June 9, 2025 • 19 mins
In this engaging episode of the Christian Music Bros Podcast, Brendan was treated to an inspiring conversation with Baily Hagar. She opened up about her journey in the music industry, sharing not only her personal experiences but also the challenges and triumphs she's encountered along the way. Baily's passion for music shines through as she recounts her adventures, offering a glimpse into her creative process and the lessons she's learned. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of faith and music, as Baily's story is both relatable and uplifting.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello, everyone, Welcome to the new, improved, rebramped Christian Music Ros.
If you follow my page, you just noticed that I
just reramped, I remade our logo. I am doing exciting
new content and I'm excited for you guys to dive in.
More details are on the Instagram page if you are
following us or twenty one followers away by the way,
from a thousand followers. So I would appreciate if you like, like,
follow and subscribe to the page. And yeah, I'm excited
(00:24):
to see what's next with this revamp. I'll go more
details later on down the road. But we have a
very special guest for our first official artist interview for
the Revamp episode, so I'm gonna let her introduce yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hey, guys, my name is Bailey Hager. This is like
really exciting first with them. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I met with Bradded, who was like or my former
co host this morning, and he's our first official episode
of the revamp. But it's not an artist interview, so
you're the first like industry person in the revamp episode.
So let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I'm here for it, and if you guys, I remember
if you like what you're falling in here with sure
to follow Bailey's page. I'll attacker and everything when we're
done posting and everything. Because there's so much pages of
the memriz. There's face Withook pages, there's Instagram pages, there
are TikTok pages. Now TikTok to exploding again after the
banda just like went up two hundred and fifty percent.
I feel like in the last three months or whatever. Yeah,
that's great, But Bailey, thank you for joining me today.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh absolutely, I'm excited to be able to talk with
you and it's going to be fun.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And we're just starting nice and easy. I like to
hear a little bit about your background, like how did
you get started into music, Like did you grow up
in a pastor's kid or did you just pick up
a guitar one day and everyone's like you should do music.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
So I when I was like seventh Wow, I remember
it is I was singing in the shower, I guess,
and my mom heard me and she like freaked out
and was like said that I could sing.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
And so next thing I know, I was like singing
in church.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
And I'm at the age where Christian bookstores we're still
like huge thing when I was a kid, and you
would go in and they would have like the CDs
of like the instrumental tracks for Christian music.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
And my mom was like, no musical, well, she plays, she.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Grew up playing the flute, but like she can't sing.
She yeah, she was like tone deaf. And if she
listens to this, I love you, Mom.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But you know it is the truth. But we all
know it. She can't wait to get to heaven because
she says she's going to be able to sing when
she gets there.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
But she would take me to these Christian bookstores and
like try to figure out what instrumental track would be
best for me to sing too, Like they had like
an alto one and a soprano one, like.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And it was really fun. I mean as a seven
eight year old kid, like I just did not want
to do that. I had no interest. I did not
know what was like going on. I was like really frustrated.
I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to
sing and all that. My mom got me in piano lessons and.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But when I was twelve or thirteen, I.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Saw the movie August Rush. Have you seen it?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Bron then yes, that's a great movie with Robin Williams,
pretty high More and all them.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yes, yes, I saw that movie when I was like twelve.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
And it like, I feel like it awakened something. I
don't know, I was cheesy or whatever, but like it
was I just realized how powerful music was, and like saw,
you know, the way that they just made music, you know,
seem like it's everywhere and anybody can like, you know,
acccess it.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
If you're listening.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
So I went in my room after that watching that movie,
and I wrote my first two worship songs, and well
I wrote a Christmas song when I was nine, like
a full thing like verse, chorus, bridge.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
All the whole thing, sing it in church because my
mom made me. You know. So my mom was like
making me do music all the way up as a kid.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
But then when I was twelve and I started writing
my own songs, that's when I was like, oh, like
I want to sing.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
These for people. And I was.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Involved with you know, worship, the youth worship team. I
was leading worship in youth. But yeah, my.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Family it was not my mom was a pastor's kid,
but my family she's like really really been.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Through a lot So my mom had me at seventeen
years old and a year after her dad passed away
from cancer, and so like just through that, you know,
my mom and I kind of grew up together. And
then you know, by the time she was my age
at thirty, she had me and my two sisters already,
and so we've just been through a lot, and songwriting
(04:35):
was like my way to really the Lord just started
using it to teach me how to hear his voice,
and it was just kind of my escape from life.
