with listeners.

What’s New

“Rebecca doesn’t write songs just because she wants to, she writes songs because she has to. You can tell when you listen.” — Kevin Bowe, producer/musician/mixer

Rebecca is back in the studio recording her third album, now with producer Kevin Bowe (Johnny Lang, The Replacements, Etta James). New players on Rebecca’s songs include Tommy Barbarella on keyboards (Prince, Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonus), Noah Levy on percussion (Soul Asylum, Brian Setzer, Peter Frampton) and Nick Salisbury on bass (Ryan Bingham, Brian Fallon). They join the list of superb musicians referenced below. Rebecca’s sharp songwriting is taking some new turns in content and style. Her third record will be completed later this year.

Videos

“Her thoughtful lyrics throughout Stuck in Yesterday reflect on the need to move on, and she delivers her words in an emotion-packed vocal performance.” — Andrew Frolish, Americana UK

Several of Rebecca’s new videos have been trending on YouTube (Stuck In Yesterday, Broken Pieces, Where’s The Light). A brand new work, God Stuff, is awaiting a special premiere and release. This moving work is a plea for world peace and coming together. God Stuff will be released later this year in conjunction with her next big show. It is posted on this EPK but is currently unpublished. Stay tuned.

Album — Stronger Broken

“Yes, Stronger Broken is a great album, and its greatness lies in the strength of its songs, any one of which could be sent out into the world to stand on its own two feet. And… these are songs that do much more than stand on their own two feet; they soar!”  — Dave Franklin, The Big Takeover

Rebecca Aadland’s most recent album, Stronger Broken, is an eclectic collection of original songs. Her resonant vocals infuse this record, which is the culmination of six years in the studio with some of Minnesota’s finest musicians. Stronger Broken was released fifteen years after her debut record. The album has been highly acclaimed by many critics, including Dave Franklin’s review at The Big Take-Over http://bit.ly/4hLHAyM. A vinyl release of Stronger Broken is in the works.

The Stronger Broken record features renowned musicians. It was recorded and engineered by Dik Shopteau (Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, Tex Pistols Band) and mastered by Greg Reierson (Prince, The Suburbs, The Cure). The players include drummer Greg Schutte (Ryan Bingham, Stephen Stills, Chastity Brown), guitarist Lantz Dale (Jeremy Poland Band, IV Play), guitarist Kurt Jorgensen (The Jorgensens), guitarist Boyd Lee (Tex Pistols, 2 Girls & a Boyd), multi-instrumentalist Paul Winchester, cellist Jacqueline Ultan (Ondara, Dan Wilson, Shabby Road Orchestra), backing vocalist Elizabeth Ghandour (Elour) and bassist Dik Shopteau (see above). Rebecca’s youngest son, Luke Schoper, (Sibling, Dead Fashion) has contributed to many of the arrangements and also plays keyboards on the album.

The release and promotion of Stronger Broken was delayed due to the tragic and sudden death of Rebecca’s husband and artistic collaborator, Brian Tillotson. On the very day they celebrated the completion of the album tracks and artwork, he died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest with Rebecca by his side. Brian was one of Rebecca’s biggest champions. He wrote the lyrics for Too Many Songs as a tribute to his love for her. The irony of the title, Stronger Broken, captures the challenge Rebecca has been living, forging ahead through grief and change. A year after the official release, Rebecca and her band performed a concert to a sell-out crowd at Crooners Main Stage in Minneapolis to celebrate the album release. Rebecca was able to share her stories and songs to a packed house with a rare humor and honesty.

Evoking Tracy Chapman’s soul-piercing lyrics and Shawn Colvin’s folk and pop sensibilities, Rebecca Aadland ties together themes of love (“I’ll Walk With You”), loss (“Broken Pieces”) and change (“Twist in the Plot”). Stronger Broken is a touching musical guide for people looking to forge a new life path. 

Look for Rebecca’s new album, yet to be titled. There is a fresh approach with a new boldness as her songwriting continues to expand the boundaries. Hints of Sheryl Crow and Miley Cyrus’ rock vibe are more present in her new material. Rebecca Aadland’s music is streaming on all major platforms.

