THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS
Rebekah Gilbert is a Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter, poet, and Southern storyteller whose music gives voice to the things we’re often afraid to say out loud. With haunting, intimate vocals and a poet’s attention to detail, she writes emotionally honest songs about complicated relationships, family secrets, faith, and the courage it takes to become someone you were never expected to be.
Raised in Alabama, in a deeply religious environment, Rebekah grew up in a world where expectations were clear, questions weren’t always welcome, and women were often encouraged to make themselves smaller. Her decision to walk away from that world in adulthood began a long journey of questioning, unraveling, and discovering her own voice. Those experiences continue to shape her songwriting, though they are only one part of a much larger story.
Rebekah’s creative journey began with writing. In 2009, she started sharing her thoughts through a personal blog, A New Song to Sing, eventually finding her way into poetry and songwriting. Her debut EP, Captured, followed in 2012, but it would be another decade before she returned to releasing music with a renewed sense of purpose. Songs like Happy Place (2022) and You Are Loved (2023) marked the beginning of a new creative chapter.
In her 40s, Rebekah committed herself to becoming a better musician, taking guitar lessons twice a week for six years. Eventually, she moved to Nashville to pursue the dream she’d spent years nurturing. Her path hasn’t followed the traditional music industry timeline, but that’s part of what makes her perspective distinctive. She knows something about starting over, disappointing expectations, and discovering that the life you want might look nothing like the one you were taught to build.
In 2024, she released her first poetry collection, Poems from the Back Pew: A Journey from Faith to Doubt and Beyond, alongside the companion EP Year of Jubilee. Together, these projects explored faith, doubt, identity, and the complicated freedom of learning to trust your own voice.
Her 2025 EP, Secret Keeper, marked another evolution in her songwriting. Exploring addiction, toxic relationships, family secrets, and generational cycles, the project earned a 2026 Josie Music Awards nomination for Folk/Americana Album of the Year. Its songs reflect Rebekah’s willingness to tell difficult stories without offering easy answers.
Her more recent releases continue to expand those themes. Try Saying That Out Loud explores the emotional weight of delivering devastating news from the perspective of a military notification officer, while Wallflower introduces a quietly-observant woman whose apparent invisibility conceals everything she knows. Both songs reflect Rebekah’s fascination with the people, experiences, and truths that often go unnoticed.
Musically, Rebekah blends Americana and folk roots with touches of blues, country, and jazz. Her sound draws on the intimate storytelling traditions of artists like Patty Griffin, the moody warmth of Norah Jones, and the emotional depth of Brandi Carlile. Whether performing her original songs or offering her own interpretations of familiar favorites, she brings an unmistakable storyteller’s sensibility to the stage.
But beyond the songs and performances, Rebekah’s work is rooted in something deeply personal: the belief that women, particularly those in midlife, have far more to offer than the world often gives them credit for. Through music, poetry, and her reflective writing, she explores what happens when women begin questioning the roles they’ve played, the secrets they’ve kept, and the dreams they’ve postponed.
Her songs don’t tell listeners what to believe or how to live. Instead, they make room for the complicated emotions that come with finding your own way.
For the women learning to choose themselves, for the quiet rebels, and for anyone who has ever wondered whether it’s too late to begin again, Rebekah’s music offers a simple reminder: your story isn’t finished yet.