From CCM Magazine

If you grew up with country radio in the late ’90s and early 2000s, there’s a pretty good chance Mark Wills provided part of the soundtrack.

“Wish You Were Here.” “I Do (Cherish You).” “Don’t Laugh at Me.” And, of course, the six-week No. 1 “19 Somethin’,” a song that somehow managed to turn an entire generation’s childhood memories into four minutes of country radio perfection.

Now, some 19 Somethin’ years later (ok, more like 24), Wills is looking all the way back to the music that came way before the 1980s.

On November 6, the Grand Ole Opry member will release Grand Ole Revival through Gaither Music Group, a new live collection of country gospel classics recorded where a project like this probably should be recorded: standing inside the historic Grand Ole Opry Circle.

And Wills brought a few friends along.

Cody Johnson. Trisha Yearwood. Vince Gill. Ricky Skaggs. Rhonda Vincent. Jamey Johnson. Travis Tritt. The Oak Ridge Boys. The Isaacs. Charlie McCoy. Gaither Vocal Band. Bill Anderson. Mae Estes. Rebecca Lynn Howard. Leona Williams. The Sound. Jim and Melissa Brady.

The album was recorded live on the Opry House stage and is only the second live audio album recorded inside the Grand Ole Opry House since 1970… somethin’.

There are plenty of albums that attempt to recreate the warmth of old country gospel records. Grand Ole Revival doesn’t have to manufacture much of anything. These are songs deeply connected to the roots of country music, performed by artists who have carried that tradition forward, recorded on one of the most important stages in the history of the genre.

For Wills, though, the connection goes back even further.

“Ever since I was a little kid, the very first music that came into my life was hymns, so it means a lot to me to be able to sing some of the songs I’ve loved my whole life,” Wills says. “In more than 30 years of making music, I’ve never experienced a tracking session like this one.”

Recording those songs inside the Circle only added another layer.

“Recording them live in the Grand Ole Opry circle made this project even more special since that has rarely occurred in its 100-year history,” Wills continues. “I think this project reflects that time-honored history and tradition that makes The Opry such an important part of country music.”

The first taste of the project is available now with “The Baptism of Jesse Taylor,” featuring Jamey Johnson, Charlie McCoy and Gaither Vocal Band.

It’s a fitting introduction to an album built around the place where country and gospel have always intersected: great songs, great stories and the idea that redemption is worth singing about.

Grand Ole Revival Track List

1. “The Lily of the Valley” — feat. Cody Johnson
2. “I’ll Fly Away” — feat. Ricky Skaggs & Rhonda Vincent
3. “How Great Thou Art” — feat. Trisha Yearwood
4. “The Baptism of Jesse Taylor” — feat. Jamey Johnson, Charlie McCoy & Gaither Vocal Band
5. “Because He Lives” — feat. Vince Gill & Rebecca Lynn Howard
6. “Victory in Jesus” — feat. The Isaacs
7. “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” — feat. Mae Estes & Ben Isaacs
8. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” — feat. Leona Williams, The Isaacs, Jim Brady & Melissa Brady
9. “I Saw the Light” — feat. Travis Tritt & The Oak Ridge Boys
10. “Mansion Just Over the Hilltop” — feat. The Sound
11. “Look for Me for I Will Be There Too”
12. “Grand Ole Revival” — feat. The Isaacs

“The Baptism of Jesse Taylor” is available now, with Grand Ole Revival arriving November 6 through Gaither Music Group.

And Gary LeVox Has Found “Paradise”

Wills isn’t the only familiar country voice showing up on the Gaither roster.

Gary LeVox , the unmistakable voice behind Rascal Flatts, has also released a new song through Gaither Music Group, “Paradise.”

Written by Rudy Perez and Chaz Bosarge and produced by Perez, “Paradise” leans into the intersection of country and inspirational music that has increasingly become part of LeVox’s solo career.

“At our best, we’re a nation that comes together through hope, compassion, and faith,” LeVox says. “That’s the spirit I wanted ‘Paradise’ to capture.”

For CCM readers, LeVox’s presence here shouldn’t be particularly surprising. Following two decades and 17 No. 1 singles as the frontman of Rascal Flatts, his solo career has repeatedly explored music rooted explicitly in faith, including his Christian project ONE ON ONE.

And after reuniting with Rascal Flatts for the Life Is A Highway Tour in 2025, LeVox continues to balance that enormous country catalog with new music of his own.

“Paradise” is available now on digital streaming platforms.

There are plenty of ways for a Christian metal band to celebrate a Dove Award nomination.

The award may be “Golden,” but Demon Hunter isn’t exactly glowing. What sounds more like a hardcore band that still celebrates its church upbringing than suing one of the world’s most beloved children’s franchises?

Somewhere, the ghost of the great ’90s Disney boycott just sat straight up in bed.

But here’s the thing:

Demon Hunter’s complaint isn’t quite as ridiculous as the headline makes it sound.

First, why, and who, is Demon Hunter actually suing?

The lawsuit was filed by Hyde Lane, the corporation associated with Demon Hunter, against Netflix, Netflix Studios and AEG Presents. It alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin involving the KPop Demon Hunters name. NME

Demon Hunter’s basic argument is pretty straightforward.

They’ve been Demon Hunter for roughly a quarter-century. They’ve released records, toured the world and sold merchandise under that name. In the lawsuit, they argue that they’re the senior user of the Demon Hunter trademark and have spent decades building its value.

If Netflix had simply released an animated movie about demon-hunting K-pop stars, perhaps we’re not writing this story.

The problem, according to the lawsuit, is what happened next.

KPop Demon Hunters became enormous. The name moved beyond the movie and into music, soundtracks and merchandise. These are areas increasingly close to Demon Hunter’s own business. Then Netflix partnered with AEG Presents for a KPop Demon Hunters global concert tour reportedly planned for 150 cities.

That’s where Demon Hunter argues the two worlds have gotten uncomfortably close.

According to the complaint, Netflix and its partners have moved into “almost complete overlap” with goods and services offered under the Demon Hunter mark. The band alleges Netflix’s vastly larger footprint is overwhelming an identity Demon Hunter spent decades establishing. NME

In other words:

The HUNTR/X girls may have defeated the Saja Boys (SPOILER), but Christian metalcore boys from the Pacific Northwest are a different challenge.

According to the band, there really has been confusion. This is where the story gets both considerably funnier and considerably more sympathetic to Demon Hunter.

According to reporting on material included in the filing, someone bought about $500 worth of top-tier tickets to a Demon Hunter concert in Albany, New York, believing they were purchasing tickets to take their 5- and 6-year-old daughters to KPop Demon Hunters.

They subsequently contacted the band looking for a refund so they could buy tickets to the actual KPop Demon Hunters show. NME

Now…

There is a tiny part of us that desperately wants to know what would have happened had nobody caught the mistake.

The lights go down.

Mom says, “Here they come!”

Ryan Clark appears and screams, “The Honmoon can no longer protect you!”

But that example also gets to the heart of what Demon Hunter is arguing: the confusion they feared isn’t entirely hypothetical anymore. The band alleges that consumers have already believed the two properties were affiliated, and that the move into live touring makes that concern more significant.

You don’t have to know how a court will ultimately rule to understand why that would be frustrating. Demon Hunter is reportedly seeking an injunction, damages, profits associated with the allegedly infringing branding, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial. The complaint also alleges the band has suffered commercial and reputational harm as a much larger entertainment company expands into its marketplace. NME

Whether a court ultimately agrees with those arguments is another matter entirely.

But after looking beyond the admittedly hilarious headline, it’s hard not to have some sympathy for the band’s position.

Demon Hunter didn’t name itself last year. And now one of the largest entertainment companies on Earth has a massively successful music property with an extremely similar name, merchandise and a live concert business.

If you’re Demon Hunter, at what point do you have to say something?

That’s ultimately where the jokes should end.

Because we love the absurdity of this story. It’s almost impossible not to.

It’s Demon Hunter vs. KPop Demon Hunters.

This story was written for us.

But Demon Hunter has also spent a lifetime earning the right to care about the name on the front of its records. For a band that has survived changing labels, changing musical trends and an industry that looks very different from when it started, watching a massive entertainment property suddenly occupy essentially the same Google-search real estate has to be surreal — and probably pretty maddening.

Unfortunately, if Demon Hunter ultimately comes out on top, their drummer Yogi Watts may want to lawyer up, too. There is an unforeseen consequence of Demon Hunter establishing this aggressive new era of trademark enforcement.

Because somewhere in the Hanna-Barbera legal department, a smarter-than-the-average bear has just been alerted to this situation and, as we know… he’s hungry.

Editor’s note & sources: This article is based on allegations contained in or reported from Demon Hunter’s federal lawsuit against Netflix, Netflix Studios and AEG Presents, as well as media coverage of the complaint by NME, TheWrap and Complex. TheWrap and Complex report having reviewed the filed complaint. The case remains pending, and the allegations described have not been adjudicated.

The Killers frontman debuts to “father’s” country-western music for a deeply personal album filled with rhinestones, sawdust, biblical imagery and an unforgettable encounter with the King of Rock and Roll.

Every so often, an album arrives that feels tailor-made for me. When that happens, I’m reminded that so many of us think we grew up uniquely, but in reality we share the same childhoods. Rock and roll theatricality and country storytelling weren’t competing forces, they were often times just a different part of the same cassette tape collection. Those lines were always blurry and they remain so on Thrasher, the new Nashville-inspired and Nashville-recorded solo album from Brandon Flowers.

Flowers has spent more than two decades fronting The Killers, one of the most consistent creative forces in modern rock. From the groundbreaking Hot Fuss forward, there really hasn’t been a miss. The scale, sound and ambition may change from record to record, but The Killers always seemed to be searching for heaven somewhere beyond the glow of the Las Vegas Strip.

With Thrasher, Flowers turns his attention to what he calls his “father’s music.” This isn’t a rock star putting on a cowboy hat because country happens to be fashionable. It feels like an intentional return to the music he inherited.

He came here to Nashville to find that sound, recording at the historic RCA Studio A. The sessions brought together an extraordinary group of Music City musicians that played together live in the room, an approach Flowers hadn’t taken with a band since he recorded Sam’s Town. You can hear that immediacy throughout the album. Thrasher doesn’t sound cleaned up and tweaked. It feels refreshing and jarring to the modern listener who is used to studio perfection.

It’s no surprise that Flowers shines with the attention of a live band of seasoned professionals. If you’ve experienced The Killers, you know it’s a purely joyous concert experience. Flowers spends much of the night smiling from ear to ear while an audience of millennials, now often joined by their children, singing along at full volume to an evening of stadium sized hits. Against the glittering backdrop of a Las Vegas-sized rock show, he frequently begins the evening like a maître d’ welcoming everyone into his establishment, and for the next two hours, the audience is invited into their world: a universe populated by dreamers, gamblers, heroes, villains, runaways and, more often than not, Jesus himself.

While Flowers’ solo career has always stood on its own, Thrasher feels as more like a complete solo reboot as it does a follow-up to Flamingo and The Desired Effect. The spiritual and emotional vocabulary remains unmistakably his and there are remnants of The Killers here, of course. Occasional synthesizer undertones shimmer behind the country arrangements, while several songs return us to the dusty childhood small-town world of Nephi, Utah, explored on Pressure Machine.

The opening track, “Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?,” arrives with the easy swing of a song you might hear at the Grand Ole Opry, performed by an aging legend who somehow convinces you to think “Oh, I know this song.” That immediate familiarity runs throughout Thrasher, but the lives Flowers depicts are often more complicated than the comfortable arrangements initially suggest.

“Paradise” is an absolute blast, exploding out of the speakers as Flowers embodies the life of an aging Las Vegas casino valet. Then there is “Miss America,” one of the album’s most heart-wrenching moments. Inspired by Flowers’ sister, the song confronts a cycle of abuse with a directness that can be difficult to hear. My wife and I sat in near silence as the track played. You may experience this once and that may be enough. Against that darkness, Flowers imagines the possibility of a different kind of life for his sister, where a “Mormon boy” might finally treat his sister like a queen.

With so many direct references to faith, you may ask yourself, “Is Brandon Flowers making Christian music?”

