BECKY KAPELL is a singer, songwriter and country music lover, inspired by family heirlooms and barroom conversations. Described as “timeless country” (Americana UK), her songs are woven from real life stories and are delivered with a wistful croon and a wry smile, always walking the line between mischief and heartache. 

Raised in small town Minnesota, Becky moved to Portland, Oregon on a whim as a young adult and began singing back-up vocals in various bands, eventually fronting her own country cover band. She did not pick up the guitar until years later, after she married, had kids and moved back to Minnesota. 

“I worked full-time, raised my kids and basically forgot about music until my son started playing guitar as a teenager,” she says. “After my divorce, I found myself with a little more time on my hands so I picked up one of my son’s guitars and began teaching myself to play for fun.” 

Not long after she picked up the guitar, Becky found that songs started pouring out of her. Since she didn’t know any musicians in Minnesota, Becky decided to record her first album For Now with musician friends in Portland. After its release in 2012 she returned to St. Paul and started performing at local bars and clubs. Quickly becoming a staple of the Twin Cities music scene, she fell in with a who’s who of roots/rock talent, including Paul Bergen, Erik Koskinen, and Tom Garneau, who produced, recorded and mastered her 2018 release That Certain Ache. Called one of the best Americana albums of the year by The Current’s Bill DeVille, it propelled her and her band The Fat 6, landing them gigs opening for Rosie Flores and Southern Culture on the Skids. 

Now getting ready to release her new album In It to Win It in 2022, Becky Kapell is poised to become Minnesota’s next big Americana export. Recorded during the pandemic with partner Paul Bergen, it mixes the raw grooves of Lucinda Williams, the haunting sounds of Emmylou and the classic rock and roll of Nick Lowe.