The hard things that we were walking through was like
my lifeline. So and I've just been doing that ever since.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So it's really cool you brought up August Rush. I'm
just gonna for about the fact I watch Out again
recently and wanted the songs. One of that, the songs
from that movie is actually I'm one of my like
daily playlists, I like complain like I'm weird. I like
eight hundred play lists I just like the music, and
one of them is I like my normal like peanut
I call my playlist peanut Butter and Jams instead of
like get like jams, but it's peanut Butter and Jam. Yeah,
(05:16):
And it's like an album of like Pean, Butter and
Jams totally hands stand like best friends forever, but back
when my play play with Peanut Butter and Jams and
I actually have an August Brush song on that playlist.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Wait, which one is it?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
You know it is this time?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Okay, well that's awesome on your every day was. Yeah,
the soundtrack to that movie is incredible, so right.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And I think it was actually this is sorry, this
is That's podcast. It's random. I forgot to get that,
but I think it was one of Robin williams like
last movies too. Was it really has definitely came out
like two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, and
he passed in like twenty fourteen, so yeah, I was
like towards the end of his career. Whoa, wow, I'm
a big Robin Williams fan too, so like that's why.
(05:56):
So it's just pretty cool and just to hear, like
how that kind of inspired you?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I guess in a way it did majorly.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, I was we were talking about movies at work
two and that was like one of the movies we
brought up when I was talking working at my like
nine to five.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I'm glad to hear this because I don't hear people
talk about it enough. I think that movie is absolutely
magical and I can't.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah, it has like a big cast, I guess, an
underrated movie, like you don't expect people like like Freddie
Higbours and like Freddie high Woren is like big no.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And the lady that plays his mom, she's like in.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
A lot Yeah, Carrie Russell, I think it is.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, she she plays in a lot of things. Yeah. Great.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Anyway, we're not here to talk about the August Rush movie.
If you want to, I can do a separate episode
out of August Rush. We're just gonna break down shot
by shot.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I would do that. I would. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
But flash warton like nowadays, you just released your debut
album all this time. Can you tell us a little
bit about that album?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, I worked on it for almost two years.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I put out an EP before that, Like I knew
I was writing a lot about just mental health and
things that I was walking through, and so I put
out I was writing, writing, writing, and I had like
an EP, and I didn't feel like it was time
to do an album yet, and so I had to
narrow all these songs down.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
To like the five songs that I put out. So
the EP came out.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
It's called Only Forward, you know, that's got some of
my biggest songs on there, like lean on You in
Good Days, which were both my first songs to hit
a million streams.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And which is just wild.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
But then I just kept writing, and my mental health
journey just kind of like deepened.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I went through one of the hardest seasons that I've.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Ever been through, and like I really really struggled with
suicidal thoughts and just really struggling with like wanting to
be here anymore. Which was wild because I was like
signed to Capital CMG as a songwriter, I was writing
with all my like my heroes, but.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Like inside there was just like a lot of turmoil
going on, and so being able to write the songs
that are on the album, I was just.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I put myself around people that I knew I was
safe with to just like talk with, but also people
who would help me be vulnerable in my songs.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
But also help me just remember the truth.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
So the songs from the album came out all from
this last year of just walking through that really dark
season with the Lord and like bringing awareness to mental
health issues like depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, like other diagnosis,
and like trying to break the stigma around them, you know,
because like Jesus does not like there's just no shame
(08:35):
and condemnation for people who are in christ Us, you know,
like the Bible says, and I think in church the
church world, there's still such a weird feeling around people
talking about mental health. And it's almost like if you're
a Christian that you shouldn't struggle as much, or you
should just have more faith or pray more. But it's
like we forget we're still absolutely human and dependent and
(08:56):
live in a broken world. And like I think maturity
and Christ is that you lean on Him more, depend
on him more.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
And faster and not less.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
So that all the songs are kind of about that,
and you can kind of feel like I put them
in this specific order like storyline, kind of where my
first little bit of the songs is like my vulnerable ones,