Flowers has never shied away from his identity as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even when that identity made him an outsider within rock culture. In a recent interview with Craig McLean, Flowers acknowledged that his relationship with the faith of his childhood required an adult decision. “Well, I have discovered you can be Mormon and cool. But it’s been a real journey. I was so young when we started. I was indoctrinated into this church, I understand that. But at some point, you’ve got to decide if it’s going to be your faith or not. That’s where the rubber meets the road. And I deepened my faith once I really committed to that road. I don’t find it nearly as difficult now to decide what choices I’m going to make.” The Observer

Speaking with Will Hodgkinson, Flowers was even more direct: “I really believe it. Faith has been a profound part of my life, and I’m drawn to Jesus Christ.” He also spoke about his father’s conversion when Flowers was six, remembering how the disappearance of “Budweiser and the cigarettes” from their home coincided with his father becoming “a better guy.” The Times

CCM readers will recognize that our theological traditions differ in significant ways. Those differences shouldn’t be ignored or casually flattened. Thrasher should not be presented or categorized as coming from a standard evangelical point of view. CCM’s interest in this album is not an attempt to erase those distinctions or imply a theological endorsement. It is an acknowledgment that Flowers’ faith meaningfully shapes his art and that the biblical language, spiritual questions and shared moral themes within these songs give our audience a legitimate reason to engage with them thoughtfully and discerningly.

That being said marketed “Christian” artists should take note, that Thrasher and the catalogue of Flowers/The Killers contain more direct references to Christ, heaven and biblical principles than you will find on many releases marketed specifically to Christian audiences outside of Worship music. This is the same songwriter who warned about a devil who doesn’t resemble Jesus in When You Were Young, celebrated the sustaining power and rarity of a loving marriage in Dying Breed, and retold the emotional arc of the prodigal son in Fire in Bone. Flowers has never treated faith like a decorative accessory. It is part of the architecture of his songwriting.

I can’t discuss Thrasher without discussing its final track, “An American Dream,” even if I’m reluctant to reveal too much about it.

It feels strange to place a spoiler warning on a song, but this is one worth experiencing without knowing exactly where it is headed. This psychedelic song imagines a dream that Flowers has where is reaching the end of his life. What follows includes a Tesla and an unexpected interaction with the King of Rock and Roll. I have great reverence for Elvis Presley, and I appreciate that he isn’t used here as a pop-culture punchline. The King becomes something closer to a spiritual predecessor: another larger-than-life performer raised in church, caught between the sacred and the spectacular, now passing something down to the artist who followed him.

The record reaches its destination in a great collision of “Gold and Silver, God and Glitter.” That phrase could almost serve as a mission statement for Brandon Flowers’ Thrasher. Faith and fame, eternity and entertainment, heaven and hell, Las Vegas and Utah. It all finally makes sense when Elvis is there to throw him the keys as he offers one final word to his protégé: “put it on Jesus.”

Thrasher is available on 8/21.

A Content Note for CCM Families

This album contains a few mild profanities, along with direct references to violence, abuse and sexual content. These elements are not presented in a celebratory fashion, but as essential parts of the stories being told. Several songs confront abuse and trauma with a directness that children will not be prepared to process.

Expanding the CCM Conversation

CCM Magazine is beginning something that may feel new to some readers: thoughtfully covering select mainstream releases that we believe are worthy of our audience’s attention.

This isn’t about chasing every major release or diluting what CCM has represented for nearly 50 years. It is an opportunity to broaden the conversation around music, faith and culture and to recognize that spiritually meaningful art has never existed exclusively within the boundaries of the Christian music industry. We can engage seriously with the art, celebrate what it accomplishes and honestly identify content Christian audiences may find objectionable. Covering an album does not require endorsing every lyric or aspect of an artist’s worldview. It means helping our readers approach the music with curiosity and discernment.

More importantly, this isn’t a reinvention of CCM’s mission as much as a return to its history.

Before making this decision, I spoke with CCM founder John Styll about how the magazine approached these questions in its earliest years. His answer was refreshingly clear: “We did not make a distinction between mainstream releases and Christian-market releases. We only reviewed mainstream albums when we thought there was a reason our audience would be—or should be—interested.”

That philosophy provides the framework for what we are doing now.

We will remain selective. We are acknowledging that our readers listen widely, that faith sometimes appears in unexpected places and that CCM Magazine can add something valuable to the larger cultural conversation.

Our role should be more than identifying which industry category an album occupies. It should be recognizing music worth hearing, exploring the ideas within it and helping our audience decide whether it belongs in their lives. In that sense, covering Thrasher isn’t CCM stepping outside its history. It is CCM continuing it.

When some people think about Christian music, they still picture the South, the Bible Belt or a packed arena somewhere in Middle America. But this time, one of Christian music’s biggest nights is happening in the heart of Los Angeles.

Chris Tomlin’s Worship Under the Stars 2026 stop at the legendary Greek Theatre has officially sold out, bringing a massive night of worship to one of Southern California’s most iconic outdoor venues — just miles from the center of Hollywood.

That makes this particular sellout feel a little different.

The Greek Theatre has hosted generations of legendary artists, and according to the tour, Tomlin’s sold-out performance marks a rare occasion for a Christian artist at the venue. Hillsong’s 2018 appearance is cited as the last Christian show to sell out the Greek.

For Tomlin, Worship Under the Stars was designed to be more than another concert tour. The idea is simple but powerful: gather people in some of the country’s most beautiful outdoor settings and worship beneath the night sky, celebrating the Creator while surrounded by His creation.

The Greek would sit on a personal short list of venues that can be both large in scale, but intimate and beautiful. Plus for an outdoor show, the weather in Southern California is pretty hard to beat.

In a city synonymous with entertainment, celebrity and pop culture, thousands of people filling the Greek Theatre for a night centered entirely around worship is a reminder that Christian music’s reach extends far beyond any particular region or demographic.

After decades of writing and leading songs that have become part of the soundtrack of churches around the world, Tomlin continues to find new settings for people to experience those songs together. Worship Under the Stars leans into something that has always been central to his music: the power of thousands of individual voices becoming one.

Last year, Chris sat down with CCM Magazine to talk about his music, ministry and the journey that continues to shape his approach to worship. It feels particularly fitting to revisit that conversation as another chapter of that journey unfolds on one of Los Angeles’ most famous stages.

 

A sold-out Christian concert is worth celebrating anywhere. But there’s something especially compelling about this one: under the stars at the Greek Theatre, in the heart of Los Angeles, thousands of voices will gather for a night that isn’t ultimately about the artist whose name is on the marquee.

There may be nothing more genuinely punk rock for Tommee Profitt than this.

After building a career on music that feels almost impossibly large—the 150-layer-deep, multi-sensory overload of The Birth of a King, The Resurrection of a King and all the grand cinematic orchestration that has made his work instantly recognizable—Profitt has released an album centered on something radically different:

A piano. A quiet room. A human being allowing himself to feel.

His new eight-track instrumental album, HUMAN, strips away the massive drums, towering choirs and cinematic production in favor of softly improvised piano pieces designed for prayer, meditation and the moments when words simply get in the way.

“I’ve never made a project like this before,” Profitt said while introducing the album, fighting back tears—and occasionally losing that fight. “Most of the time I create loud, big cinematic trailer music with huge orchestras and massive drums. But sometimes you just want to sit in the quiet and just feel.”

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That contrast could easily be mistaken for an artist attempting to subvert the expectations of his audience. But HUMAN doesn’t feel like rebellion for rebellion’s sake. It feels like Profitt deepening what he has already been building as his heart moves closer and closer to his worship roots.

The album began earlier this summer when Profitt returned home to Michigan and sat down at the piano in his parents’ basement. He began recording improvised sessions. There was no elaborate concept, guest vocalists or massive production plan. He simply played and allowed whatever he was feeling to come through the melodies and chords.

When he shared a few of those pieces online, the response surprised him.

“I was flooded with messages from people who told me what the music made them think of, and no two stories were the same,” Profitt explained. “Some people thought of friendships or someone they lost, or childhood memories and relationships and hope and healing and grief and anxiety. The music became whatever the listener needed it to become.”

That realization became the foundation of HUMAN.

“What if I made a whole project like this that didn’t tell people what to feel, but just simply gave people permission to feel?”

Profitt sat down and recorded eight improvised piano pieces. They are intentionally simple, soft and unproduced. They were created purely by trusting that whatever emerged in those moments was exactly what the music needed to be.

“This project is really just a gift that I wanted to give to humans,” he said. “An invitation to sit and to breathe and to process and feel human.”

That is ultimately where the power of this album lives. Tommee Profitt has already proven that he can create music capable of filling an arena, overwhelming the senses and making familiar songs feel larger than life. HUMAN proves he also knows when to step back and leave room for God, and the listener, to enter.

This is music to play while you work, while you read or while you move through a quiet morning in the kitchen. But for Profitt, it can also become something more sacred: a soundtrack for prayer, reflection, grief, healing or simply sitting still long enough to feel again.

HUMAN is available now on all major streaming platforms.

Go deeper into Profitt’s creative world, faith and remarkable journey in our April 2026 CCM Magazine Cover Story.

THE BUS ROLLS ON! For fans who thought the celebration was winding down, there’s one more chance.

Third Day has announced the FINAL LEG of its 30th Anniversary Tour, adding a limited number of new dates that will bring the long-awaited reunion to more cities across the country in the spring of 2027.

Original members Mac Powell, Mark Lee, David Carr, and Tai Anderson continue their celebration of one of Christian music’s most influential catalogs, joined each night by special guest Zach Williams and rising worship collective Scout and the Saints.

 

The newly announced dates are being billed as the last opportunity to experience the reunion tour.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on today at 12 p.m. ET.

The final leg kicks off April 1 in Clarksville, Tennessee, before making stops throughout the Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, Texas, the Mountain West, and Pacific Northwest, concluding May 9 in Beaumont, Texas.

CCM Magazine recently spent time with Third Day during the band’s reunion, sitting down with the group for an exclusive Cover Story conversation and capturing intimate live performances of fan favorites. Be sure to watch the full interview and performances, where the band reflects on three decades of ministry, the decision to reunite, and what this season means to each member.

 

Newly Announced Final Leg Dates:

• April 1 – Clarksville, TN
• April 2 – Corbin, KY
• April 3 – Fort Wayne, IN
• April 4 – Saginaw, MI
• April 8 – Port Wentworth (Savannah), GA
• April 9 – Tampa, FL
• April 10 – West Palm Beach, FL
• April 11 – Tallahassee, FL
• April 15 – Charleston, WV
• April 16 – Pittsburgh, PA
• April 17 – Springfield, MA
• April 18 – Richmond, VA
• April 22 – Waco, TX
• April 23 – Wichita, KS
• April 24 – Colorado Springs, CO
• April 25 – Rio Rancho (Albuquerque), NM
• April 29 – Missoula, MT
• April 30 – Spokane, WA
• May 1 – Kennewick, WA
• May 2 – Nampa (Boise), ID
• May 6 – Cape Girardeau, MO
• May 7 – Springfield, MO
• May 8 – Brandon (Jackson), MS
• May 9 – Beaumont, TX

With only a handful of cities remaining, these dates truly mark the closing chapter of one of the most anticipated reunions in Christian music. Fans hoping to be part of Third Day’s final 30th Anniversary celebration won’t want to wait long.

When John Schlitt and Bob Hartman sat down with me at CCM, they had perfectly legitimate reasons to be there. Beyond Belief, a new feature film built around the music and legacy of Petra, arrives in theaters August 28. The band also recently released Hope, its first studio album in 20 years. Those are both stories worth telling.

But sitting across from these guys, surrounded by old CCM covers featuring Petra through the decades, I couldn’t help thinking about the bigger story. Christian music fans and the industry should properly celebrate its legends, and of those legends Petra sits near the very top.

Not simply because they’ve survived for more than 50 years. Not because they’ve sold a lot of records, toured the world or accumulated shelves full of awards. Petra helped prove that Christian rock music could actually rock. They were doing it when Christian bookstores sometimes wouldn’t carry their albums, when churches debated whether rock music could possibly be Christian, and when there wasn’t an established career path for a band like them to follow.

There wasn’t even a roadmap for a rock band lasting 50 years. Rock and roll itself wasn’t old enough to provide one.

Yet here we are.

 

And somehow, after all those years, John Schlitt still walks into a room with the enthusiasm of a guy who can’t quite believe he gets be in this band and do this for a living.

That joy became one of my favorite parts of our conversation. There was something wonderfully strange about sitting with John and Bob talking about Beyond Belief while holding the June 1990 issue of CCM Magazine featuring that era of Petra.

Thirty-six years later, Beyond Belief is a movie.

The new film isn’t a Petra biopic, nor is it a traditional musical. Instead, it’s a coming-of-age story set against the world of young Christians in the 1980s, with Petra’s music running through its DNA. Songs, shirts, imagery and references are scattered throughout the film, and John and Bob even show up for a genuinely funny cameo.

When the idea was first pitched to them, however, John admits they weren’t exactly clearing space on their calendars for the premiere.

