Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Berlin.
Rebecca, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up playing music, singing and writing songs. It always felt like the truest expression of myself, and a way that I could communicate my deepest feelings. But, after struggles w depression, dropping out of school and a vocal injury where I lost most of my upper range, I set my music aside, and honestly thought it was a closed chapter.
I became a Pilates, Yoga and Gyrotonic teacher, performed as a professional dancer, and built a life, but it always felt like something was missing. In 2019 I decided to take piano lessons again for fun. My teacher heard me sing and encouraged me to start again, and pretty soon I decided to go back to school at Berklee and finish my degree. I still didn’t think I wanted to perform, but as I went through the classes, I started feeling a yearning to be back on stage. After I graduated in 2023, I made a commitment to myself that I would go to open mics again and see if I still had it in me.
I literally shook with nerves for the first month or so, and would get up at 4 am every day to practice and re learn my songs before starting my workday. It felt both exhilarating and terrifying. I wondered if anyone would want to have me play a show again, or if I could even get my skills back up to par to play for hours like I used to. But, gradually, I started feeling confident again, and in October of 2023 had my first shows again after almost 14 years. I started playing with other musicians, and making connections and becoming a part of the local music scene.
When I was younger, I never quite felt like I fit in or found a community, but this time around I met people who both inspired and embraced me. After being scared to really share myself, and be vulnerable, I found the challenges of my time away from music had allowed me to step into a new brand of honesty and storytelling that has become one of the hallmarks of my performances. Even my teaching career played a role in making me more comfortable commanding attention and being dynamic on stage. It has been amazing to feel like the pieces of my life have finally come together and make sense.
In 2024 I traveled to New York, Florida, Maine, and Tennessee to play shows. I was awarded Focus Music’s Rising Artist Award, and in 2025, I have already played over 150 shows, including traveling to New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and Connecticut. I also regularly play at retirement centers, which has been incredibly rewarding, and allowed me to make music a large part of my income.
If you had told me even 5 years ago that I would be playing 3-6 shows per week, have a robust network of musical friends and collaborators and that music would rapidly become a viable “day job”, I am not sure I would have believed it! Every day I am grateful that I get to do this thing that I love, share from my heart and keep growing as a musician. My next album, “Questions and Answers” will be released in November and I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some of the largest obstacles came in the form of depression, an eating disorder and a lack of belief in myself. It took a lot to pull myself out of those dark places. I didn’t do it alone, and credit friends, family, therapists and dance with inspiring me to come back to life.
when I started playing again, it was hard to relearn my songs and regain confidence and skill playing the piano and guitar. After my vocal injury I also spent years relearning how to work w my voice, recovering my range and strengthening the resilience of my instrument so I can trust it and use it to its potential. Shout out to my voice teacher, Ric Ryder, who has been a huge part of helping me strengthen my voice and built it in new ways.
Balancing my teaching with performing has been a challenge. Especially at the beginning, I had to reacclimate to staying up late while still getting up early to work. Figuring out how to pursue new opportunities without burning out continues to be a challenge but it has been a good study in learning how and when to say no, and I have been very blessed that my regular clients have been supportive with my schedule changes and are cheering me on as I build this new part of my career.
Doing what I love and putting myself out there In the world is both the most rewarding and scary thing I have ever done. There is a lot at stake when you care deeply about something, but I continue to find that it is worth moments of rejection, and sometimes doubting myself because on the other side there is a sense of aliveness and thrill that is unmatched when I get to be on stage.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Www.rebeccaberlin.com
I write songs in a style I call “folk with a twist”, as it mixes folk storytelling with elements of jazz and musical theater. I play piano, guitar and sing, and had a couple year love affair with the cello, that I may rekindle.
In addition to writing and playing my own music, I play cover songs and enjoy creating my own versions of popular songs. I also collaborate with other musicians as an instrumentalist and vocalist, and have done some studio session work on others projects.
Look out for my upcoming album, “Questions and Answers”, which is the result of a personal assignment to myself to write from a place of deeper bravery, and to express the things I was too scared to look at, and feel.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Just keep showing up. When you feel like you can’t, remember that whatever is inaccessible at the moment is not forever, as long as you keep putting in the work.
Don’t go it alone. Link into community, make friends who get what you do and who inspire you to be better.
It’s never too late to be more fully who you are. I think it is one of our society’s most damaging myths that “growing up” necessitates cutting off your passions and following a singular and prescribed path. Even if your version of doing what you love is an hour a day before work, it is worth keeping those parts of you vital.
You never know who you will inspire by being yourself, by putting who you are out in the world through your art/music. I have been so honored to see how pursuing dance as an adult (that’s another story for later) and getting back into my music has made people in my life reconsider their own passions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rebeccaberlin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_rebeccaberlin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therebeccaberlin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl8GKBl2yIJHmrcCRk7l–w
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2y8v7GlBCq68piTMtIGrnt?si=8PTxd-EgSjeHtfNrgSDkhQ
