The Courage to Perform: Stephanie Westdal on Music, Creativity & Reinvention

Content Warning: Discussion of sexual assault and self harm.Some songs aren’t just written. They’re survived.Award-winning artist Stephanie Westdal shares how trauma, healing, and life experience shaped the music she creates today.In this episode of The Unscripted Woman Podcast, Kelly sits down with internationally acclaimed recording artist Stephanie Westdal to talk about creativity, resilience, and the deeply personal experiences that shape her songwriting.Stephanie shares how her life journey, including living around the world and navigating profound personal challenges, has influenced the music she creates today.In this honest and moving conversation, we explore:• How music can become a vehicle for healing• Writing songs inspired by deeply personal experiences, including sexual assault and struggles with self-harm• The courage it takes to turn painful experiences into art• How storytelling through music helps others feel less alone• The realities of building a music career while navigating life’s hardest moments• Why vulnerability in art can be one of the most powerful forms of connectionStephanie’s music blends modern pop, rock, and emotionally raw storytelling. Her willingness to share the truth behind her songs has resonated with listeners around the world.This episode is a conversation about creativity, resilience, and the transformative power of telling your story.Stephanie Westdal is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning recordingartist whose unique blend of modern pop/rock and sensual vocals offers listeners a fresh and explosive musical experience.Westdal, who has lived abroad most of her life and is now based in Winnipeg, appears regularly on local and national media, including the CBC, Radio-Canada, Corus Entertainment and Rogers TV, and hosts Music Day in Canada, a nationwide showcase of Canadian music.Her song Common Chain (Into The Blue, 2012) was selected this year for the Compassion Project: Songs for Animal, Human, and Earth Justice. She was the winner of the 2024 Winnipeg Nightlife and Style Awards for local music artist and is founder and curator of the Goddess Series, a concert series celebrating powerful women in music.Westdal’s studio recordings, including 2024 releases Drive Your Car, Gonna Love You, Bleed and Want You So Bad, as well as her 2014 EP ShaBooboo Burger, radiate “tenderness and seductive charm,” according to HonkMagazine.Westdal also produced two music videos in 2024 and released two newsongs in 2025: Lesser Than and Get Up and Dance. She now has over 100,000 streams and video views on all platforms.To connect further:https://www.instagram.com/stephaniewestdalhttps://www.instagram.com/thegoddessseries_officialhttps://thestephaniewestdalband.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@stephaniewestdal3007Your host, Kelly Kingsland, works with successful women at transition points - career shifts, identity changes, empty nest - who are ready to stop outsourcing their power and lead themselves.After decades of living by the rules, the roles, and the relentless expectations placed on women, Kelly walked through her own unraveling: burnout, identity collapse, and the quiet ache of knowing she was meant for more. What she discovered on the other side became the foundation of her work.She is the creator and host of The Unscripted Woman Podcast, where she spotlights real, raw conversations with women who are rewriting the rules and rising on their own terms.Kelly’s mission is simple:to help women stop following the script, and design a life that finally feels like theirs.Kelly can be reached at: radiantfemme.ca www.facebook.com/kelly.m.kingslandIG @keSupport the show