“We weren’t sure if it was going to happen because we’ve had a lot of people come up to us before,” John told me. The project kept moving. And moving. And taking years. Every so often they would hear another update. John laughed remembering the reaction: “Oh, well, Joe’s still alive. Wow. Okay.”

Eventually, however, there was an actual movie to watch. “When we finally saw the finished product… we were proud to be part of it.” The premise immediately made sense to Bob.

“When they first approached us, they said, ‘There’s never been a movie about Christianity with young people in the ’80s and what was happening with youth at that time.’ And they said, ‘We want to make that, and we want to use Petra’s music and make that part of the story.’”

For those who lived through that era, some of what happens in the movie will feel remarkably familiar. For younger viewers, it may feel almost unbelievable. There really was a time when the question of whether rock music could be Christian was being argued from church pulpits.

Petra lived in the middle of that fight.

“The people who are our age, who heard Petra in the ’80s, would have said the very things that we said in comedy,” Bob explained of their movie cameo. “There was still a lot in the church of anti-rock sentiment coming from the pulpits mainly.”

But there was another group paying attention.

“The youth leaders… always appealed to us because they were trying really hard to reach the youth. So they liked contemporary music that could reach their kids.”

That is an important part of the Petra story that can become easy to forget in 2026.

Today, Christian artists fill arenas. Rock guitars in Christian music aren’t particularly controversial. Contemporary worship music is everywhere. Christian music is a sprawling international industry.

Petra came from a world where, as Bob remembers it, “only the bravest would put a Petra record in their store.”

Think about that for a moment. The band we now rightfully regard as foundational to Christian rock once had Christian retailers refusing to stock their records. “Fans had to find the music,” Bob said. “They had to seek it out a lot more.” Maybe that’s one reason they held onto it so tightly.

Beyond Belief works because Petra isn’t simply being inserted into a fictional 1980s story as a nostalgic Easter egg. Their music really was part of the soundtrack of people’s lives. John and Bob have been hearing those stories firsthand again during Petra’s extended 50th anniversary celebration.

“If it was going to be the last album, we wanted to make sure no one said, ‘They should have stuck with the last one. Too bad they did this one.’”

“The meet and greets that we had just reminded us, this is why we do what we do,” John said.

Then he told me one of my favorite stories from the entire conversation. A grandfather approaches the band. Years earlier, he wouldn’t let his own children listen to Petra. Somewhere along the way, he discovered the music for himself. Now he’s bringing his grandchildren. The once controversial rock band became the family tradition.

John lights up talking about those encounters. “It’s just a nice reminder that God is bigger than we are, and He has a plan through the ages.”

Bob has experienced the same realization.

“Many times during the years we had to pray, ‘God, do You still want us to do this? Do You want us to keep going?’ Because there have been ups and downs and ups and downs all through those 50 years.” The answer kept coming. “Every time God has shown us He wants us to keep going.”

Then Bob said something that I think gets to the heart of why this particular season of Petra feels so meaningful. “I think maybe we’re on tour now partly because God wants us to hear some of what He did.”

John agreed. “Sometimes our meet and greets are longer than our show because so many people wanted to talk and express, ‘This is what you meant to us.’ And basically all you can say is, ‘Thank You, Jesus. Thank You for allowing us to be part of this.’”

There is something beautiful about that and the ministry of Petra decided to not just rest on 50 years of hits. After 20 years, a new project began.

When the new Petra record, Hope, arrived, I encouraged CCM readers to actually spend some time with it rather than treating it as a novelty from a legacy act. People responded.

Our story about the album became one of our most-shared pieces, with fans seemingly experiencing the same pleasant surprise: Petra didn’t simply make a throwaway record after 20 years. They made a Petra record. John says the fans themselves helped create it.

At meet and greets around the world, the same question kept coming. “Are you going to do another record?” John’s answer was essentially: no chance. Then circumstances changed. A couple of songs were needed for another project. Bob started getting ideas.

John remembers the phone call.

“He called me and said, ‘I’ve got three ideas. Can we maybe work on them?’” Three ideas became a few more. Then a few more.

“And we end up having a record.” But they were determined not to coast on the name.

“If it was going to be the last album, we wanted to make sure no one said, ‘They should have stuck with the last one. Too bad they did this one.’”

After more than 50 years, they still cared enough to be nervous about whether the record was good. Bob also recognized that the changes in the music industry that had disrupted so much of the old system now gave Petra an unexpected freedom.

For most of the band’s career, making an album required a record company willing to make a Petra album. This time, technology allowed them to do it themselves.

“We were just able to do amazing things ourselves this time,” Bob said, “and make it really a Petra record.” You can hear that freedom on Hope. There are the muscular rock songs you’d expect, but there are also unexpected turns, including reggae and other textures pulled into the Petra sound. It feels connected to the band’s history without being trapped inside it.

John thinks the 50th anniversary tour helped them understand why. “We learned a lot about what songs were really, really grabbing people,” he explained. “When you listen to the record… there are so many different sounds. They’re still new, but still familiar.”

After album titles like More Power to Ya, This Means War!, Beat the System, Beyond Belief and Jekyll & Hyde, I had to ask Bob why the new album arrived with a title as simple as Hope.

His answer was equally simple.

“We see such a need for hope in the world today. That’s really what we want to communicate, that our hope is in Jesus Christ.”

When Bob first suggested the title to John, the response took about ten seconds.

“That is fantastic.” John sees the title as more than marketing. “Christian music should be a very positive encouragement of truth,” he said. “Right now, this world needs that more than anything.”

There is another part of this story that deserves to be said plainly.

Petra is still an exceptional live band.

I saw the 50th anniversary show early in the tour, and there was no grading on a curve required. While a few new(er) faces fill out the lineup, the classic members are still at the top of their game. Bob can still play. John still has that unmistakable voice. John Lawry can still unleash the kind of keyboard wizardry that makes a crowd lose its mind.

These guys came from an era when you had to be able to play.

John seemed perfectly happy to let me keep making that point.

“I like this guy,” he laughed.

Then he turned serious. “As a singer, I can say Petra is a great band, and it really challenges me to try to keep up with them. It’s always been that way.” Being the singer of Petra, he said, comes with an expectation. “The band provides it. The singer better.”

Near the end of our conversation, I asked a question that neither Bob nor John seemed to have spent much time considering. Could Petra someday exist without them?

Not a reunion. Not another lineup change. Something larger.

Could the ministry and the idea of Petra somehow continue beyond the people who created it?

Bob wasn’t about to put limits on anything.

“I don’t want to limit God on anything because He’s already done exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think.”

There are no plans.

John’s answer, however, went somewhere I wasn’t expecting, and I think it perfectly defines Petra’s legacy. “Petra, I think, is synonymous with the fact that it’s a rock ministry. It’s not just a rock band. A rock ministry.”

And in that sense, he believes Petra already continues. “There are several bands out there right now that have that same vision and that same spirit. And so it’s already out there. They’re not called Petra, but there are several bands out there doing their thing for their generation, and I’m very proud to see it.”

He’s right.

You can hear Petra’s influence in generations of Christian rock bands that followed. Artists like Skillet’s John Cooper and Disciple’s Kevin Young have spoken about what Petra meant to them. And those bands have now been around long enough to inspire another generation themselves.

That’s how a legacy becomes bigger than a catalog.

Petra kicked open doors.

Other bands walked through them.

Then they kicked open some doors of their own.

More than 50 years into Petra, the story feels less like an ending than it probably has any right to.

So I asked the obvious final question. How long does this continue? John’s answer didn’t involve a (second) farewell tour or an expiration date.

“As long as God provides, my voice provides, the opportunities — this is what we’re supposed to do,” he said. “We’re supposed to use our talents to do the commission, that’s tell the world about Christ.” Then, with the same mixture of conviction and good humor that had filled the entire conversation, he added: “There’s no such thing as retirement in the Word.”

But more than anything, this feels like a good moment for Christian music to stop and appreciate Petra while Petra is still here to enjoy the appreciation. Not as a museum piece. Not as nostalgia. Not simply because they were pioneers.

Celebrate Petra because they helped build this thing. Because they fought battles later generations never had to fight. Because they proved Christian musicians didn’t have to choose between ministry and musical excellence. Because countless artists who came afterward are standing on ground Petra helped clear.

And because, somehow, after more than 50 years, they’re still really good at being a rock band.

And thankfully, they’re not finished yet.

Beyond Belief arrives in theaters August 28. Hope is available now.

The creative team behind some of the world’s most recognizable live family productions is embarking on a new kind of adventure.

After years of bringing beloved brands like Blippi, Sesame Street, Baby Shark, Peppa Pig, and PJ Masks to theater audiences around the globe, the newly formed The Originals Live is turning its attention to stories that have captivated hearts for generations. The company’s inaugural production, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, will launch as part of a North American tour, including a stop at The Polk Theater at TPAC in Nashville on November 14.

Rather than adapting another television phenomenon, The Originals Live is building an entirely new theatrical franchise around some of the Bible’s most enduring heroes, beginning with Daniel and Queen Esther.

It’s an ambitious shift, but one the team believes is long overdue.

“When you consider how long these stories have endured and how relevant they remain, Daniel and Esther felt like the perfect place to begin,” said producer Josh Blackburn. “With a seasoned creative team behind some of the biggest brands in family-friendly live events, audiences can expect a theatrical experience that is entertaining, inspiring, and unforgettable.”

The evening opens with Esther: The Bravest Queen, telling the story of the young queen whose courage and faith saved her people. Following intermission, audiences are transported into the world of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, where one of Scripture’s most beloved heroes remains faithful despite political intrigue, betrayal, and the very real threat of the lions’ den.

Both productions feature original music, colorful staging, memorable characters, and immersive storytelling designed to engage children while offering timeless truths for the entire family.

For director Dani Davis, joining the project was an easy decision.

“When The Originals Live shared their vision for bringing these timeless stories to life for a new generation, I knew I wanted to be part of it,” Davis said. “Daniel and Esther were ordinary people who showed extraordinary courage. Their stories still resonate today, and this production is just the beginning of what’s possible.”

That phrase, ”just the beginning”, captures the larger vision behind The Originals Live.

The company isn’t simply producing a one-off biblical musical. Instead, Daniel and Esther serve as the first installment in what the creators envision as an ongoing series of live theatrical productions built around the world’s foundational stories. Drawing on decades of experience producing large-scale family entertainment, the creative team hopes to offer audiences productions that feel every bit as polished and exciting as the major touring shows families have come to expect. The Originals Live hopes to meet that demand with Broadway-caliber production values wrapped around stories that have stood the test of time.

Instead of asking families to choose between entertainment and encouragement, the production aims to deliver both.

Tour Dates

• 9/30, 10/5, 10/6 – Ringgold, GA
• 10/7 – Louisville, KY
• 10/8 – Akron, OH
• 10/9 – Roanoke, VA
• 10/15 – Milwaukee, WI
• 10/10 – Charleston, WV
• 10/11 – Cincinnati, OH
• 10/16 – Eau Claire, WI
• 10/17 – Dubuque, IA
• 10/18 – Ottumwa, IA
• 10/21 – Bloomington, IL – Coming Soon
• 10/24 – Interlochen, MI – Coming Soon
• 10/28 – Duluth, GA – Coming Soon
• 10/29 – Birmingham, AL
• 10/30 – Augusta, GA
• 11/1 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• 11/4 – Jacksonville, FL
• 11/6 – North Charleston, SC
• 11/7 – Fayetteville, GA
• 11/8 – Hattiesburg, MS
• 11/11 – Southaven, MS

• 11/12 – Spartanburg, SC
• 11/13 – Greensboro, NC
• 11/14 – Nashville, TN
• 11/19 – Patchogue, NY
• 11/20 – Syracuse, NY
• 11/21 – Englewood, NJ
• 11/22 – Schenectady, NY
• 11/25 – Stroudsburg, PA
• 11/26 – Mississauga, ON – Coming Soon
• 11/27 – Lynn, MA – Coming Soon
• 11/28 – Wallingford, CT
• 11/29 – Reading, PA
• 12/3 – Saginaw, MI
• 12/4 – St. Charles, MO
• 12/5 – Indianapolis, IN
• 12/6 – Columbus, OH
• 12/9 – Knoxville, TN
• 12/11 – North Little Rock, AR
• 12/12 – Arlington, TX
• 12/13 – Lake Charles, LA  Blippi to Biblical: Kids Entertainment Veterans Debut Show

(additional dates to be announced at a later date)

 

The creative team behind some of the world’s most recognizable live family productions is embarking on a new kind of adventure.

