Artist Spotlight: Charlie Hall

Steeped in community, as one of the leaders at Bridgeway Community in OKC – Charlie Hall has crafted songs from his journey, his churches journey that will resonate with the questions of your soul. Songs that the church is sure to embrace but also personal statements and anthems of walking in light, to see the world as a bigger and better place. Flying Into Daybreak is the following up to On the Road To Beautiful and a welcomed conversation in the world of modern worship.

Charlie Hall is a contemplative and confident artist that is always on the journey of defining and questioning who he is and who God is. Hall has again crafted songs that will resonate deeply with listeners with Flying Into Daybreak. With his last, critically acclaimed record, On the Road To Beautiful, Hall wrote out of his own restlessness, difficulties, and frustrations. Many questions seemed unanswered and perspective seemed clouded. Flying Into Daybreak is a continuation of that journey, but one of soaring out of the darkness, pain, and heartache, and into a place of rest. The album is a story of running to God and finding light and beauty in the struggle, and though not always finding all the answers, resting in the hope and glory that endures.

“I definitely wrote the last record out of some hard situations. I was on a journey of walking toward God through a good deal of struggles, but then I finally reached this place of rest in my life. I feel like I came to a clearing…into the Daybreak, if you will.”

The album, tagged by Hall as being “a little artsy, and a little rocky, but accessible,” is filled with honest lines that express the limits of man and the gloriousness of God, who is “breath taking and breath giving.” With the new record, Hall has truly stepped forward into daybreak with themes of newness and clarity, turning away from the pressures that often come from culture, whether Christian or mainstream.

“I don’t feel like an American Christian, a pop culture Christian. I feel like my faith is more honed into God, where I’m not part of a culture where I’m trying to make the people around me think, ‘Hey, that’s a good Christian.’ I’m just trying to pursue God and not pursue being accepted into a club…I’m more honed into my pursuit of God in Christ and how he’s forming me and changing and helping me love him and know him.”

Hall also identifies with Passion founder and director Louie Giglio and the organization’s message to the 268generation, a movement of tens of thousands of college students from every state in the US and numerous countries from around the world. As many of the Passion collegiate gatherings were recorded live, Hall was quickly dubbed as a “voice” for the Passion movement, performing on all eight Passion albums, which have sold well over one million units. In the midst of Charlie’s involvement with last year’s Passion 05 he met with David Hodges, who has written for and produced Evanescence, among others. A friendship formed between the two and Hodges signed on to produce Flying Into Daybreak, helping to capture Charlie’s desire for a new and different sound.

The songs for this album also found inspiration from Charlie’s chuch, Bridgeway Community in Oklahoma City.

“The church really lives out their faith. There’s not a sense of anyone just trying to put on some sort of spiritual face. They just want to go and give their lives away. Despite the struggles they’re dealing with in their own lives, they’re continually working towards God and doing His work, His mission, and what He asks of them. Along with them, I’m just ready to hand my life over – my time, my money, my family – I’m ready to be a part of His heart and His dream.”

More than just a story of Hall’s experiences and desires, the continued journey found with Flying Into Daybreak is hopeful and expectant. The album welcomes God’s wrapping flesh around His love, and walking it into the hearts of others. It’s for the poor, the addicted, the hurting. It’s for those who feeling inspired, or those feeling uninspired. For those who need new words to say, and a new way to say them.

“I want the record to have a life of its own and burrow into people’s hearts and lives. I want this album to find a home in a lot of different communities. I want it to be heard by those who know God, and those who don’t, and by those who are ready to throw the organized church out the window. My prayer is that the album would breathe life into them and speak something new, that the Holy Spirit would rest on the album and give it life wherever it goes, and in whatever hands it finds it’s way into. Ultimately, I want people to feel free and alive…people are looking for hope and life and peace, and my hope is that with this record, that they can find it.”