Aaron Sheldon Espe (born August 27, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer.

Biography

Of Norwegian and Swedish descent, Espe, the third of four children, was born in

Roseau, Minnesota Roseau () is a city in and the county seat of Roseau County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 2,744 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its name from the nearby ...

, a small town with a population of 2633. The son of an electrician and piano teacher, he began singing in church alongside his sisters, with mom at the piano and dad leading the congregation in song. This was Espe's first introduction to music equipment: speakers, amplifiers, microphones, and years later, drums. Piano lessons came at the age of six, and after seeing a concert at the age of 14, he went to his grandfather to borrow a guitar and learn to play. This lesson consisted of a few chords written on a piece of paper with an explanation of how to play them. Espe was educated at The

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

and

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

where he studied English Literature. In 2004, Espe was introduced to touring by opening for the folk duo

Storyhill Storyhill is an American folk duo, composed of Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson. The acoustic songwriting duo formed in Bozeman, Montana in 1989 simply as Chris & Johnny. They did not adopt the name Storyhill until 1996. They started performi ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is an English video artist and music video director who directed music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin and Björk. Early in his career he worked as a com ...

(member of the duo) took Espe under his wing and invited him to open on his solo sets around

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. After a self-released album in 2005, Espe continued to open for

. He toured solo across the U.S., including Western

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He played in coffee shops, bars, churches, and a yoga studio once. Espe toured Northern Ireland opening for Juliet Turner and Brian Houston. He also opened for

The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut studio album, '' How to Save a Life'' (2005) was released by Epic Records and received quadruple platinum certific ...

and

John Gorka John Gorka (born July 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement." Personal life Gorka was raised in the Colon ...

. In 2011 Espe moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and signed his first publishing contract with JMHB and Revelry Music Group in January 2012. Espe signed a recording contract with

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

in November 2012 and released the self-produced "Through Frozen Forests" – EP in December 2012. He sings and plays guitar and has released six solo albums. Espe is also the front man in Bombs Over Nowhere with

busbee Michael James Ryan Busbee (June 18, 1976 – September 29, 2019), known professionally as Busbee, was an American songwriter, record producer, publisher, record executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He was known for his work in both pop mus ...

, and a member of the band Haviland, alongside Mike Ayers (guitarist of Meese). Espe's music has appeared in various television shows on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

, and

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

as well as commercial's for

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

Payless ShoeSource Payless ShoeSource Worldwide, LLC (formerly known as Payless ShoeSource Inc.), was an American multinational discount footwear chain. Established in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez. Payless was a privately held company owned by Blum Capit ...

, and The

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. Espe's music also appeared on the soundtrack for the film, "Where the Yellowstone Goes.” Espe's album Three was co-produced with The Fray guitarist, Dave Welsh, and mastered by

Thom Donovan Thom Donovan (born Thomas Joseph Donovan; July 24, 1974, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and writer. His first novel ''The Twin Affair'' was published by Pegasus on September 28, 2023. Donovan has release ...

. Ben Wysocki of The Fray, played drums on Espe's ''Songs from a Small Town'' and co-produced ''Christmas Songs''. His song "Back to the Beginning" plays over the final scenes of season three, episode one of Ricky Gervais series '' After Life''.

Discography

Solo

* ''My Whole Life'' (2005) * ''Songs from a Small Town'' (2008) * ''Christmas Songs'' (2008) * ''Three'' (2012) * ''Tennessee Sky'' (2012) * ''Through Frozen Forests'' (2012) * ''This Time of the Year'' (2017) * ''Up North'' (2022)

With Haviland

* ''An Introduction'' – EP (2011) * "Never Wanted to Fall in Love" – Single (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espe, Aaron Sheldon 1981 births Living people Musicians from Minnesota Nettwerk Music Group artists