After years of bringing beloved brands like Blippi, Sesame Street, Baby Shark, Peppa Pig, and PJ Masks to theater audiences around the globe, the newly formed The Originals Live is turning its attention to stories that have captivated hearts for generations. The company’s inaugural production, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, will launch as part of a North American tour, including a stop at The Polk Theater at TPAC in Nashville on November 14.

Rather than adapting another television phenomenon, The Originals Live is building an entirely new theatrical franchise around some of the Bible’s most enduring heroes, beginning with Daniel and Queen Esther.

It’s an ambitious shift, but one the team believes is long overdue.

“When you consider how long these stories have endured and how relevant they remain, Daniel and Esther felt like the perfect place to begin,” said producer Josh Blackburn. “With a seasoned creative team behind some of the biggest brands in family-friendly live events, audiences can expect a theatrical experience that is entertaining, inspiring, and unforgettable.”

The evening opens with Esther: The Bravest Queen, telling the story of the young queen whose courage and faith saved her people. Following intermission, audiences are transported into the world of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, where one of Scripture’s most beloved heroes remains faithful despite political intrigue, betrayal, and the very real threat of the lions’ den.

Both productions feature original music, colorful staging, memorable characters, and immersive storytelling designed to engage children while offering timeless truths for the entire family.

For director Dani Davis, joining the project was an easy decision.

“When The Originals Live shared their vision for bringing these timeless stories to life for a new generation, I knew I wanted to be part of it,” Davis said. “Daniel and Esther were ordinary people who showed extraordinary courage. Their stories still resonate today, and this production is just the beginning of what’s possible.”

That phrase, ”just the beginning”, captures the larger vision behind The Originals Live.

The company isn’t simply producing a one-off biblical musical. Instead, Daniel and Esther serve as the first installment in what the creators envision as an ongoing series of live theatrical productions built around the world’s foundational stories. Drawing on decades of experience producing large-scale family entertainment, the creative team hopes to offer audiences productions that feel every bit as polished and exciting as the major touring shows families have come to expect. The Originals Live hopes to meet that demand with Broadway-caliber production values wrapped around stories that have stood the test of time.

Instead of asking families to choose between entertainment and encouragement, the production aims to deliver both.

Tour Dates

• 9/30, 10/5, 10/6 – Ringgold, GA
• 10/7 – Louisville, KY
• 10/8 – Akron, OH
• 10/9 – Roanoke, VA
• 10/15 – Milwaukee, WI
• 10/10 – Charleston, WV
• 10/11 – Cincinnati, OH
• 10/16 – Eau Claire, WI
• 10/17 – Dubuque, IA
• 10/18 – Ottumwa, IA
• 10/21 – Bloomington, IL – Coming Soon
• 10/24 – Interlochen, MI – Coming Soon
• 10/28 – Duluth, GA – Coming Soon
• 10/29 – Birmingham, AL
• 10/30 – Augusta, GA
• 11/1 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• 11/4 – Jacksonville, FL
• 11/6 – North Charleston, SC
• 11/7 – Fayetteville, GA
• 11/8 – Hattiesburg, MS
• 11/11 – Southaven, MS

• 11/12 – Spartanburg, SC
• 11/13 – Greensboro, NC
• 11/14 – Nashville, TN
• 11/19 – Patchogue, NY
• 11/20 – Syracuse, NY
• 11/21 – Englewood, NJ
• 11/22 – Schenectady, NY
• 11/25 – Stroudsburg, PA
• 11/26 – Mississauga, ON – Coming Soon
• 11/27 – Lynn, MA – Coming Soon
• 11/28 – Wallingford, CT
• 11/29 – Reading, PA
• 12/3 – Saginaw, MI
• 12/4 – St. Charles, MO
• 12/5 – Indianapolis, IN
• 12/6 – Columbus, OH
• 12/9 – Knoxville, TN
• 12/11 – North Little Rock, AR
• 12/12 – Arlington, TX
• 12/13 – Lake Charles, LA  Blippi to Biblical: Kids Entertainment Veterans Debut Show

(additional dates to be announced at a later date)

 

I get a lot of press releases.

Every week it’s another album announcement, another single, another tour. After a while, your eyes naturally start looking for something that makes you stop scrolling.

A few weeks ago, one did exactly that.

A 36-track worship album. You have my attention.

Not because it sounded ridiculous… well, maybe a little… but because in an era where artists are told to release one song every six weeks to satisfy an algorithm, somebody was doing the exact opposite. I opened the email immediately.

“I remember telling Anotherland Records that I wanted to make the Christian Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, [Smashing Pumpkins]. And they said, ‘Sure, let’s do it.”

This is the furthest thing from a worship record built around radio singles. It isn’t trying to fit into anyone’s playlist. It doesn’t sound like Sunday morning. It doesn’t sound like Nashville. “I genuinely felt… that I needed to collect all of these songs… and filter them through my aesthetic, which is not worship.”

If you came of age with the Garden State soundtrack or the beautifully strange corners of Tooth & Nail Records, this might be the worship music you’ve been waiting for.

Long before he was making devotional records, John Van Deusen fronted The Lonely Forest. A band that flirted with major-label success, toured relentlessly, packed clubs, and were on the cusp of becoming something that seemed much bigger. In that the chase for acceptance, Van Deusen found something else.

Today he’s a worship pastor on the seemingly unescapable Fidalgo Island in Washington. ” I’ve lived there for 38 years and I’ve pleaded with the good Lord, ‘Let me leave,’ so many times, and He has not. And that’s okay.” While that concept may trigger visuals of The Shining, this is in fact the same island where they shot the just as triggering family drama Free Willy. Somewhere huddled up inside a cozy closet you’ll fine Van Deusen recording song after song. “I feel a lot of permission from Him to be myself in the studio, and it’s an act of worship.”

While his name may not be immediately familiar to the Christian radio crowd, he has a fiercely loyal audience. They’re not showing up because an algorithm suggested his music. They’re buying quadruple-vinyl editions. They’re listening to records front to back.

And that record is a two part opus with a fittingly obtuse title As Long As I Am In The Tent Of This Body I Will Make A Joyful Noise. Part 2 will be released on August 28th on Anotherland Records. John explained that he purposely wanted the title, artwork, and sheer size of the project to communicate that this wasn’t an ordinary worship record. He even admitted he wanted people to get tired listening to it. Purposefully. “I really wanted the average listener to listen to a handful of songs and go, ‘I can’t do this’… and maybe a year later decide they wanted to try again.” After hearing a few of these tracks performed live, I predict this won’t happen. I think you’ll hear a few songs, stop and then immediately text a friend, and say, “You’ve got to hear this guy.”

The first single from Part 2, “Only Living If I’m Abiding,” is available now, and we’re excited to premiere an exclusive live performance on the CCM Magazine YouTube channel. It’s one of the most immediate and accessible entry points into Van Deusen’s ambitious 36-song vision. It doesn’t sacrifice the larger artistic statement, but instead invites you deeper into it. During our conversation, John described the album version as sounding like “Nada Surf” while intentionally writing verses that were “moderately cryptic” before opening into a soaring chorus centered on abiding in Christ. The result is an indie-rock worship anthem that feels equally at home alongside your favorite alternative records as it does in a deeply personal moment of devotion. If this is your first introduction to John Van Deusen, don’t be surprised if one song quickly turns into an afternoon exploring the rest of his remarkable catalog.

Check out his additional performances and the full-length interview on our YouTube channel.

I get a lot of press releases.

Every week it’s another album announcement, another single, another tour. After a while, your eyes naturally start looking for something that makes you stop scrolling.

A few weeks ago, one did exactly that.

A 36-track worship album. You have my attention.

 Not because it sounded ridiculous… well, maybe a little… but because in an era where artists are told to release one song every six weeks to satisfy an algorithm, somebody was doing the exact opposite. I opened the email immediately.

“I remember telling Anotherland Records that I wanted to make the Christian Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, [Smashing Pumpkins]. And they said, ‘Sure, let’s do it. But you need to cut it in half because it’s 135 minutes of music.’ And, you know, I’m glad I did it.”

This is the furthest thing from a worship record built around radio singles. It isn’t trying to fit into anyone’s playlist. It doesn’t sound like Sunday morning. It doesn’t sound like Nashville. “I genuinely felt… that I needed to collect all of these songs… and filter them through my aesthetic, which is not worship.”\

If you came of age with the Garden State soundtrack or the beautifully strange corners of Tooth & Nail Records, this might be the worship music you’ve been waiting for.

Long before he was making devotional records, John Van Desusen fronted The Lonely Forest. A band that flirted with major-label success, toured relentlessly, packed clubs, and were on the cusp of becoming something that seemed much bigger. In that the chase for acceptance, Van Deusen found something else.

Today he’s a worship pastor on the seemingly unescapable Fidalgo Island in Washington. ” I’ve lived there for 38 years and I’ve pleaded with the good Lord, ‘Let me leave,’ so many times, and He has not. And that’s okay.” While that concept may trigger visuals of The Shining, this is in fact the same island where they shot the just as triggering family drama Free Willy. Somewhere huddled up inside a cozy closet you’ll fine Van Deusen recording song after song. “I feel a lot of permission from Him to be myself in the studio, and it’s an act of worship.”

While his name may not be immediately familiar to the Christian radio crowd, he has a fiercely loyal audience. They’re not showing up because an algorithm suggested his music. They’re buying quadruple-vinyl editions. They’re listening to records front to back.

And that record is a two part opus with a fittingly obtuse title As Long As I Am In The Tent Of This Body I Will Make A Joyful Noise. Part 2 will be released on August 28th on Anotherland Records. John explained that he purposely wanted the title, artwork, and sheer size of the project to communicate that this wasn’t an ordinary worship record. He even admitted he wanted people to get tired listening to it. Purposefully. “I really wanted the average listener to listen to a handful of songs and go, ‘I can’t do this’… and maybe a year later decide they wanted to try again.” After hearing a few of these tracks performed live, I predict this won’t happen. I think you’ll hear a few songs, stop and then immediately text a friend, and say, “You’ve got to hear this guy.”

The first single from Part 2, “Only Living If I’m Abiding,” is available now, and we’re excited to premiere an exclusive live performance on the CCM Magazine YouTube channel. It’s one of the most immediate and accessible entry points into Van Deusen’s ambitious 36-song vision. It doesn’t sacrifice the larger artistic statement, but instead invites you deeper into it. During our conversation, John described the album version as sounding like “Nada Surf” while intentionally writing verses that were “moderately cryptic” before opening into a soaring chorus centered on abiding in Christ. The result is an indie-rock worship anthem that feels equally at home alongside your favorite alternative records as it does in a deeply personal moment of devotion. If this is your first introduction to John Van Deusen, don’t be surprised if one song quickly turns into an afternoon exploring the rest of his remarkable catalog.

Check out his additional performances and the full-length interview on our YouTube channel.

No one should have to write a song like “I’ll Find You.”

Yet nearly two years after the plane crash that claimed the lives of her mother, stepfather, sister, and brother-in-law and several close friends and colleagues, Autumn Nelon has done exactly that. She may never have all the answers, but she has found something even stronger: hope.

Released through Gaither Music Group just days before the second anniversary of the tragedy, I’ll Find You is one of the most personal songs Autumn has ever recorded. Written alongside Joseph Habedank and Kenna Turner West less than a year after the loss of her family, the song gives voice to grief that refuses easy explanations while clinging tightly to the promises of Christ. Rather than asking listeners to ignore heartbreak, it walks directly through it, reminding anyone carrying loss that heaven is more than a distant idea… it is a coming reunion.

 

“What better day than to release it… because what better way to honor them than to release a song that basically explains how I feel?” she shared. The lyrics begin with questions every grieving heart understands.

“Didn’t even get to say goodbye… Tried my best to make it all make sense… But it don’t make sense.”

It’s a striking admission from someone whose faith has been visible her entire life. Rather than pretending tragedy somehow became understandable, Autumn allows herself to admit that some pain simply cannot be explained this side of eternity.

“Until I get to heaven, I’ll never understand why this happened,” she said. “But I do believe that God has chosen me for whatever reason. He’s entrusted me with a legacy to keep going. That’s what I’m doing, and that’s what I’m trying to do, and I hope I make them proud in the process.”

That balance of holding both grief and faith at the same time has become the defining characteristic of Autumn’s ministry. The song itself ultimately turns away from unanswered questions and toward the promise of heaven. One of its most moving moments comes near the end when the lyric changes from “I’ll find you” to “Maybe I won’t have to look… because you’ll find me.”

When asked about that line, Autumn smiled.

“I’m not going to have to look for my mom or my sister because they’re going to be standing there. And any loved ones that anybody has lost, I think they’re going to be there waiting.”

It transforms the entire perspective of the song. Heaven is a joyful homecoming where those who arrived first are already waiting. That picture has resonated far beyond Autumn’s own story.