me being like this is really hard, I'm going through
a really hard time. And then you can kind of
start to see as I get better and better because
the songs pick up and like mood and like you know,
(09:28):
like you know, lifter of my head and chin up
and then you know.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
All the time when we wrote all the time.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
My God is good all the time, but I was
like starting to feel so much better.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And then toward the end of the album are my
songs for.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Just the recovery part of like, because it was just
a lot that I went through and it was like
it wasn't There was just a lot to recover from relationships,
like choices that I made.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
When I went is not doing well when I was
like fo in my.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Head, and so yeah, it's I'm really really proud of it.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I think it's some of the best work that I've
ever done. And I did produce the bulk.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Of the album, which is insane, and I'm really really
proud of that as well. And then I got to
work with some of my absolute heroes on the album,
with people like Jacob Souter, who you know produced the
last Brandon Lake album and his upcoming one, Kyle Lee
who has produced.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
For literally everyone under this sign, like Tobe.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Mack and Chris Tomlin and you know, oh his most
recent once would be the C. C. Wymans album and
the Charity Gale album Gateway Worship, like so many ones,
and then who else did I get to work with
my my new friend Dan Niddle, who mainly works in
the pop world. Meredith Andrews out me. You know right,
Natalie Lane is on that all over it.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
So yeah, that's a little bit about about the album itself.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
That's exciting and it's really cool to see how like
you said, it's different genres, like there's like worship, there's pop,
and they just like to see the diverse diversity I
was gonna say diverse, but diversity of the album. It's
really cool to see. And it's still getting a lot
of attraction, like right now, I know it's been out
for like a month now, but it's still getting a
lot attraction today.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, I'm really thankful for that.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
It's like, well, like anytime you put out music, you
want people to hear it, but I think it's more
important for me because the message is so important and
I really believe there are songs on the album.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
That could help save somebody's life. And so you know,
you can talk about it a little bit later, but
like suicide is.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
A huge, huge problem.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
The statistics when we look at them are pretty staggering,
and so you know, if the songs that I you know,
in my own vulnerability and story, if it can help
somebody decide to stay and keep going, then I think
that's one of the most important things that you know,
the Lord would be able to be so kind to
you know, use the supposed to do that.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
And it's a good place because I feel like along
like your album, Katie Nichol's having a new album come out,
Caught Honest Conversation, and it's good to see that. I
guess Christian music is now shining a big light onunda
mental health aspect of things, and I feel like that's
where like the big thing of the year. There's always
a theme every year, and I feel like that's the
theme of this year twenty twenty five as we're speaking.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, yeah, it needs to be talked about because the.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
More we shine a light on it, it breaks the stigma
and the more people that can get help. And I think,
you know, the more we move toward breaking off shame,
like then people have Christians walking in their full identity
not being ashamed, and it's being even more powerful for.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
The Kingdom of God.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
And one of my favorite scriptures that really helped me
through this last time was confess your sins to God
and your forgin and confess to one another in your heeld.
So it's like God created this thing to where when
we talk to each other more vulnerable, there's this healing
that happens when we brings out to the lights that
I think, you know, more Christian music that's going to
be real and honest, and I think it's just going
(13:08):
to make a huge impact, and it already is. You know,
I don't know if you saw the American Idol Easter.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
I haven't watched it. Yeah, I've been in the process
of trying to watch it, but there's it's like just
like three hours long.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, all the just like they had a full on church.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Service American Idol with all the Christian artists, Like it's
just insane.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It was so good.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, and it's excited to see what what's next in
that aspect in realm. Like I said, like like I
just said, your album Katie and Clods, the album Josh
Wilson just came out with like a couple of real songs.
So it's just like it's exploding in Christian music and I'm.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Here for it.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
So yeah, me too, man, me too.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Absolutely, we're now at the time of recording. This is
April thirty of twenty twenty five, so barely me have
some dates are off guys. I'm just finding front fore warning.