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Bio

Rebecca Aadland is a soulful singer-songwriter and lifelong observer of the human condition. Having also worked as a music teacher, psychotherapist, and public speaker, she is drawn to courageous stories of finding true love, pursuing joyful work and making the world a better place. For more than 25 years, the Minneapolis-based artist has performed at music clubs, colleges and conferences, sharing her folk/pop originals with humor and honesty.

Born into a big musical family in Absarokee, Montana, Rebecca was the seventh of 10 children. Her father was a minister and pipe organ builder, her mother played the church organ, and all the children sang. “Singing harmony was a requirement for all of us kids by the time we were six,” Rebecca laughs. Her family moved to rural Minnesota when she was nine. From a young age, she became intrigued by themes of psychology, family, and religion and how these forces can shape our life story. At age 14, her oldest sister gave her a guitar and it all began. She formed folk/pop groups in high school and college and loved writing songs.

Rebecca earned her bachelor’s degree in music. She taught choral music in Minnesota public schools for 14 years, and before that, she donned big hair in an all-girl cover band in the 80s. Although she took a break from pursuing music professionally to raise her three children, she also completed a master’s degree in psychology while teaching. She began her private practice as a therapist in 2000. Yet, music continued to be central to her work, and Rebecca often weaved musical performances into her teaching and public speaking engagements.

The year 2001 marked a pivotal transformation in Rebecca’s story, where she finally gave herself permission to leave her first marriage and venture into the unknown. Her dream to find true love and to find herself became the muse for her songwriting. In 2007, she released her debut album, Foreign Soul, and was selected as the Midwest Regional Finalist in the prestigious New Song Contest in 2009. Her three talented children were key players on this novice album, which was engineered and recorded by her firstborn, Ben Schoper, at the Institute of Production and Recording in Minneapolis, where Ben was a student.

When Rebecca met Brian Tillotson in 2010, her music pursuit soared. He strongly believed in her talent and provided valuable feedback, support and love. She recorded her songs with engineer, Dik Shopteau, over the course of six years, bringing some of Minnesota’s best musicians into the studio. In the midst of creating that album, she nearly died. It was a botched heart valve replacement, where the surgeon accidentally severed her right coronary artery and created a hole in her aorta. She had four open heart surgeries, was on life support and spent six weeks in the ICU over the holidays in 2018-19. Later the doctors shared that they hadn’t expected Rebecca to live. The staff at the Minneapolis Heart Institute called her their Christmas miracle. So the title of her album, Stronger Broken, comes partly from that experience. As a therapist, Rebecca has worked with so many clients recovering from unthinkable challenges. She became further inspired by ways that brokenness, or hitting bottom, can breathe new life in unexpected ways. Then, her dear husband, Brian, died suddenly of cardiac arrest in 2022, the very day they celebrated the album’s completion. Rebecca officially released Stronger Broken three months after he died, but was too devastated and in shock to promote it or perform an album release concert until the following year.

Rebecca is honored to work with some of Minneapolis’ finest players and is recording her third album, now with producer Kevin Bowe. Additionally, she is working with several talented videographers creating music videos for her original music. Her youngest son, Luke Schoper, continues to provide keyboard arrangements for her music. He also created her recent video titled, Stuck In Yesterday. Aside from music, Rebecca loves gardening, travel, movies, painting, pottery. She values time with family and friends and is enjoying a newfound love relationship.

Here’s Rebecca in her own words:

“I guess many of my songs focus on love — for oneself, for another, for the world. Much was written about the irony of the title of my last album, Stronger Broken. After Brian’s death in 2022, I was shattered. But I learned that empathy can grow from brokenness. It is a powerful thing to be reminded that we die, so that we live more boldly and appreciate those who are still in our midst. I will never give up on loving, seeking truth… and creating music. The cover of my album, Stronger Broken, illustrates this concept of strength in the broken places. The ancient Japanese Kintsugi art involves filling broken cracks in pottery with gold. It signifies the beauty in imperfection. The incredible image of the woman on my album cover comes from that place. It is an original oil painting created for Stronger Broken by the artist, Michael Teel, from West Virginia.”