“The amount of people since this single has released that have come to me and said, ‘This makes me think of my mom,’ or, ‘This makes me think of my dad,'” she shared. Then she recounted an encounter that perfectly captured what she had hoped the song would become.

“Just today, I had a gentleman come up to me and say, ‘My brother died a week ago, and we’re going to play this song at his funeral.’ It’s doing exactly what I wanted it to do… and that is to bring encouragement to people.”

Perhaps that’s what makes I’ll Find You feel so different. It isn’t merely a song about Autumn’s loss. It has become a song that countless others are already making part of their own stories.

While grief is woven throughout the conversation, it quickly becomes clear that loss is no longer the only chapter being written.

Life has continued moving forward.

Autumn has stepped into motherhood. Her son, Rhett, was born on December 1, 2024, her mother’s birthday.

“So that was really, really sweet,” she said, reflecting on the timing. Alongside becoming a mother, she’s also spent the last two years quietly building toward a new chapter creatively, recording music and preparing a new album expected next year.

Those milestones have arrived while she has simultaneously inherited something she never expected: carrying forward one of Gospel music’s most beloved family legacies.

Ironically, she laughs that she may have been the least likely person to step into that role.

“I always joke and say I’m the least likely one to have been doing all of this. If you knew me when I was with my family… I didn’t like to do interviews. Any time I could find my way out of doing stuff like that, I would.”

Now, the woman who once avoided microphones is speaking at conferences, leading interviews, and encouraging audiences across the country.

She credits only one thing.

“God has just given me such comfort and peace along this journey. I found out that I can do things that I didn’t think I was capable of doing.”

Her ministry today looks different than it once did. Certainly she’s still singing. That’s never changed. But increasingly, people are coming not only to hear her voice, but to hear her story.

As she prepares for her first women’s conference as a keynote speaker, Autumn believes she’s finally beginning to understand why.

“What I believe that God has called me to do is obviously singing, of course, but I think it is to tell my story. I think it is to tell these people that sometimes life is hard and sometimes things happen that you’ll never understand until you get to heaven one day. But the faithfulness of God and how good He is to you… He’s always good, even though what happened to you is bad.”

Growing up, she admitted, she often prayed that the Lord wouldn’t return until after she had experienced milestones like marriage and motherhood. Today, that prayer has changed.

“Now that I have loved ones there, I’m like, ‘Lord, You can come whenever You want to. Whenever You feel the time is right.’” It’s a perspective only grief can shape.

Not because grief diminishes life here, but because it makes eternity feel wonderfully real. That reality has also changed the way she listens to the music her family created together.

“When we recorded this last album… the thought of this being the last one never crossed my mind,” she reflected. “You always hear about things happening to other people, but you just never think they’re going to happen to you.”

Even now, hearing those recordings remains surreal. Around her home, she keeps reminders of her family close. Pictures line the walls. Rhett already knows the faces and names of the grandmother and aunt he’ll never fully know this side of heaven.

“We’ll go around,” she said, “‘Who’s that?’ and he’ll say, ‘Gigi.’ ‘Who’s that?’ ‘Amber.’ I do my best to keep them in his memory so that he’ll always know who they are.”

When asked how she continues moving forward, Autumn answered with refreshing honesty.

“It’s not really something that you ever just get over. I just have learned how to cope with it. I have a wonderful support team… a wonderful husband, family, friends… God has just been really good to me. Truly without Him and the people that He has placed in my life, that’s really the only way that I have been able to keep going.”

Those words may ultimately summarize both her life and her new music.

She isn’t claiming victory because the pain is gone. She’s testifying that God’s faithfulness has remained, even while the pain remains. Before the conversation ended, one final question lingered. If Kelly and Amber could hear I’ll Find You, what would they think?

Autumn laughed.

“I think they would be like, ‘Girl, you’re not going to have to find us. We’re waiting for you.’ But I hope they’re just proud of me… for doing things that I always said I wouldn’t do.”

That’s the heart of this story.

Not tragedy.

Not survival.

Hope.

No one should have to write a song like “I’ll Find You.”

Yet nearly two years after the plane crash that claimed the lives of her mother, stepfather, sister, and brother-in-law and several close friends and colleagues, Autumn Nelon has done exactly that. She may never have all the answers, but she has found something even stronger: hope.

Released through Gaither Music Group just days before the second anniversary of the tragedy, I’ll Find You is one of the most personal songs Autumn has ever recorded. Written alongside Joseph Habedank and Kenna Turner West less than a year after the loss of her family, the song gives voice to grief that refuses easy explanations while clinging tightly to the promises of Christ. Rather than asking listeners to ignore heartbreak, it walks directly through it, reminding anyone carrying loss that heaven is more than a distant idea… it is a coming reunion.

 

“What better day than to release it… because what better way to honor them than to release a song that basically explains how I feel?” she shared. The lyrics begin with questions every grieving heart understands.

“Didn’t even get to say goodbye… Tried my best to make it all make sense… But it don’t make sense.”

It’s a striking admission from someone whose faith has been visible her entire life. Rather than pretending tragedy somehow became understandable, Autumn allows herself to admit that some pain simply cannot be explained this side of eternity.

“Until I get to heaven, I’ll never understand why this happened,” she said. “But I do believe that God has chosen me for whatever reason. He’s entrusted me with a legacy to keep going. That’s what I’m doing, and that’s what I’m trying to do, and I hope I make them proud in the process.”

That balance of holding both grief and faith at the same time has become the defining characteristic of Autumn’s ministry. The song itself ultimately turns away from unanswered questions and toward the promise of heaven. One of its most moving moments comes near the end when the lyric changes from “I’ll find you” to “Maybe I won’t have to look… because you’ll find me.”

When asked about that line, Autumn smiled.

“I’m not going to have to look for my mom or my sister because they’re going to be standing there. And any loved ones that anybody has lost, I think they’re going to be there waiting.”

It transforms the entire perspective of the song. Heaven is a joyful homecoming where those who arrived first are already waiting. That picture has resonated far beyond Autumn’s own story.

“The amount of people since this single has released that have come to me and said, ‘This makes me think of my mom,’ or, ‘This makes me think of my dad,'” she shared. Then she recounted an encounter that perfectly captured what she had hoped the song would become.

“Just today, I had a gentleman come up to me and say, ‘My brother died a week ago, and we’re going to play this song at his funeral.’ It’s doing exactly what I wanted it to do… and that is to bring encouragement to people.”

Perhaps that’s what makes I’ll Find You feel so different. It isn’t merely a song about Autumn’s loss. It has become a song that countless others are already making part of their own stories.

While grief is woven throughout the conversation, it quickly becomes clear that loss is no longer the only chapter being written.

Life has continued moving forward.

Autumn has stepped into motherhood. Her son, Rhett, was born on December 1, 2024, her mother’s birthday.

“So that was really, really sweet,” she said, reflecting on the timing. Alongside becoming a mother, she’s also spent the last two years quietly building toward a new chapter creatively, recording music and preparing a new album expected next year.

Those milestones have arrived while she has simultaneously inherited something she never expected: carrying forward one of Gospel music’s most beloved family legacies.

Ironically, she laughs that she may have been the least likely person to step into that role.

“I always joke and say I’m the least likely one to have been doing all of this. If you knew me when I was with my family… I didn’t like to do interviews. Any time I could find my way out of doing stuff like that, I would.”

Now, the woman who once avoided microphones is speaking at conferences, leading interviews, and encouraging audiences across the country.

She credits only one thing.

“God has just given me such comfort and peace along this journey. I found out that I can do things that I didn’t think I was capable of doing.”

Her ministry today looks different than it once did. Certainly she’s still singing. That’s never changed. But increasingly, people are coming not only to hear her voice, but to hear her story.

As she prepares for her first women’s conference as a keynote speaker, Autumn believes she’s finally beginning to understand why.

“What I believe that God has called me to do is obviously singing, of course, but I think it is to tell my story. I think it is to tell these people that sometimes life is hard and sometimes things happen that you’ll never understand until you get to heaven one day. But the faithfulness of God and how good He is to you… He’s always good, even though what happened to you is bad.”

Growing up, she admitted, she often prayed that the Lord wouldn’t return until after she had experienced milestones like marriage and motherhood. Today, that prayer has changed.

“Now that I have loved ones there, I’m like, ‘Lord, You can come whenever You want to. Whenever You feel the time is right.’” It’s a perspective only grief can shape.

Not because grief diminishes life here, but because it makes eternity feel wonderfully real. That reality has also changed the way she listens to the music her family created together.

“When we recorded this last album… the thought of this being the last one never crossed my mind,” she reflected. “You always hear about things happening to other people, but you just never think they’re going to happen to you.”

Even now, hearing those recordings remains surreal. Around her home, she keeps reminders of her family close. Pictures line the walls. Rhett already knows the faces and names of the grandmother and aunt he’ll never fully know this side of heaven.

“We’ll go around,” she said, “‘Who’s that?’ and he’ll say, ‘Gigi.’ ‘Who’s that?’ ‘Amber.’ I do my best to keep them in his memory so that he’ll always know who they are.”

When asked how she continues moving forward, Autumn answered with refreshing honesty.

“It’s not really something that you ever just get over. I just have learned how to cope with it. I have a wonderful support team… a wonderful husband, family, friends… God has just been really good to me. Truly without Him and the people that He has placed in my life, that’s really the only way that I have been able to keep going.”

Those words may ultimately summarize both her life and her new music.

She isn’t claiming victory because the pain is gone. She’s testifying that God’s faithfulness has remained, even while the pain remains. Before the conversation ended, one final question lingered. If Kelly and Amber could hear I’ll Find You, what would they think?

Autumn laughed.

“I think they would be like, ‘Girl, you’re not going to have to find us. We’re waiting for you.’ But I hope they’re just proud of me… for doing things that I always said I wouldn’t do.”

That’s the heart of this story.

Not tragedy.

Not survival.

Hope.

Silencing the Wolves:
How Franni Cash Found Her Voice

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the people sitting across from us are almost never exactly who we think they are. That can be both beautiful and heartbreaking. Sometimes the people we trust most aren’t who they claimed to be. Other times, the person we’ve watched from a distance has a depth, resilience, and story we never expected. My conversation with Franni Cash was a reminder of both.

For many listeners, Franni Cash is already a familiar face and voice. Through We The Kingdom, “Holy Water” has become a staple in churches around the world. Her family has been apart of countless worship anthems. Yet as we sat down together in CCM Magazine’s studio, it didn’t take long to realize that this conversation wasn’t going to be about chart success, awards, or even the next chapter of her career.It’s become a recurring theme in our Cover Stories. Whether the artist is just getting started or has spent four decades making music, the most meaningful conversations inevitably move beyond albums and accolades and into the work God is doing through healing. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

That journey began with one of the most difficult decisions of her life. “I felt that God was calling me to step away from my band at the end of 2023,” she told me. “Definitely by far the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make because… the band was my family.”

Leaving We The Kingdom wasn’t simply leaving a successful band. It meant stepping away from a ministry she had built alongside her father, her brother, her uncle, and one of her closest friends. It’s easy for people on the outside to assume those moments are driven by conflict or ambition, but listening to Franni describe that season, neither of those words seemed to fit.

“It really just came down to, ‘I need to preserve my family relationships,'” she said. In an industry where departures often become headlines, Franni’s priority wasn’t protecting a career. It was protecting her family. “When I told them, ‘I think my time is up,’ they said, ‘We’re not surprised by this. We’re prepared.'”

Even with that reassurance, the transition wasn’t easy.

“At first it was so hard,” she admitted. “But now, and I really mean this, the relationships have never been better. There’s a lot of reconciliation that happened and true healing, which I’m so grateful for.” The lens of healing seems to flavor almost every part of her story.

What surprised me most, though, was learning that Franni never intended to become a solo artist.

“I didn’t think I was going to make my own music,” she laughed. “I thought that was my family’s thing.”

Growing up with a father whose songwriting and production career influenced so many artists left her wrestling with comparisons she never asked for. She wondered if she could ever measure up or if there was even room for her own voice. The pressure became so overwhelming that she briefly started imagining a completely different future. “I was kind of considering what my other career options were,” she said. “I was thinking maybe going to school for interior design.” Instead, something unexpected happened. She started writing.

This was just a comfortable outlet to process everything she had been carrying without the baggage of a record deal. “Things just started flooding out of me.” She then smiled before describing songwriting. “It’s like you have to do it to breathe. Songwriting is breathing.”

That may be the simplest description of this album. Here I Am, her debut full length solo record, was written out of necessity to herself. It’s about finally giving yourself permission to become who God created you to be.

