"A broken-winged angel."
– Vance Gilbert, singer and songwriter
"One of the best singer-songwriters in America."
– Mike Wolfe of American Pickers
"I got together with Rebecca Correia. I showed her the lyric and she put a melody to it. I think this song was so personal that I was emotionally paralyzed by it. Every word is true and honest."
– Keb' Mo' in his Bluesamericana liner notes.
About Grown Up Games, the latest EP from Rebecca Correia:
Produced by Grammy-award winning artist, Keb’ Mo, Grown Up Games is the sixth release from independent singer and songwriter, Rebecca Correia. The album began with inspiration from a single tune that ultimately led to recording an EP of 6 songs—as well as discovering a greater sense of community and personal growth along the way.
“It all began after overcoming a hurdle in my life around November 2016,” says the 39-year old Massachusetts native speaking from Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, where she spends half the year. “I sat down and wrote a song called ‘Solid Ground.’ The very next morning I woke up from a vivid dream of a woman dancing on a ship,” she explains. “I recognized both the ship and the woman in my dream as the S.S.V. Tabor Boy [a ship owned by a private high school in Marion, Massachusetts near Rebecca’s hometown] and Boston Marathon bombing survivor, Adrianne Haslet.” Rebecca had been following Ms. Haslet on social media, inspired by her story of perseverance, after the terrorist attack caused the dancer to lose one of her legs. “I knew immediately the dream and the song were going to intersect in my life, but I didn’t know exactly how.”
After a call to her friend, Keb’ Mo’, and sharing her vision with him, the two made a plan to start recording “Solid Ground” with the support of his Nashville-based record company, Kind of Blue Music.
Later, with the new recording of “Solid Ground,” Rebecca introduced herself to Haslet and enlisted the dancer’s help in realizing her vision for a video. The two performed on the “Tabor Boy” under full sail in Sippican Harbor that summer. Directed by Rob Ranney, the video includes cameos by Keb’, as well as friends and family. When the song and video were released simultaneously in August, 2017, 50% of the video’s proceeds were donated to Limbs For Life Foundation, a nonprofit that provides fully functional prosthetic care to those who cannot afford it. “To this day, that experience was one of the greatest adventures and triumphs of my life,” says Correia.
With the momentum of “Solid Ground,” Rebecca and the Kind of Blue Music team returned to the studio to record “Gin”, a song written and originally recorded by singer and songwriter, Amy Correia, who is also Rebecca’s cousin. “‘Gin’ has long been a staple during my performances,” says Rebecca, “and always a fan favorite with its incredibly visual lyrics and story about a young woman in denial.” Part of the songs’ lyrics would become the title of the new album.
After “Gin,” Rebecca recorded an original, “Brand New Day,” written with artist and guitarist, Jack Pearson, that illustrates overcoming the perils of depression. A co-write Rebecca had on Keb’s Grammy-nominated 2014 release, Bluesamericana, the tender "So Long Goodbye,” was next and features Keb’ Mo’. Then, an inspired collaboration with revered Nashville singer and songwriter, Beth Nielsen Chapman, resulted in “Looking Back,” described by Rebecca as “a wholehearted confession of the profound grip and affect one person has had on my life.” Lastly the record includes, “Baby, Don’t Burn” a lovers long distance lament.
Mixed by Mills Logan and Master by Richard Dodd, Musical contributions to Grown Up Games include Steve Turner, Ernie Halter, Jenny-Lynn Young, Alyssa Bonagura, Mai Bloomfield, Keb’ Mo’ and others. The resulting music is a stylish blend of singer/songwriter and pop, featuring Rebecca’s steady rhythm-playing on guitar and piano and lithe vocals at the helm of each song.
“I realize that my story isn’t finished yet and there are still many lessons to learn,” says Rebecca. “But the experience of making this record has been supreme in the discovery of my true musical identity and soul at this time in my life. I’m a soul survivor just like the rest.”
More about Rebecca Correia:
• Rebecca has written over 250 songs, which she started writing at age 9
• She averages 150 shows per year
• She grew up on a rural horse farm in Rochester, Massachusetts
• She earned a degree in Music education with a Vocal Emphasis from The Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT
• She splits her time between Rochester, MA and Leipers Fork, TN
• She accompanies herself on guitar, piano and mandolin
• She has opened for a wide and varied number of artists, including Natasha Bedingfield, Shawn Colvin, Livingston Taylor, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Vance Gilbert, Melissa Ferrick, Tony Lucca, Cliff Eberhardt, Tracy Bonham, Jessie Colter, Kate Taylor, Freedy Johnston, Reel Big Fish, Raining Jane, Ryan Cabrera, Lucy Kaplansky, Anna Nalick and Howie Day. She also regularly shares the stage with friends Matt Cusson, Melissa Polinar, Celisse, Ernie Halter, Shy Carter, plus fellow Hartt alumni & Season #1 Inaugural Winner of 'The Voice', Javier Colon.