I don't want people like this in July saying I
missed this, but get any more future plans for the
rest of its here, So like there, I know, like
we're getting the festival season and we're getting into more
(14:03):
concert tour season, like the monthly January March. It's kind
of slower, but now it picks up like around this
time of year.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
It's true. Yeah, I and then a couple.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Of like smaller events this year, I launched a thing
that I.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Actually haven't said yet, but you know, whenever people are
listening to this, but I'm.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Getting ready to announce it.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
What we're doing an event called sound Mind Nights, where
I'm going out singing films from the albums during my
testimony and then also doing a section for mental health
resources and a small light is what we're calling it
for not just people who are struggling, but people who
want to help those who are struggling.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
There's like free resources and trainings on somebody.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
So yeah, those dates will be up on my website
bayhor dot com because I'm going to be going to
a couple of different places in Indiana, in a couple
of different places in Texas, two.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Local ones here in Nashville, Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
So yeah, we're getting ready to announced those soon, so
we should be.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
On the lookout for that.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And if you're in Nashville, make sure to check them
out in Nashville. I've been in Nashville three times in
the last thirteen months. Sometimes in towns. If I'm around,
I'll definitely check it out.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Wait where are you located.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
I'm in Michigan, Michigan, all right, I'm in Grand Rapids area.
I'm like twenty minute soft for Grand Rapids and everything.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
So amazing, amazing, Yeah, I yeah, so we're doing those things.
I'm trying to think if there was anything else, but yeah,
we're just the calendar is is open and I'm excited
or just like opportunities to do live. But yeah, if
anybody wants to keep up with where I'm performing live
(15:42):
and be behavior the best place to do that for
my Instagram.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
So and like I said at the beginning of this episode,
we'll tag your Instagram when I post this episodes and
people could find it. It's the easiest way to do
it instead of like saying user, and it's like, how
do you make.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
My name is filled a little bit differently than people
would think.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So exactly, I just have a few extra minutes with
you today, I know, like I can try to keep
these nice things. I know we have a lot more
we could talk about it, Like we could talk about
that movie for another three hours.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
I'm kidding, But.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Do you have any thing you would like to share with
the audience that's listening.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yeah, I think that, you know, as we talked about
like just being more open about mental health. And I
know it's such a broad it's such a broad term.
It's a kind of a blanket statement, but just you know,
just I would encourage anybody listening to really study the
humanity of Jesus, like if you're just struggling, you know
(16:40):
somebody who's struggling, like how Jesus was human, and just
experience everything that we experience is just no shame, whether you're.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
A Christian or not.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
And then there's just a lot of new amazing music
out there that is so honest and real, and like
my friend Rachel Nemrov is one of them. She's putting
out amazing, just honest music. And you know, Natalie's project
is also incredible. One of my favorite songs of hers
is called Fragile and you know, so yeah, just you know,
(17:14):
as we're being more open, I feel like artists were
kind of the forerunners of it because we are naturally
kind of like vulnerable and always in our feelings.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
But it's it's for a purpose.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
It's so that hopefully other people can see that they
can be vulnerable with the people who are in their corner.
And so yeah, I would just encourage everybody to when
you're struggling, to tell somebody because they can walk with
you and it you weren't made to walk it alone,
and we have Jesus, but we also have a community,
(17:47):
and so I just want to, you know, tell anybody
else who's struggling, like your story isn't over and the
best really is still ahead and you can keep going
and I believe in you, and so many other people
do as well where they you can feel it right now.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Thank you for chatting that. And if I, like I said,
want to start making real step might be one of
our new reels. So good, Thank you appreciating that message,
and that might be our first reel I've had a
real before and so dividing. Yes, it takes so much
time to edit now because you export and you have
to drop the file in and you have to cut
things out. It's annoying.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, not that we need this on the podcast Instagram,
but just release their own editing app.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
And I've used her already. It's super easy and amazing.
So and.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Everyone elp saying to make sure to fallow Bailey Journey.
There's more we could talk about. Like I said, she
has a cool testimony. If she wants to share the testimony, cool,
but she posts a lot about it on social media too,
and so it might be easier just to talk it
out there and then you can dive into her page
a little bit learn more about her that way.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I want to thank you for your time today and
I appreciate you meeting with.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Me, Brendan.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Thank you so much for having me and letting me
talk about the album.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
It means so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
And for those who are listening, check out Bailey's music.