What began as private journal entries set to music slowly became something she felt compelled to share. “I thought going into this, writing songs that are so specific to my story… that’s going to be a disconnect for people,” she told me. “And I was completely surprised at how something so personal, became universal.”

No song illustrates that better than “Raised By Wolves.” In this song Franni chose to confront one of the deepest wounds of her life head-on. “I was terrified to put it out,” she admitted. “I didn’t know the narrative people were going to build around it. I thought they might think that I was talking about my parents, especially after leaving the family band.” She quickly set the record straight. “It was not at all about my parents. I love my parents.”

“Things just started flooding out of me. It’s like you have to do it to breathe. Songwriting is breathing.”

Instead, the song was born from an entirely different chapter of her life, one that had shaped her faith long before We The Kingdom ever existed. The song and many of the albums theme come from a traumatic church experience she walked through. “’Raised By Wolves’ is so specific to my story of growing up in a toxic church environment,” she explained. “So many people have come to me with this general feeling of betrayal from the place that was supposed to be safe.” The experience left her questioning not only the people who had hurt her, but the God they claimed to represent. She describes that season as one where fear, manipulation and control became tangled together with faith. It wasn’t until years later that she began separating the character of God from the actions of people who had misrepresented Him.

What struck me most wasn’t the trauma itself. It was the lightness with which Franni now talks about it. That’s not to say those experiences didn’t leave scars. They did. But as she reflected on that season, I wasn’t sitting across from someone trapped by bitterness. I was sitting across from someone who glows with gratefulness. “I think that song taught me a boldness,” she said. “It helped me tap into, ‘Let’s not care what people think. Let’s just say what we need to say and go for it.’ It kind of broke off some… almost fear of man in me, which was incredibly empowering.”

Night after night, her audience found someone willing to say out loud what they had only whispered to themselves. “I think people are starving for authenticity,” Franni told me. “When you’re honest about your story, it gives other people permission to be honest about theirs.”

Perhaps that’s why Here I Am feels like an invitation stop pretending and fully believe that the failures of people don’t redefine the character of God.

While this album was taking shape, another chapter of Franni’s life was unfolding. She had recently married Austin, who shares the stage with her today, and as she spoke about their life together, there was an unmistakable sense of peace. The heaviness that surrounded some of the earlier stories gave way to laughter, gratitude, and the quiet confidence of someone discovering what healthy relationships can actually look like.

Healing, it seems, has a way of touching every part of your life.

The reconciliation she experienced with her family after leaving We The Kingdom, the freedom she found in writing songs she never intended anyone else to hear, and the new season she and Austin were building together all seemed connected. None of it happened overnight, but looking back, it’s difficult not to see God’s hand weaving each thread together into the same story.

Franni told me there came a morning when something happened that she never expected. The church leader at the center of so much of her pain had since passed away, and the ministry that had once seemed untouchable had long since crumbled. If there was ever a moment when you might expect someone to feel vindicated, this was it. Instead, God revealed something entirely different.

“I woke up and thought, ‘I wish I could have one more conversation with him,'” she recalled. “That thought shocked me.” For years, she believed healing would arrive when someone apologized, acknowledged the hurt, or somehow made things right. Instead, God revealed that something inside her had already changed. “I realized… this must be forgiveness.”

Not because the past suddenly disappeared. Not because the wounds weren’t real. But because they no longer had the final word.

Listening to Franni describe that moment, it became clear that Here I Am is about rediscovering the character of God after people have distorted it. It’s about finding your own voice after years of comparison. It’s about choosing family over success, authenticity over perception, and freedom over fear. That freedom is woven throughout the album and Franni herself.

Rather than chasing a radio format or recreating the sound that made her famous with We The Kingdom, Franni has made something refreshingly personal. Every song feels like another chapter in the same story. Some wrestle with doubt. Others celebrate grace. Together, they form a record that isn’t interested in pretending life is neat and tidy. Instead, it points listeners toward the hope that can only be found after walking through the fire.

“I think people are starving for authenticity. When you’re honest about your story, it gives other people permission to be honest about theirs.”

For the first time, Franni wasn’t trying to fit into someone else’s expectations or carry the weight of a legacy. She was discovering what her own creative process looked like, and that process just happened to include her husband, Austin.

“I got to have him produce,” she said with a smile. “I think he produced maybe the most songs—or touched the most songs—out of anybody on the record.”

Then she laughed.

“I’m sure I was really hard to work with.”

Austin, she insisted, would probably tell you the same thing.

“I’m kind of a perfectionist, and I was trying to find my thing,” she admitted. “But he was so, so gracious.”

Her explanation for why he survived the process might have been my favorite moment of the interview.

“He has all sisters,” she laughed. “So he knows how… it was like he was made for it. He knows how to deal with women for sure.”

The room erupted in laughter.

Behind the joke, though, was genuine admiration. Long before Here I Am became a reality, Austin had already been part of Franni’s musical journey.

“When we met, it was before We The Kingdom really took off,” she said. “He’s really been a part of my journey with music the whole way through.”

Now, for the first time, they get to share that journey in a completely different way.

“It was so much fun,” she said. “Getting to tour together… I’ve gotten to watch him take off, and he’s gotten to watch me. It’s really fun getting to be a part of each other’s journeys.”

That sense of partnership echoes throughout Here I Am. While the record is deeply personal, it never feels lonely. Even in its heaviest moments, there’s an underlying confidence that comes from knowing Franni no longer has to carry the weight of proving herself. She’s surrounded by people who believe in her, not because she’s part of a famous family or one of Christian music’s biggest bands, but because they believe in the artist she has become.

Listening to the album after spending time with Franni, I found myself hearing it differently. The soaring melodies are there. The production is rich and intentional. Her unmistakable voice is as captivating as ever. But those things aren’t what stayed with me.

It was the honesty.

You hear it in every lyric. You hear it in the questions she’s no longer afraid to ask. You hear it in the confidence of someone who has stopped trying to prove herself and started trusting the gifts God placed in her all along. Not because she’s trying to replace what came before, but because she’s finally embracing what has always been uniquely hers.

As she prepares to take these songs around the country with her husband Austin by her side, there is an unmistakable joy surrounding this season. The woman who once wondered if writing songs this personal would alienate listeners is now watching them become anthems for people searching for hope. The songs she never intended anyone else to hear are now reminding thousands of people that they aren’t alone.

As our conversation came to an end, I found myself thinking back to where it began. The people sitting across from us are almost never exactly who we think they are. Sometimes they’re even better.

Silencing the Wolves:
How Franni Cash Found Her Voice

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the people sitting across from us are almost never exactly who we think they are. That can be both beautiful and heartbreaking. Sometimes the people we trust most aren’t who they claimed to be. Other times, the person we’ve watched from a distance has a depth, resilience, and story we never expected. My conversation with Franni Cash was a reminder of both.

For many listeners, Franni Cash is already a familiar face and voice. Through We The Kingdom, “Holy Water” has become a staple in churches around the world. Her family has been apart of countless worship anthems. Yet as we sat down together in CCM Magazine’s studio, it didn’t take long to realize that this conversation wasn’t going to be about chart success, awards, or even the next chapter of her career.It’s become a recurring theme in our Cover Stories. Whether the artist is just getting started or has spent four decades making music, the most meaningful conversations inevitably move beyond albums and accolades and into the work God is doing through healing. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

That journey began with one of the most difficult decisions of her life. “I felt that God was calling me to step away from my band at the end of 2023,” she told me. “Definitely by far the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make because… the band was my family.”

Leaving We The Kingdom wasn’t simply leaving a successful band. It meant stepping away from a ministry she had built alongside her father, her brother, her uncle, and one of her closest friends. It’s easy for people on the outside to assume those moments are driven by conflict or ambition, but listening to Franni describe that season, neither of those words seemed to fit.

“It really just came down to, ‘I need to preserve my family relationships,'” she said. In an industry where departures often become headlines, Franni’s priority wasn’t protecting a career. It was protecting her family. “When I told them, ‘I think my time is up,’ they said, ‘We’re not surprised by this. We’re prepared.'”

Even with that reassurance, the transition wasn’t easy.

“At first it was so hard,” she admitted. “But now, and I really mean this, the relationships have never been better. There’s a lot of reconciliation that happened and true healing, which I’m so grateful for.” The lens of healing seems to flavor almost every part of her story.

What surprised me most, though, was learning that Franni never intended to become a solo artist.

“I didn’t think I was going to make my own music,” she laughed. “I thought that was my family’s thing.”

Growing up with a father whose songwriting and production career influenced so many artists left her wrestling with comparisons she never asked for. She wondered if she could ever measure up or if there was even room for her own voice. The pressure became so overwhelming that she briefly started imagining a completely different future. “I was kind of considering what my other career options were,” she said. “I was thinking maybe going to school for interior design.” Instead, something unexpected happened. She started writing.

This was just a comfortable outlet to process everything she had been carrying without the baggage of a record deal. “Things just started flooding out of me.” She then smiled before describing songwriting. “It’s like you have to do it to breathe. Songwriting is breathing.”

That may be the simplest description of this album. Here I Am, her debut full length solo record, was written out of necessity to herself. It’s about finally giving yourself permission to become who God created you to be.

What began as private journal entries set to music slowly became something she felt compelled to share. “I thought going into this, writing songs that are so specific to my story… that’s going to be a disconnect for people,” she told me. “And I was completely surprised at how something so personal, became universal.”

No song illustrates that better than “Raised By Wolves.” In this song Franni chose to confront one of the deepest wounds of her life head-on. “I was terrified to put it out,” she admitted. “I didn’t know the narrative people were going to build around it. I thought they might think that I was talking about my parents, especially after leaving the family band.” She quickly set the record straight. “It was not at all about my parents. I love my parents.”

“Things just started flooding out of me. It’s like you have to do it to breathe. Songwriting is breathing.”

Instead, the song was born from an entirely different chapter of her life, one that had shaped her faith long before We The Kingdom ever existed. The song and many of the albums theme come from a traumatic church experience she walked through. “’Raised By Wolves’ is so specific to my story of growing up in a toxic church environment,” she explained. “So many people have come to me with this general feeling of betrayal from the place that was supposed to be safe.” The experience left her questioning not only the people who had hurt her, but the God they claimed to represent. She describes that season as one where fear, manipulation and control became tangled together with faith. It wasn’t until years later that she began separating the character of God from the actions of people who had misrepresented Him.

What struck me most wasn’t the trauma itself. It was the lightness with which Franni now talks about it. That’s not to say those experiences didn’t leave scars. They did. But as she reflected on that season, I wasn’t sitting across from someone trapped by bitterness. I was sitting across from someone who glows with gratefulness. “I think that song taught me a boldness,” she said. “It helped me tap into, ‘Let’s not care what people think. Let’s just say what we need to say and go for it.’ It kind of broke off some… almost fear of man in me, which was incredibly empowering.”

Night after night, her audience found someone willing to say out loud what they had only whispered to themselves. “I think people are starving for authenticity,” Franni told me. “When you’re honest about your story, it gives other people permission to be honest about theirs.”

Perhaps that’s why Here I Am feels like an invitation stop pretending and fully believe that the failures of people don’t redefine the character of God.

While this album was taking shape, another chapter of Franni’s life was unfolding. She had recently married Austin, who shares the stage with her today, and as she spoke about their life together, there was an unmistakable sense of peace. The heaviness that surrounded some of the earlier stories gave way to laughter, gratitude, and the quiet confidence of someone discovering what healthy relationships can actually look like.

Healing, it seems, has a way of touching every part of your life.

The reconciliation she experienced with her family after leaving We The Kingdom, the freedom she found in writing songs she never intended anyone else to hear, and the new season she and Austin were building together all seemed connected. None of it happened overnight, but looking back, it’s difficult not to see God’s hand weaving each thread together into the same story.

Franni told me there came a morning when something happened that she never expected. The church leader at the center of so much of her pain had since passed away, and the ministry that had once seemed untouchable had long since crumbled. If there was ever a moment when you might expect someone to feel vindicated, this was it. Instead, God revealed something entirely different.

“I woke up and thought, ‘I wish I could have one more conversation with him,'” she recalled. “That thought shocked me.” For years, she believed healing would arrive when someone apologized, acknowledged the hurt, or somehow made things right. Instead, God revealed that something inside her had already changed. “I realized… this must be forgiveness.”

Not because the past suddenly disappeared. Not because the wounds weren’t real. But because they no longer had the final word.

Listening to Franni describe that moment, it became clear that Here I Am is about rediscovering the character of God after people have distorted it. It’s about finding your own voice after years of comparison. It’s about choosing family over success, authenticity over perception, and freedom over fear. That freedom is woven throughout the album and Franni herself.

