JUNO-nominated Edmonton children’s musician brings imagination, funky rhythms and family collaborations to her eighth album.
Edmonton-based children’s musician Beppie has released her eighth album, Puzzle Pieces, a 13-track collection featuring the counting anthem “Nine” and the hip-hop-inspired “P-O-T-A-T-O Crew.” In an in-depth interview with Canadian Beats, Beppie discusses her creative process, collaborating with children and why young listeners deserve music made with care and imagination.
Born Stephanie Nhan in Regina and based in Edmonton since 2006, Beppie has built an award-winning career combining children’s entertainment with her experience as a music educator.
A two-time JUNO Award nominee, Beppie has released eight albums, joined the Recording Academy and signed with Platoon for distribution through Apple Music. She has received four Western Canadian Music Award nominations, winning Children’s Artist of the Year in 2023. That same year, she received the Edmonton Arts Trust Fund Award and was named a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.
Over the past six years, Beppie has secured more than $100,000 in funding from organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts, Edmonton Arts Council, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, SOCAN and FACTOR, supporting her touring and music development.
With 25 years of experience teaching music, she performs more than 70 shows annually at schools, festivals and events, while her catalogue has accumulated more than two million streams worldwide.
Beppie Brings Counting to Life With “Nine”
One of the standout singles from Puzzle Pieces, “Nine” grew out of Beppie’s experiences as both a mother of three and a music educator.
With countless counting songs already available for children, she wanted to create something that stood apart.
“The mission was clear, it had to be funky, and it had to be fun.”
Working alongside producer Justin McDonough, Beppie built the song around a funky riff, allowing the arrangement to develop naturally.
“We started with a funky little riff and then everything just started flowing,” she explains. “The drums, the strings, the flute! Once we got going, we didn’t stop until we got to, you guessed it, nine!”
The track came together almost by accident, during two additional studio days originally booked for vocal and drum tracking.
“I’m so glad we did,” Beppie says. “‘Nine’ is my favourite song out of the 13 tracks included on my new album. I love singing it live with kids and seeing how quickly they catch on to the rhythms and the words.”
As for why the song stops at nine rather than ten, Beppie has a playful explanation:
“It’s always good to keep your listeners wanting more. Even if they are preschoolers.”
“P-O-T-A-T-O Crew” Turns a Garden Adventure Into Music
Another imaginative highlight from Puzzle Pieces is “P-O-T-A-T-O Crew,” a 1990s-inspired hip-hop anthem that began with a family gardening adventure.
While digging potatoes with her son Elliot, then 11, Beppie started imagining the tunnels and pathways left behind by the roots.
Together, they invented an underground world populated by potato characters, complete with a king potato and an epic battle.
Weeks later, during a songwriting retreat with longtime producer and co-writer Justin McDonough, she returned to the idea and transformed it into a song.
“When you write music for kids and with kids, you can pretty much write about anything you want.”
The track developed into a playful roll call of potato dishes, each performed by a different voice.
Beppie recruited fellow children’s musician Fyütch, who suggested his daughter Aura V for the role of Mash.
Beppie’s own children joined the recording, with Elliot voicing Fry and her daughter Amelia playing Spud. Beppie herself takes on the character of Chip.
Aura V subsequently became the youngest Grammy-winning artist in history, an achievement that delighted everyone involved with the recording.
With its lively rhythms, colourful characters and family collaboration, “P-O-T-A-T-O Crew” has become one of the most energetic moments in Beppie’s live performances.
In Conversation With Beppie
Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
My name is Beppie (Stephanie Nhan). I live in Edmonton, Alberta and I make music with and for kids. I would describe my children’s music as multi-genre because I love to push myself to explore with lots of different styles. I’m a 2X JUNO nominated recording artist and I just released my eighth album.
You’ve spent 25 years teaching music, and you’ve raised three kids of your own. How has being around children changed the way you see creativity? Do they remind you to think differently than adults do?
Spending so much time with kids definitely impacts my creative mindset. When I write music I very intentionally centre the perspectives, stories, and feelings of children at the heart of everything. I love connecting and working with young people. I’d like to think that this connection building gives me valuable insight, but it’s entirely possible that I am just a big kid that never fully grew up. My immaturity sometimes shines quite brightly through my music. I also have a very active imagination that never seems to rest. When I get together with my songwriting partner we always have a lot of fun diving into the ideas and stories that I collect along my travels.
Songs like “Nine” and “P-O-T-A-T-O Crew” are playful on the surface, but they’re incredibly well crafted underneath. When you’re writing for children, how do you balance making something educational with making something they’ll genuinely want to sing again and again?
Making music for kids is absolutely about balance. I’m always layering youth perspectives with detailed and intentional music to back them up. You can have an incredible story to tell, but the delivery of the story matters. How you present the ideas matters. I think that children deserve high-quality musicianship and complex art. For me, if I’m having fun singing and performing the music, then my audiences are having fun too. Yes, my music is made for kids, but I still use my decades of music training and experience to create it. Whether I’m writing something educational, meaningful, emotional, or just silly and fun, I always make sure that the music, lyrics, and production (shout out to my incredible producer Justin McDonough) are the best of what I have to offer. I think it’s the combination of those elements that creates memorable music.
You wrote “P-O-T-A-T-O Crew” after digging potatoes in the garden with your son, and suddenly an entire world appeared. Do you think children naturally see stories everywhere, and your job is simply to keep up with their imagination?
I do think that children naturally see the world with curiosity and creativity. When I’m creating with kids I feel like my job is to get out of the way. Stop overthinking and let the imagination and the moment breathe and live. If kids feel safe with you they will share with you. So, step one is creating a safe space and then step two is getting out of the way so they can show up and feel comfortable enough to share their stories and personalities. Co-creating with kids is magical. When I’m in the zone and the stories and ideas are flowing AND I’ve made sure to make space for others, then there is no limit to what we can come up with. I’m very careful to treat every idea with respect too. It takes a lot of courage to share something, so I make sure to handle every idea that children give me with care, curiosity, and sensitivity. My job isn’t to keep up with them, it’s to nurture their creativity and then treat it with respect when they are brave enough to share it.
You’ve earned JUNO nominations, millions of streams, and perform more than 70 shows a year, but your audience is still made up of kids experiencing live music for the very first time. What responsibility do you feel knowing that, for many of them, you might be the artist who makes them fall in love with music?
Well, I have to say I never really thought about it like a responsibility…until now! That’s a lot of pressure! I do understand that it is a privilege to be a part of someone’s musical experience. To be someone’s first concert is a big deal and I hope that everyone who comes to any of my shows feels welcome, accepted, and safe to be who they are. Connection is my priority at all of my shows and I work hard to earn the right to take up space in someone’s audio library. My music has meaning and purpose but it can also be fun and silly. There’s a lot of variety and it’s an interactive adventure. It’s also very important to me that every show is a positive experience not just for the kids but for the adults in attendance as well. If I can be the person that makes anyone, young or old, fall in love with music, then that means more to me than any award or accolade ever could.
Upcoming Shows;
Oct. 24, 2026 Spruce Grove, AB @ Horizon Stage (Album Release Concert)
Feb. 15, 2027 Red Deer, AB @ Red Deer Museum
March 20 to 30, 2027 Vancouver, Victoria, Burnaby and Richmond, BC @ Spring Tour (Dates and Details TBA)
April 4, 2027 Leduc, AB @ MacLab Theatre
Connect with Beppie:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