Check out the movie August Rush. I'm kidding, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Definitely watch the movie August Rush.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Spread it up. And now we just have to talk
about it, but uh, and we'll see next time on
the Christian Music Gross. Enjoyed the revamp and enjoy your
week and we'll see you next time on the podcast.
Take care of Everyone,
Hello, everyone, Welcome to the new, improved, rebramped Christian Music Ros.
If you follow my page, you just noticed that I
just reramped, I remade our logo. I am doing exciting
new content and I'm excited for you guys to dive in.
More details are on the Instagram page if you are
following us or twenty one followers away by the way,
from a thousand followers. So I would appreciate if you like, like,
follow and subscribe to the page. And yeah, I'm excited
(00:24):
to see what's next with this revamp. I'll go more
details later on down the road. But we have a
very special guest for our first official artist interview for
the Revamp episode, so I'm gonna let her introduce yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hey, guys, my name is Bailey Hager. This is like
really exciting first with them. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I met with Bradded, who was like or my former
co host this morning, and he's our first official episode
of the revamp. But it's not an artist interview, so
you're the first like industry person in the revamp episode.
So let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I'm here for it, and if you guys, I remember
if you like what you're falling in here with sure
to follow Bailey's page. I'll attacker and everything when we're
done posting and everything. Because there's so much pages of
the memriz. There's face Withook pages, there's Instagram pages, there
are TikTok pages. Now TikTok to exploding again after the
banda just like went up two hundred and fifty percent.
I feel like in the last three months or whatever. Yeah,
that's great, But Bailey, thank you for joining me today.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh absolutely, I'm excited to be able to talk with
you and it's going to be fun.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And we're just starting nice and easy. I like to
hear a little bit about your background, like how did
you get started into music, Like did you grow up
in a pastor's kid or did you just pick up
a guitar one day and everyone's like you should do music.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
So I when I was like seventh Wow, I remember
it is I was singing in the shower, I guess,
and my mom heard me and she like freaked out
and was like said that I could sing.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
And so next thing I know, I was like singing
in church.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
And I'm at the age where Christian bookstores we're still
like huge thing when I was a kid, and you
would go in and they would have like the CDs
of like the instrumental tracks for Christian music.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
And my mom was like, no musical, well, she plays, she.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Grew up playing the flute, but like she can't sing.
She yeah, she was like tone deaf. And if she
listens to this, I love you, Mom.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But you know it is the truth. But we all
know it. She can't wait to get to heaven because
she says she's going to be able to sing when
she gets there.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
But she would take me to these Christian bookstores and
like try to figure out what instrumental track would be
best for me to sing too, Like they had like
an alto one and a soprano one, like.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And it was really fun. I mean as a seven
eight year old kid, like I just did not want
to do that. I had no interest. I did not
know what was like going on. I was like really frustrated.
I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to
sing and all that. My mom got me in piano lessons and.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But when I was twelve or thirteen, I.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Saw the movie August Rush. Have you seen it?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Bron then yes, that's a great movie with Robin Williams,
pretty high More and all them.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yes, yes, I saw that movie when I was like twelve.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
And it like, I feel like it awakened something. I
don't know, I was cheesy or whatever, but like it
was I just realized how powerful music was, and like saw,
you know, the way that they just made music, you know,
seem like it's everywhere and anybody can like, you know,
acccess it.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
If you're listening.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
So I went in my room after that watching that movie,
and I wrote my first two worship songs, and well
I wrote a Christmas song when I was nine, like
a full thing like verse, chorus, bridge.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
All the whole thing, sing it in church because my
mom made me. You know. So my mom was like
making me do music all the way up as a kid.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
But then when I was twelve and I started writing
my own songs, that's when I was like, oh, like
I want to sing.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
These for people. And I was.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Involved with you know, worship, the youth worship team. I
was leading worship in youth. But yeah, my.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Family it was not my mom was a pastor's kid,
but my family she's like really really been.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Through a lot So my mom had me at seventeen
years old and a year after her dad passed away
from cancer, and so like just through that, you know,
my mom and I kind of grew up together. And
then you know, by the time she was my age
at thirty, she had me and my two sisters already,
and so we've just been through a lot, and songwriting
(04:35):
was like my way to really the Lord just started
using it to teach me how to hear his voice,
and it was just kind of my escape from life.