Rather than chasing a radio format or recreating the sound that made her famous with We The Kingdom, Franni has made something refreshingly personal. Every song feels like another chapter in the same story. Some wrestle with doubt. Others celebrate grace. Together, they form a record that isn’t interested in pretending life is neat and tidy. Instead, it points listeners toward the hope that can only be found after walking through the fire.

“I think people are starving for authenticity. When you’re honest about your story, it gives other people permission to be honest about theirs.”

For the first time, Franni wasn’t trying to fit into someone else’s expectations or carry the weight of a legacy. She was discovering what her own creative process looked like, and that process just happened to include her husband, Austin.

“I got to have him produce,” she said with a smile. “I think he produced maybe the most songs—or touched the most songs—out of anybody on the record.”

Then she laughed.

“I’m sure I was really hard to work with.”

Austin, she insisted, would probably tell you the same thing.

“I’m kind of a perfectionist, and I was trying to find my thing,” she admitted. “But he was so, so gracious.”

Her explanation for why he survived the process might have been my favorite moment of the interview.

“He has all sisters,” she laughed. “So he knows how… it was like he was made for it. He knows how to deal with women for sure.”

The room erupted in laughter.

Behind the joke, though, was genuine admiration. Long before Here I Am became a reality, Austin had already been part of Franni’s musical journey.

“When we met, it was before We The Kingdom really took off,” she said. “He’s really been a part of my journey with music the whole way through.”

Now, for the first time, they get to share that journey in a completely different way.

“It was so much fun,” she said. “Getting to tour together… I’ve gotten to watch him take off, and he’s gotten to watch me. It’s really fun getting to be a part of each other’s journeys.”

That sense of partnership echoes throughout Here I Am. While the record is deeply personal, it never feels lonely. Even in its heaviest moments, there’s an underlying confidence that comes from knowing Franni no longer has to carry the weight of proving herself. She’s surrounded by people who believe in her, not because she’s part of a famous family or one of Christian music’s biggest bands, but because they believe in the artist she has become.

Listening to the album after spending time with Franni, I found myself hearing it differently. The soaring melodies are there. The production is rich and intentional. Her unmistakable voice is as captivating as ever. But those things aren’t what stayed with me.

It was the honesty.

You hear it in every lyric. You hear it in the questions she’s no longer afraid to ask. You hear it in the confidence of someone who has stopped trying to prove herself and started trusting the gifts God placed in her all along. Not because she’s trying to replace what came before, but because she’s finally embracing what has always been uniquely hers.

As she prepares to take these songs around the country with her husband Austin by her side, there is an unmistakable joy surrounding this season. The woman who once wondered if writing songs this personal would alienate listeners is now watching them become anthems for people searching for hope. The songs she never intended anyone else to hear are now reminding thousands of people that they aren’t alone.

As our conversation came to an end, I found myself thinking back to where it began. The people sitting across from us are almost never exactly who we think they are. Sometimes they’re even better.

(NASHVILLE, TN) — After a remarkable first full year of reimagined cover stories featuring some of Christian music’s biggest legends and brightest newcomers, CCM Magazine has revealed Franni Cash as the cover artist for its August 2026 issue.

The Cover Story is a deeply personal feature that explores Cash’s journey from chart-topping success to profound personal healing.

Franni Cash is already a 2x Grammy-nominated artist and 3x Dove Award winner with her former band We The Kingdom, but it’s time for her debut solo album, Here I Am, coming September 18.

While the music marks the beginning of a new chapter, the CCM Magazine cover story goes far beyond the upcoming album. In an open and transparent interview, Cash opens up about faith, heartbreak, forgiveness, identity, and the unexpected freedom that has emerged from seasons of profound personal pain. It’s a conversation filled with vulnerability, humor, and ultimately, hope.

Amanda Sekulow, Co-Editor of CCM Magazine, said the experience of spending time with Cash left a lasting impression.

Says Amanda: “Spending time with Franni reminded me that some of the most powerful stories are born from the deepest wounds. Her honesty, her faith, and these songs are going to resonate with people who have been waiting to hear someone put words to what they’ve lived.”

Logan Sekulow, Publisher and Co-Editor of CCM Magazine, believes Cash’s story reflects an exciting moment for Christian music.

Says Logan: “Franni represents an exciting new chapter in Christian music, where authenticity is overarching message. We believe this is the beginning of something truly special, and we’re honored to share her incredibly story and amazing music.”

Cash shared her excitement about the feature after seeing the finished cover.

“I am on the COVER of CCM Magazine this month?! What an absolute honor!! I had the best time getting to know Amanda and Logan and sharing my story with them, now YOU.”

She also celebrated the role Christian music continues to play in people’s lives.

“God is doing something incredible in and through Christian music and I truly love getting to be a part of it. Thank you to CCM Magazine for championing artists and giving space for Christian music to be featured, supported, and given a further reach.”

The August cover package continues CCM Magazine’s renewed commitment to long-form storytelling, cinematic photography, exclusive performances, and in-depth conversations that allow readers to experience the heart behind today’s most influential Christian artists.

Readers can access the complete Franni Cash cover story, exclusive interview, and live performance videos beginning August 5th at CCMmagazine.com.

Art Direction / Editor: Amanda Sekulow

Producer / Editor: Amanda Sekulow

Cover Photo: Alicia St Gelais

Director of Photography / Video: Patrick Johnson

Music Engineer: Mark Lee Townsend

(NASHVILLE, TN) — After a remarkable first full year of reimagined cover stories featuring some of Christian music’s biggest legends and brightest newcomers, CCM Magazine has revealed Franni Cash as the cover artist for its August 2026 issue.

The Cover Story is a deeply personal feature that explores Cash’s journey from chart-topping success to profound personal healing.

Franni Cash is already a 2x Grammy-nominated artist and 3x Dove Award winner with her former band We The Kingdom, but it’s time for her debut solo album, Here I Am, coming September 18.

While the music marks the beginning of a new chapter, the CCM Magazine cover story goes far beyond the upcoming album. In an open and transparent interview, Cash opens up about faith, heartbreak, forgiveness, identity, and the unexpected freedom that has emerged from seasons of profound personal pain. It’s a conversation filled with vulnerability, humor, and ultimately, hope.

Amanda Sekulow, Co-Editor of CCM Magazine, said the experience of spending time with Cash left a lasting impression.

Says Amanda: “Spending time with Franni reminded me that some of the most powerful stories are born from the deepest wounds. Her honesty, her faith, and these songs are going to resonate with people who have been waiting to hear someone put words to what they’ve lived.”

Logan Sekulow, Publisher and Co-Editor of CCM Magazine, believes Cash’s story reflects an exciting moment for Christian music.

Says Logan: “Franni represents an exciting new chapter in Christian music, where authenticity is overarching message. We believe this is the beginning of something truly special, and we’re honored to share her incredibly story and amazing music.”

Cash shared her excitement about the feature after seeing the finished cover.

“I am on the COVER of CCM Magazine this month?! What an absolute honor!! I had the best time getting to know Amanda and Logan and sharing my story with them, now YOU.”

She also celebrated the role Christian music continues to play in people’s lives.

“God is doing something incredible in and through Christian music and I truly love getting to be a part of it. Thank you to CCM Magazine for championing artists and giving space for Christian music to be featured, supported, and given a further reach.”

The August cover package continues CCM Magazine’s renewed commitment to long-form storytelling, cinematic photography, exclusive performances, and in-depth conversations that allow readers to experience the heart behind today’s most influential Christian artists.

Readers can access the complete Franni Cash cover story, exclusive interview, and live performance videos beginning August 5th at CCMmagazine.com.

Art Direction / Editor: Amanda Sekulow

Producer / Editor: Amanda Sekulow

Cover Photo: Alicia St Gelais

Director of Photography / Video: Patrick Johnson

Music Engineer: Mark Lee Townsend

When CCM Magazine returned, we didn’t just want to tell stories, we wanted to capture moments. Some artists were celebrating legendary careers, others were introducing themselves to the world, and a few were standing on the edge of breakthrough seasons that none of us could have predicted.

A year later, it’s amazing to look back.

Our cover artists have filled arenas, launched new tours, released career-defining music, earned Dove Award nominations, celebrated milestones, and continued pointing listeners toward Christ through every season. Some stories have come full circle. Others are just getting started.

Here’s a look at where each of our cover artists is now,and where you can catch them next.

Steven Curtis Chapman

It all began with Steven Curtis Chapman. Our first cover story celebrated the 25th anniversary of Speechless, and fans responded in a big way. What started as a celebration became one of Steven’s most beloved tours in years, prompting a final 14-city fall leg before the Speechless 25th Anniversary Tour officially comes to a close. Catch the farewell run this fall before the curtain falls on one of Christian music’s most beloved albums.

  Megan Woods

Few artists have experienced a rise quite like Megan Woods. Since appearing on our cover, she’s earned a Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and announced an expanded 30-city return of The Truth Tour. With “The Truth” surpassing 150 million global streams, Megan has quickly become one of Christian music’s brightest new stars. The tour kicks off October 1 in Centralia, Illinois, wraps November 22 in Sumter, South Carolina, and hits nearly every corner of the country along the way.

  Third Day

One of the most unforgettable moments of our year happened inside the CCM studio when Third Day reunited for the first time in more than a decade. That reunion sparked one of the year’s biggest tours, and now the celebration is only getting bigger. Following their acclaimed reunion run, the band will join TobyMac and Chris Tomlin this November for one of the most anticipated Christian tours in recent memory, hitting 12 arena dates from November 5–22. And just announced today, the celebration isn’t ending there. Third Day has unveiled the final leg of their 30th Anniversary Tour, returning to the road in April and May 2027 with special guest Zach Williams and Scout & The Saints. The 24-city farewell run kicks off April 1 in Clarksville, Tennessee, travels from Florida to the Pacific Northwest and back through Texas, before concluding May 9 in Beaumont, Texas. For a band that reunited in our studio after more than a decade apart, it’s been incredible to watch the momentum continue to grow—and it looks like fans will have one last chance to celebrate one of Christian music’s most beloved bands.

  Katy Nichole

Katy Nichole’s cover story remains one of our readers’ favorites, and for good reason. Equal parts heartfelt and hilarious, it perfectly captured her personality. Since then, “Have Your Way,” which she first performed for CCM, has continued to grow following a standout Winter Jam season and her successful Honest Conversations Tour. Lately, fans have been getting sneak peeks at brand-new music with a noticeable country influence. Nothing has officially been announced yet, but if social media is any indication, Katy’s next chapter is right around the corner.

  Danny Gokey

Danny Gokey never slows down. Between Carnegie Hall, a packed touring schedule, and the release of his powerful new single, “Jesus Over Everything,” he’s continued one of the strongest seasons of his career. His latest music video revisits the gravesite of his late wife, Sophia, not from a place of heartbreak, but from a place of healing, offering one of the most moving testimonies we’ve seen this year.

  1K Phew

We joked about having a “Phew Year,” and somehow it actually happened. “Move” with Forrest Frank exploded, becoming both a Fortnite Jam Track and eventually an official Fortnite emote. Add a brand-new album and festival appearances stretching from Chattanooga and Atlanta to SoulFest, Uprise Festival, Oceanside, and beyond, and it’s safe to say 1K Phew’s momentum isn’t slowing anytime soon.

  Colton Dixon

Colton Dixon brought “The Love I Have For You” to our studio, and he’s been just as busy off-camera. Between new music, his expanding fragrance line, and another packed touring schedule, Colton will spend the rest of the year everywhere from Red Rocks and ShineFest to state fairs, theaters, and festival stages across the country, wrapping the fall with dates alongside Micah Tyler and stops from Virginia to Nebraska.

  Jamie MacDonald

If anyone owned 2026, it might be Jamie MacDonald. K-LOVE Song of the Year. Multiple Dove Award nominations. Guest appearances with Forrest Frank. A major supporting slot on Phil Wickham’s Songs of the Saints Tour. And now, just as her momentum continues to build, Jamie has released Left It In The River [Reimagined], a four-song collection that gives fresh life to the career-defining anthem that spent 12 weeks at No. 1 and was named K-LOVE’s 2026 Song of the Year. Fresh off Dove Award nominations for New Artist of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, Jamie launches her own Left It In The River Tour this fall, carrying one of Christian music’s biggest breakthrough stories into its next chapter.

Listen to Left It In The River [Reimagined] here:

jamiemacdonald.lnk.to/LeftInTheRiverReimaginedPR

        Tommee Profitt

Tommee Profitt doesn’t tour often,but when he does, it’s an event. Following another year of cinematic releases and fan demand for his live arrangements, The Birth of a King LIVE returns to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on December 12 & 13 after last year’s sold-out debut. With more than 20 artists, a 50-piece orchestra, a 100-person choir, and Tommee’s signature cinematic arrangements, Christmas simply doesn’t get much bigger than this.

