Hey friend, welcome to the first Friday Mornin’!

The concept is simple: Every week, I send out a list of new singles and albums from artists I enjoy. That’s it!

I’ve been doing the core format of Singles, Albums and What I’m Most Excited About on Twitter for years. The newsletter allows me to expand every now and then and highlight new music I’m enjoying, too.

With that, let’s get down to the music. I’m starting off today by riffing on an album I’ve been loving lately.

Charles Wesley Godwin | Christian Name | Released July 24, 2026

Few artists have put out a more powerful collection of songs in their first four albums than Charles Wesley Godwin.

I met Charles shortly after he released his first album “Seneca” in 2019. I drove 3 hours just to hear him play the first slot at a small festival. It was just him and a guitar, and after the show, he stuck around. We started talking, and figured out we both liked to hunt and fish. He came on my hunting podcast, and I sent him some of my hunting company’s swag. I stated going to his shows, but few will ever top watching him at the Laurel Cove Music Festival during a thunderstorm while he was rocking my company’s shirt because he knew I was coming.

Charles is one of the only people I’ve really known before they got famous, and while I’m not claiming to be best friends or anything with him, I have watched him go from a few thousand listeners on streaming, to commanding the attention of millions of people, being on the world’s largest podcasts, and performing and touring with mega stars like Luke Combs and Zach Bryan. He’s still the same dude I met at that first festival. Humble. Grateful. Thoughtful.

That humility and gratitude is what you’ve heard in his past albums, and it’s even more present in Charles’ new album, “Christian Name.” Media coverage has thoroughly highlighted the fact this album was written after Charles and his wife lost a child, so I won’t expand any further on that.

When I reflect on what I can contribute to the commentary of this album, is only to say that I knew about Charles’ horrific experience with losing a baby, and it never occurred to me that he’d go on to write about it in a song, let alone a body of work like this. I think it takes a lot of vulnerability. There are some lines in this album that cut hard. It also takes courage. When Charles signed with Big Loud records, it was natural to wonder if he’d trend over to a more pop sound, given Big Loud’s roster of pop country acts like Morgan Wallen and HARDY. “Christian Name” couldn’t be further from that.

The album is getting attention for the family’s loss, but overall, I find more of the album to be more focused on how such a loss challenges your faith and identity. Like the days after the death of a loved one, the album has peaks and valleys—and the valleys are deep, cutting and cold. The loss of your father. Stumbling in your faith. Struggling to find your way back. And at the end of all the hurt, being able to say “God’s Been Good to Me.”

One blogger call this album a Christian album. I don’t think so. I grew up listening to Christian albums in a Baptist household—this is not that. In many ways, this album is more real because it recognizes that faith is not linear or perfect. It has imperfections. As the title track alludes, it is an album that deals with “when I ask God why.” The answers are best served by listening to the album, not a review.

Charles has now released three albums that are completely holistic as a body of work (“Seneca,” “Family Ties,” and “Christian Name”). “How the Mighty Fall” is a great album, too, but I don’t find it to be quite as themed as the other three.

But the other three are almost a trilogy:

Seneca: This is the place that made me who I am.
Family Ties: Now confident in myself, these are the values and people important to me.
Christian Name: This is my journey through loss of life and struggles with my faith, and how I came back, stronger and grateful.

I’ve completely fallen in love with “Christian Name.” I’d guess the only album that competes with it for No. 1 in my eyes is Jordan Lee King’s “King of the Bluegrass.”

The album was produced by Charles’ long-time wingman, Al Torrence. Al is masterful in creating big cinematic feeling productions for CWG albums, and this one is no different. Enjoy.

*indicates a collection of songs or an EP

Judah & the Lion, Hollerhead, Maggie Rose, Petey USA. There’s also a new song from Joe Stamm that was co-written by Charles Wesley Godwin.

Annual favorites: 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023

Brad Luttrell Recommends (40 hours of killer songwriting)

If I missed one of your favorite artist’s drop, please reply and let me know!

Did a friend forward this email to you? You can sign up to get a fresh list of new music every Friday mornin’. Find new music & songwriters you don't know but should.