The hard things that we were walking through was like
my lifeline. So and I've just been doing that ever since.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So it's really cool you brought up August Rush. I'm
just gonna for about the fact I watch Out again
recently and wanted the songs. One of that, the songs
from that movie is actually I'm one of my like
daily playlists, I like complain like I'm weird. I like
eight hundred play lists I just like the music, and
one of them is I like my normal like peanut
I call my playlist peanut Butter and Jams instead of
like get like jams, but it's peanut Butter and Jam. Yeah,
(05:16):
And it's like an album of like Pean, Butter and
Jams totally hands stand like best friends forever, but back
when my play play with Peanut Butter and Jams and
I actually have an August Brush song on that playlist.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Wait, which one is it?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
You know it is this time?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Okay, well that's awesome on your every day was. Yeah,
the soundtrack to that movie is incredible, so right.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And I think it was actually this is sorry, this
is That's podcast. It's random. I forgot to get that,
but I think it was one of Robin williams like
last movies too. Was it really has definitely came out
like two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, and
he passed in like twenty fourteen, so yeah, I was
like towards the end of his career. Whoa, wow, I'm
a big Robin Williams fan too, so like that's why.
(05:56):
So it's just pretty cool and just to hear, like
how that kind of inspired you?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I guess in a way it did majorly.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, I was we were talking about movies at work
two and that was like one of the movies we
brought up when I was talking working at my like
nine to five.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I'm glad to hear this because I don't hear people
talk about it enough. I think that movie is absolutely
magical and I can't.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah, it has like a big cast, I guess, an
underrated movie, like you don't expect people like like Freddie
Higbours and like Freddie high Woren is like big no.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And the lady that plays his mom, she's like in.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
A lot Yeah, Carrie Russell, I think it is.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, she she plays in a lot of things. Yeah. Great.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Anyway, we're not here to talk about the August Rush movie.
If you want to, I can do a separate episode
out of August Rush. We're just gonna break down shot
by shot.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I would do that. I would. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
But flash warton like nowadays, you just released your debut
album all this time. Can you tell us a little
bit about that album?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, I worked on it for almost two years.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I put out an EP before that, Like I knew
I was writing a lot about just mental health and
things that I was walking through, and so I put
out I was writing, writing, writing, and I had like
an EP, and I didn't feel like it was time
to do an album yet, and so I had to
narrow all these songs down.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
To like the five songs that I put out. So
the EP came out.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
It's called Only Forward, you know, that's got some of
my biggest songs on there, like lean on You in
Good Days, which were both my first songs to hit
a million streams.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And which is just wild.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
But then I just kept writing, and my mental health
journey just kind of like deepened.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I went through one of the hardest seasons that I've.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Ever been through, and like I really really struggled with
suicidal thoughts and just really struggling with like wanting to
be here anymore. Which was wild because I was like
signed to Capital CMG as a songwriter, I was writing
with all my like my heroes, but.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Like inside there was just like a lot of turmoil
going on, and so being able to write the songs
that are on the album, I was just.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I put myself around people that I knew I was
safe with to just like talk with, but also people
who would help me be vulnerable in my songs.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
But also help me just remember the truth.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
So the songs from the album came out all from
this last year of just walking through that really dark
season with the Lord and like bringing awareness to mental
health issues like depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, like other diagnosis,
and like trying to break the stigma around them, you know,
because like Jesus does not like there's just no shame
(08:35):
and condemnation for people who are in christ Us, you know,
like the Bible says, and I think in church the
church world, there's still such a weird feeling around people
talking about mental health. And it's almost like if you're
a Christian that you shouldn't struggle as much, or you
should just have more faith or pray more. But it's
like we forget we're still absolutely human and dependent and
(08:56):
live in a broken world. And like I think maturity
and Christ is that you lean on Him more, depend
on him more.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
And faster and not less.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
So that all the songs are kind of about that,
and you can kind of feel like I put them
in this specific order like storyline, kind of where my
first little bit of the songs is like my vulnerable ones,
