Morinville singer releasing debut album

by Stephen Dafoe

Andrea Vestby will hold the official launch of her debut album Beyond The Fallout Mar. 31 at 10:30 a.m. at the Father’s House in Bon Accord. The church meets at Lilian Schick school. Vestby will perform songs from the album as well as share the stories behind the album’s songs. The album will be available Mar. 29 on all digital and streaming platforms.

Vestby, a Canadian Christian contemporary singer/songwriter, lives in Morinville with her husband and blended family of 10 children. She is the worship leader at the Bon Accord Father’s House church.

Although she has been writing songs since the age of 15, Vestby only recently began recording. Last November, Vestby released Hardest Time of Year, a song about the difficulties and hurt many people experience at Christmas – the titular hardest time of the year.

“My husband, Chad Vestby, was very instrumental in setting the wheels in motion,” she said. “A couple of years ago we discussed how, with my style of writing music, the songs could be lost if something happened to me. I write by only words and chords. I felt like the songs were not just for me, even though they helped me through some of my biggest struggles.”

Vestby said she started with a YouTube channel and some basic recordings in their living room.

“It was simply a chance for some of the music to be heard,” she said, noting that she and her husband realized they needed to do something more. “We saw a Facebook post by an artist named Brian Doerksen, thanking Mark Troyer of Evergreen Sound in Calgary for his work on the Prairie Bible College EPs. So we contacted Mark and met him to discuss recording. He encouraged me to first record songs that tell my story and in the process bring closure to my past.”

Those recordings are in Vestby’s debut album Beyond the Fallout, a work that combines Vestby’s advocacy to end domestic violence with lyrics written from the personal struggles she experienced.

“The songs on this album were written during a tough time in my life,” she said. “It was a way of finding healing after coming out of an abusive marriage of fifteen years. I felt lost during that time, and yet, I didn’t want to stay a victim. The songs speak of how broken I felt, yet they reflect my faith and trust in God. I believe that beyond the fallout and chaos that circumstances create in our lives, we can call on God to walk with us. He can make our lives beautiful again.”

Vestby said music helps her express her faith, bringing her both strength and courage.

“The music reflects that faith in God can bring peace in the middle of chaos and can bring hope in the darkest of circumstances,” she said. “I believe that God can give us strength when we are at our weakest. I feel the songs reflect that there are times in our lives when we don’t have words, yet God sees our hearts cry and meets us in those moments. The songs also encourage us that though life can be tough, there is hope that it can be beautiful once more.”

The singer/songwriter will be back in the studio working on her next faith-themed project.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

5 Comments

  1. Your story captures both sides of what it means to be truly beautiful, Andrea, the challenge and the light! Congratulations!

Comments are closed.