Charles Wesley Godwin

For Charles Wesley Godwin, music – and more specifically, songwriting – has forever been a direct reflection of what lies on his heart. 2019’s Seneca reflected place and upbringing rooted in his native West Virginia, while How the Mighty Fall explored mortality and life’s entanglements and Family Ties examined familial dynamics. Now, with Christian Name, Godwin returns with his most vividly compelling, spiritually profound collection yet.

Due July 24 via Big Loud Records, Christian Name is an intensely personal collection — a journey inside the courageous singer-songwriter’s soul. More than another body of work, it became a mechanism for healing through mourning, redemption, and a reaffirmation of faith.

In 2024, Godwin and his wife, Samantha, suffered an unthinkable tragedy when their third child, Samuel, was stillborn. “To put it simply, my heart was broken,” Godwin says. While loss can often lead people away from faith, Godwin says the experience instead recommitted him to God. “The point of this project was to point to God,” he says.

While Christian Name is highly personal — taking inspiration for its title from his late grandfather, Charles Godwin, a Methodist preacher — it also includes collaborations with Luke Combs, Wyatt Flores, and writers including Stephen Wilson Jr., Lori McKenna, Liz Rose, Travis Meadows, Scooter Carusoe, and Tom Douglas. Produced by longtime collaborator Al Torrence, Christian Name is a portrait of grief, hope, healing, and peace.