me being like this is really hard, I'm going through
a really hard time. And then you can kind of
start to see as I get better and better because
the songs pick up and like mood and like you know,
(09:28):
like you know, lifter of my head and chin up
and then you know.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
All the time when we wrote all the time.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
My God is good all the time, but I was
like starting to feel so much better.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And then toward the end of the album are my
songs for.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Just the recovery part of like, because it was just
a lot that I went through and it was like
it wasn't There was just a lot to recover from relationships,
like choices that I made.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
When I went is not doing well when I was
like fo in my.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Head, and so yeah, it's I'm really really proud of it.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I think it's some of the best work that I've
ever done. And I did produce the bulk.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Of the album, which is insane, and I'm really really
proud of that as well. And then I got to
work with some of my absolute heroes on the album,
with people like Jacob Souter, who you know produced the
last Brandon Lake album and his upcoming one, Kyle Lee
who has produced.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
For literally everyone under this sign, like Tobe.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Mack and Chris Tomlin and you know, oh his most
recent once would be the C. C. Wymans album and
the Charity Gale album Gateway Worship, like so many ones,
and then who else did I get to work with
my my new friend Dan Niddle, who mainly works in
the pop world. Meredith Andrews out me. You know right,
Natalie Lane is on that all over it.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
So yeah, that's a little bit about about the album itself.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
That's exciting and it's really cool to see how like
you said, it's different genres, like there's like worship, there's pop,
and they just like to see the diverse diversity I
was gonna say diverse, but diversity of the album. It's
really cool to see. And it's still getting a lot
of attraction, like right now, I know it's been out
for like a month now, but it's still getting a
lot attraction today.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, I'm really thankful for that.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
It's like, well, like anytime you put out music, you
want people to hear it, but I think it's more
important for me because the message is so important and
I really believe there are songs on the album.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
That could help save somebody's life. And so you know,
you can talk about it a little bit later, but
like suicide is.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
A huge, huge problem.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
The statistics when we look at them are pretty staggering,
and so you know, if the songs that I you know,
in my own vulnerability and story, if it can help
somebody decide to stay and keep going, then I think
that's one of the most important things that you know,
the Lord would be able to be so kind to
you know, use the supposed to do that.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
And it's a good place because I feel like along
like your album, Katie Nichol's having a new album come out,
Caught Honest Conversation, and it's good to see that. I
guess Christian music is now shining a big light onunda
mental health aspect of things, and I feel like that's
where like the big thing of the year. There's always
a theme every year, and I feel like that's the
theme of this year twenty twenty five as we're speaking.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, yeah, it needs to be talked about because the.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
More we shine a light on it, it breaks the stigma
and the more people that can get help. And I think,
you know, the more we move toward breaking off shame,
like then people have Christians walking in their full identity
not being ashamed, and it's being even more powerful for.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
The Kingdom of God.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
And one of my favorite scriptures that really helped me
through this last time was confess your sins to God
and your forgin and confess to one another in your heeld.
So it's like God created this thing to where when
we talk to each other more vulnerable, there's this healing
that happens when we brings out to the lights that
I think, you know, more Christian music that's going to
be real and honest, and I think it's just going
(13:08):
to make a huge impact, and it already is. You know,
I don't know if you saw the American Idol Easter.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
I haven't watched it. Yeah, I've been in the process
of trying to watch it, but there's it's like just
like three hours long.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, all the just like they had a full on church.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Service American Idol with all the Christian artists, Like it's
just insane.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It was so good.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, and it's excited to see what what's next in
that aspect in realm. Like I said, like like I
just said, your album Katie and Clods, the album Josh
Wilson just came out with like a couple of real songs.
So it's just like it's exploding in Christian music and I'm.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Here for it.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
So yeah, me too, man, me too.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Absolutely, we're now at the time of recording. This is
April thirty of twenty twenty five, so barely me have
some dates are off guys. I'm just finding front fore warning.
