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 () (pronounced row - so) is a city in, and the county seat of, Roseau County, Minnesota. Its population was 2,744 at the time of the 2020 census. History A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its nam ...

, 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 (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

and

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

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

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

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

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. After a self-released album in 2005, Espe continued to open for Storyhill. He toured solo across the U.S., including Western

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. He played in coffee shops, bars, churches, and a yoga studio once. Espe toured Northern Ireland opening for

Juliet Turner Juliet Turner is a singer/songwriter from Tummery, near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She started recording in 1996, and has opened for such artists as Bob Dylan, U2, Bob Geldof, and Bryan Adams. She also toured with Roger McGuinn, J ...

and

Brian Houston Brian Charles Houston ( ; born 17 February 1954) is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president ...

. 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 album, ''How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, ...

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 is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

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 the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

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 label executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work in both po ...

, 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 (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...

, and VH1 as well as commercial's for

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

Payless ShoeSource Payless (formerly known as Payless ShoeSource Inc.) is an international discount footwear chain. Established in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez, Payless was a privately held company owned by Blum Capital, and Golden Gate Capital. In 1961, i ...

, and The

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. 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 producer. He has released five solo albums and was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Lapush. His internatio ...

. 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