“My work in psychotherapy, both as a client and as a therapist for over 20 years, has shaped my passion for personal empowerment. And really, psychology is centered in being honest, especially with oneself. So I try to be brutally honest in my songwriting. There is no power when we cling to the role of victim. Change comes when we take responsibility for our choices and identify what WE can do to love our life more, or to make the world a better place. Letting go of trying to change people is most important. Expecting others to be better, wiser or kinder is a waste of time. Being bitter about the hardships in our life, or the betrayals from others will just make us miserable. Those themes sneak into my songs, sometimes adding a humorous bent to that darkness. I have an irreverent edgy side and really treasure humor. I’m fascinated with philosophy, religion and romance and how those values can dominate our life choices — all the way to tolerating a bad boyfriend and blaming others for the way our life has turned out.”

“The musicians I work with are stellar. I hope listeners can see themselves in my lyrics — in songs that are fresh and catchy. I am also a storyteller and seasoned public speaker, so many have shared that they feel renewed or uplifted attending my performances. I love the idea that rather than being an expert, the world needs more humble servants, embodied in the image of a beggar helping another beggar find food.”

Press Quotes

One-Sheet

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Accomplishments

International Unsigned Only Music Competition

Semi-finalist in the 2024 International Unsigned Only Music Competition for her song, “Where’s The Light.”

TCF Rotunda Mall of America, Lake Harriet Bandshell, Minnesota State Fair, Minnehaha Park Bandshell, Midtown Global Market, Aster Cafe, 318 Cafe, Crooners, Plums Bar & Grill, Dunn Brothers

Rebecca has performed her original songs with her guitar at many venues in the Twin Cities.

Crooner’s | Fridley, MN

Sold-out album release show with her 7-piece band in 2023.

Frog Island Blues Band, 19th Annual Block Party, Excelsior, MN

Rebecca performed as the guest vocalist and rhythm guitarist in an outdoor show on Lake Minnetonka in August 2024.

New Song Contest 2009

Midwest Regional Finalist.

NWCT Studio, Northwest Community Television | Brooklyn Park, MN

Several of Rebecca’s original songs have been included in the Minnesingers Program, which is aired on 19 public-access TV channels serving more than 120 cities in three states.

Mamapolooza | Mankato Arts & Historical District, Mankato, MN

Headline performer and keynote speaker at this two-day event which celebrated women and motherhood.

Concert Series, Rhein River Arts Center | New Ulm, MN

Rebecca performed a two-hour concert as part of a musical duo to a sold-out crowd.

Opening Ceremonies at Minnesota State University’s Women & Spirituality Conference | Mankato, MN

Rebecca & Friends (7-pc. band) was showcased as the musical headline act for The Women & Spirituality National Conference at MSU, with an evening concert in the MSU Ostrander Auditorium.

KFIL Radio Show Over The Back Fence, Commonweal Theatre | Lanesboro, MN

Rebecca performed several of her original songs and was interviewed as the featured musical guest.

KNUJ Radio | New Ulm, MN

Rebecca has been a musical guest and has been interviewed as a mental health consultant on several occasions.

Professional Seminars | “I’m Miserable Because of You: Undoing the Blame Game

Rebecca’s popular full-day seminar has been presented to crowds of psychologists, therapists and counselors in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Fargo, St. Cloud and Mankato for the past 10 years. Along with her gift of humor and storytelling, Rebecca shares several of her original songs as part of the program.

Live Television Consultant | Fox 9 News

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area: Rebecca was interviewed by Fox News anchor Heidi Collins on the nine-o’clock evening news on October 13, 2010, to provide commentary on the rescue of the Chilean Miners. Questions about the miners’ possible struggles with PTSD and the effect that “good news” has on the nation were themes.

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