  Amy Grant

Amy Grant made history by becoming our most-featured cover artist, and she followed it with one of the year’s most acclaimed albums, The Me That Remains. She’s spending late summer and fall touring with longtime collaborator Mac McAnally and,spoiler alert,our next cover artist, Franni Cash, before joining Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winansfor the Christmas Together Tour from November 27 through December 8. Then, as only Amy can, she’ll close the year with her beloved Christmas at the Ryman residency with Vince Gill, running December 14-23 in Nashville.

  CAIN

When CAIN visited CCM, they introduced Living Water,and now they’re taking that vision on the road. Their new Live and In Worship Tour launches in September and runs through November, pairing CAIN’s signature celebration with worship leaders including Jenn Johnson, Kristian Stanfill, Jon Reddick, Leeland, Bodie, Patrick Mayberry, Joe L Barnes, and Lizzie Morgan. It’s colorful, creative, and one of the most unique tours hitting Christian music this fall.

  Ben Fuller

It may have only been weeks since Ben Fuller graced our cover, but life isn’t slowing down. Dove Award nominations, a wedding on the horizon, and an expanded Black Sheep Tour have kept one of Christian music’s most authentic voices constantly on the move. After a summer packed with festivals, Ben launches another leg of the Black Sheep Tour in October, with headline dates stretching from Louisiana to Indiana before sailing into 2027 aboard the K-LOVE Cruise.

The Story Continues…

One of the greatest joys of producing these cover stories has been watching what happens after the cameras stop rolling. Every conversation captured a unique moment in time, but none of these artists have stood still. They’ve continued writing songs, sharing their testimonies, filling venues, and impacting lives across the country.

Looking back, we’re incredibly grateful to every artist, manager, publicist, label, photographer, crew member, and partner who trusted CCM Magazine with their stories. Most of all, we’re thankful for you, our readers and viewers, who have made this relaunch more successful than we ever imagined.

This past year has reminded us why Christian music matters. Behind every chart-topping single, sold-out tour, and award nomination is a story of faith, redemption, perseverance, and the God who continues to write better endings than any of us could imagine.

Thank you for joining us for our first year back. We can’t wait to show you what’s next.

See you on the next cover.

When CCM Magazine returned, we didn’t just want to tell stories, we wanted to capture moments. Some artists were celebrating legendary careers, others were introducing themselves to the world, and a few were standing on the edge of breakthrough seasons that none of us could have predicted.

A year later, it’s amazing to look back.

Our cover artists have filled arenas, launched new tours, released career-defining music, earned Dove Award nominations, celebrated milestones, and continued pointing listeners toward Christ through every season. Some stories have come full circle. Others are just getting started.

Here’s a look at where each of our cover artists is now,and where you can catch them next.

Steven Curtis Chapman

It all began with Steven Curtis Chapman. Our first cover story celebrated the 25th anniversary of Speechless, and fans responded in a big way. What started as a celebration became one of Steven’s most beloved tours in years, prompting a final 14-city fall leg before the Speechless 25th Anniversary Tour officially comes to a close. Catch the farewell run this fall before the curtain falls on one of Christian music’s most beloved albums.

  Megan Woods

Few artists have experienced a rise quite like Megan Woods. Since appearing on our cover, she’s earned a Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and announced an expanded 30-city return of The Truth Tour. With “The Truth” surpassing 150 million global streams, Megan has quickly become one of Christian music’s brightest new stars. The tour kicks off October 1 in Centralia, Illinois, wraps November 22 in Sumter, South Carolina, and hits nearly every corner of the country along the way.

  Third Day

One of the most unforgettable moments of our year happened inside the CCM studio when Third Day reunited for the first time in more than a decade. That reunion sparked one of the year’s biggest tours, and now the band is keeping the momentum alive with an incredible co-headlining run alongside TobyMac and Chris Tomlin. The 12-city arena tour runs November 5-22, stopping in Columbia, Evansville, Cleveland, Greensboro, Hershey, Buffalo, Portland (ME), Baltimore, Des Moines, Lincoln, Peoria, and North Little Rock. Three legends. One stage. No filler.

  Katy Nichole

Katy Nichole’s cover story remains one of our readers’ favorites, and for good reason. Equal parts heartfelt and hilarious, it perfectly captured her personality. Since then, “Have Your Way,” which she first performed for CCM, has continued to grow following a standout Winter Jam season and her successful Honest Conversations Tour. Lately, fans have been getting sneak peeks at brand-new music with a noticeable country influence. Nothing has officially been announced yet, but if social media is any indication, Katy’s next chapter is right around the corner.

  Danny Gokey

Danny Gokey never slows down. Between Carnegie Hall, a packed touring schedule, and the release of his powerful new single, “Jesus Over Everything,” he’s continued one of the strongest seasons of his career. His latest music video revisits the gravesite of his late wife, Sophia, not from a place of heartbreak, but from a place of healing, offering one of the most moving testimonies we’ve seen this year.

  1K Phew

We joked about having a “Phew Year,” and somehow it actually happened. “Move” with Forrest Frank exploded, becoming both a Fortnite Jam Track and eventually an official Fortnite emote. Add a brand-new album and festival appearances stretching from Chattanooga and Atlanta to SoulFest, Uprise Festival, Oceanside, and beyond, and it’s safe to say 1K Phew’s momentum isn’t slowing anytime soon.

  Colton Dixon

Colton Dixon brought “The Love I Have For You” to our studio, and he’s been just as busy off-camera. Between new music, his expanding fragrance line, and another packed touring schedule, Colton will spend the rest of the year everywhere from Red Rocks and ShineFest to state fairs, theaters, and festival stages across the country, wrapping the fall with dates alongside Micah Tyler and stops from Virginia to Nebraska.

  Jamie MacDonald

If anyone owned 2026, it might be Jamie MacDonald. K-LOVE Song of the Year. Multiple Dove Award nominations. Guest appearances with Forrest Frank. A major supporting slot on Phil Wickham’s Songs of the Saints Tour. Then, beginning October 20, Jamie launches her own Left It In The River Tour, carrying the momentum through more than a month of headline dates across the West Coast, East Coast, South, and Midwest. From breakthrough artist to household name in just months, Jamie’s story is still being written.

  Tommee Profitt

Tommee Profitt doesn’t tour often,but when he does, it’s an event. Following another year of cinematic releases and fan demand for his live arrangements, The Birth of a King LIVE returns to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on December 12 & 13 after last year’s sold-out debut. With more than 20 artists, a 50-piece orchestra, a 100-person choir, and Tommee’s signature cinematic arrangements, Christmas simply doesn’t get much bigger than this.

  Amy Grant

Amy Grant made history by becoming our most-featured cover artist, and she followed it with one of the year’s most acclaimed albums, The Me That Remains. She’s spending late summer and fall touring with longtime collaborator Mac McAnally and,spoiler alert,our next cover artist, Franni Cash, before joining Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winansfor the Christmas Together Tour from November 27 through December 8. Then, as only Amy can, she’ll close the year with her beloved Christmas at the Ryman residency with Vince Gill, running December 14-23 in Nashville.

  CAIN

When CAIN visited CCM, they introduced Living Water,and now they’re taking that vision on the road. Their new Live and In Worship Tour launches in September and runs through November, pairing CAIN’s signature celebration with worship leaders including Jenn Johnson, Kristian Stanfill, Jon Reddick, Leeland, Bodie, Patrick Mayberry, Joe L Barnes, and Lizzie Morgan. It’s colorful, creative, and one of the most unique tours hitting Christian music this fall.

  Ben Fuller

It may have only been weeks since Ben Fuller graced our cover, but life isn’t slowing down. Dove Award nominations, a wedding on the horizon, and an expanded Black Sheep Tour have kept one of Christian music’s most authentic voices constantly on the move. After a summer packed with festivals, Ben launches another leg of the Black Sheep Tour in October, with headline dates stretching from Louisiana to Indiana before sailing into 2027 aboard the K-LOVE Cruise.

The Story Continues…

One of the greatest joys of producing these cover stories has been watching what happens after the cameras stop rolling. Every conversation captured a unique moment in time, but none of these artists have stood still. They’ve continued writing songs, sharing their testimonies, filling venues, and impacting lives across the country.

Looking back, we’re incredibly grateful to every artist, manager, publicist, label, photographer, crew member, and partner who trusted CCM Magazine with their stories. Most of all, we’re thankful for you, our readers and viewers, who have made this relaunch more successful than we ever imagined.

This past year has reminded us why Christian music matters. Behind every chart-topping single, sold-out tour, and award nomination is a story of faith, redemption, perseverance, and the God who continues to write better endings than any of us could imagine.

Thank you for joining us for our first year back. We can’t wait to show you what’s next.

See you on the next cover.

Rolling green hills glisten in every direction beneath a pink Tennessee sky as the sun fades away. The air is still damp. The storm that threatened to ruin the evening only an hour earlier still drips from the trees and the barn eaves. In the distance, a few thick clouds remind us of their presence, but now it’s an old teal pickup that rumbles by under strings of popcorn lights. Inside the brightly lit barn, line dancers glide across the wooden floor while Dolly Parton karaoke echoes through the trees.

But this particular night, my view isn’t just another of God’s masterpieces. It’s the set of A Music City Story – a new feature film from SONY Affirm Films, being shot in and around Nashville. And based on my experience, this story will be something we haven’t seen before and could, if not redefine, broaden what we tend to think of as “Christian movies.”

A Music City Story stars actor and recording artist Moriah (MŌRIAH) Smallbone alongside her real-life husband, Joel Smallbone. Joel will be familiar to many audiences from films like Unsung Hero and Young Washington – but you’ve probably also heard of his other gig as half of the GRAMMY winning Christian recording duo for KING + COUNTRY.

As described in the film’s official press release:

Written off by Nashville as past her prime, struggling singer-songwriter Mo (Moriah Smallbone) walks away from her controlling manager and takes a chance on starting over. As she works to rebuild her career, she forms an unexpected connection with Ran (Joel Smallbone), a contractor whose encouragement helps her rediscover her faith, her voice and the courage to pursue the future she’s always believed possible. Together, they learn that every comeback starts with believing there’s another verse to write.

While this movie is not a traditional biopic, it draws its inspiration from the real-life experiences of Moriah, and her personal journey establishing herself as a female recording artist in Nashville. And it’s no fairy tale. This film doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of the music industry that others would ignore.

During a conversation on set, Moriah explained how deeply personal the story is for her, and her family:

[My] dad and I started a version of this story that was very different, but it all kind of started with us just wanting to spend time together and create something together. And to tell a story that was born out of our family. Family traumas. Experiences in church as a woman, and the women that I come from, the incredible amounts of abuse that they’ve had to experience and survive . . . And I think it’s been quieted and suppressed in our community for so long.

But lest you think this movie is meant to be a seething indictment against the music business, A Music City Story is ultimately about love, hope, and redemption. Like the storm that gave way to the beautiful evening surrounding us, the darkness exists only to make the light shine brighter.

Joel Smallbone made clear that this is unabashedly a love story – something mostly absent from Christian filmmaking:

Part of our responsibility as creators, whether it’s putting music on the airwaves or film or influencing, is to find stories that represent and resonate with the gospel that haven’t been told yet. And one of the things that struck us when we first started talking about it is…where are all the love stories?

Like we’re telling the greatest love story the world has ever known. And this whole idea of the bride and groom, like it’s written into the gospel, it’s written into the good news. It’s Jesus’s great allegory.

Another element that may set A Music City Story apart is the production itself. Shooting this film became a living act of service. In the movie, Joel’s character is restoring a dilapidated church. The church you’ll see is not a Hollywood set. It’s Nashville’s Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, a breathtaking 174-year-old Nashville landmark that had fallen into disrepair. A fact the production used for the purposes of storytelling and funded the real-life restoration of the church.

Now, Holy Trinity will live on, not just on film – it will continue to stand, serving the people of Nashville for generations to come.

Under the leadership of director Adam Anders (Journey to Bethlehem) who also co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Nikki Anders, and veteran producer Kevin Lowndes (I Can Only Imagine, Jesus Revolution), filming is expected to wrap later this summer ahead of a planned Fall 2027 release.

The film will include a soundtrack of original songs crossing multiple genres from country to Latin.

A Music City Story looks to tell a different Nashville story – of music, culture, love, and redemption. From what I’ve seen and heard, this film should absolutely be on your radar.

Check out the official Instagram page @amusiccitystorymovie to follow the production and receive updates.