I don't want people like this in July saying I
missed this, but get any more future plans for the
rest of its here, So like there, I know, like
we're getting the festival season and we're getting into more
(14:03):
concert tour season, like the monthly January March. It's kind
of slower, but now it picks up like around this
time of year.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
It's true. Yeah, I and then a couple.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Of like smaller events this year, I launched a thing
that I.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Actually haven't said yet, but you know, whenever people are
listening to this, but I'm.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Getting ready to announce it.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
What we're doing an event called sound Mind Nights, where
I'm going out singing films from the albums during my
testimony and then also doing a section for mental health
resources and a small light is what we're calling it
for not just people who are struggling, but people who
want to help those who are struggling.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
There's like free resources and trainings on somebody.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
So yeah, those dates will be up on my website
bayhor dot com because I'm going to be going to
a couple of different places in Indiana, in a couple
of different places in Texas, two.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Local ones here in Nashville, Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
So yeah, we're getting ready to announced those soon, so
we should be.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
On the lookout for that.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And if you're in Nashville, make sure to check them
out in Nashville. I've been in Nashville three times in
the last thirteen months. Sometimes in towns. If I'm around,
I'll definitely check it out.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Wait where are you located.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
I'm in Michigan, Michigan, all right, I'm in Grand Rapids area.
I'm like twenty minute soft for Grand Rapids and everything.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
So amazing, amazing, Yeah, I yeah, so we're doing those things.
I'm trying to think if there was anything else, but yeah,
we're just the calendar is is open and I'm excited
or just like opportunities to do live. But yeah, if
anybody wants to keep up with where I'm performing live
(15:42):
and be behavior the best place to do that for
my Instagram.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
So and like I said at the beginning of this episode,
we'll tag your Instagram when I post this episodes and
people could find it. It's the easiest way to do
it instead of like saying user, and it's like, how
do you make.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
My name is filled a little bit differently than people
would think.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So exactly, I just have a few extra minutes with
you today, I know, like I can try to keep
these nice things. I know we have a lot more
we could talk about it, Like we could talk about
that movie for another three hours.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
I'm kidding, But.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Do you have any thing you would like to share with
the audience that's listening.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yeah, I think that, you know, as we talked about
like just being more open about mental health. And I
know it's such a broad it's such a broad term.
It's a kind of a blanket statement, but just you know,
just I would encourage anybody listening to really study the
humanity of Jesus, like if you're just struggling, you know
(16:40):
somebody who's struggling, like how Jesus was human, and just
experience everything that we experience is just no shame, whether you're.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
A Christian or not.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
And then there's just a lot of new amazing music
out there that is so honest and real, and like
my friend Rachel Nemrov is one of them. She's putting
out amazing, just honest music. And you know, Natalie's project
is also incredible. One of my favorite songs of hers
is called Fragile and you know, so yeah, just you know,
(17:14):
as we're being more open, I feel like artists were
kind of the forerunners of it because we are naturally
kind of like vulnerable and always in our feelings.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
But it's it's for a purpose.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
It's so that hopefully other people can see that they
can be vulnerable with the people who are in their corner.
And so yeah, I would just encourage everybody to when
you're struggling, to tell somebody because they can walk with
you and it you weren't made to walk it alone,
and we have Jesus, but we also have a community,
(17:47):
and so I just want to, you know, tell anybody
else who's struggling, like your story isn't over and the
best really is still ahead and you can keep going
and I believe in you, and so many other people
do as well where they you can feel it right now.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Thank you for chatting that. And if I, like I said,
want to start making real step might be one of
our new reels. So good, Thank you appreciating that message,
and that might be our first reel I've had a
real before and so dividing. Yes, it takes so much
time to edit now because you export and you have
to drop the file in and you have to cut
things out. It's annoying.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, not that we need this on the podcast Instagram,
but just release their own editing app.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
And I've used her already. It's super easy and amazing.
So and.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Everyone elp saying to make sure to fallow Bailey Journey.
There's more we could talk about. Like I said, she
has a cool testimony. If she wants to share the testimony, cool,
but she posts a lot about it on social media too,
and so it might be easier just to talk it
out there and then you can dive into her page
a little bit learn more about her that way.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I want to thank you for your time today and
I appreciate you meeting with.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Me, Brendan.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Thank you so much for having me and letting me
talk about the album.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
It means so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
And for those who are listening, check out Bailey's music.
Check out the movie August Rush. I'm kidding, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Definitely watch the movie August Rush.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Spread it up. And now we just have to talk
about it, but uh, and we'll see next time on
the Christian Music Gross. Enjoyed the revamp and enjoy your
week and we'll see you next time on the podcast.
Take care of Everyone,
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