The title track of Zach Williams’s fourth studio album Jesus Loves, which releases today (Sept. 19) on Provident Label Group, has a heartfelt message to “All the renegades, the rebels, and the runaways,” but throughout the dozen-song project, he also has songs aimed at healing and inspiring the newfound believers, the “church kids” and everyone in between.
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Nearly a decade after launching his solo career breakthrough with “Chain Breaker,” the title track to his 2016 Grammy-winning album, the Southern rocker-turned-CCM singer-songwriter still has plenty of grit, gravel and passion in his voice and his writing pen, which he blends with a signature soulfulness that has spurred hits including “Chain Breaker,” “Old Church Choir,” and “Less Like Me,” but also his current Christian Airplay top 5 hit, “Jesus Loves.”
His new album is filled with messages of pain, struggle and redemption, all steeped in shades of blues, Southern rock and soul. He reunites with longtime producer Jonathan Smith and as with previous albums, welcomes writers and co-writers known for their work in CCM and/or country fields, such as Trannie Anderson (Lainey Wilson), Casey Beathard (Eric Church, Kenny Chesney) and Allen Shamblin (Miranda Lambert), as well as CCM kingpin writers such as Ben Glover, Jeff Pardo, and Smith.
“Killed a Man,” written by Ben Stennis, Tucker Beathard and Casey Beathard, is one of the few outside cuts on the album. It’s title, on its surface, seems to suggest murder in a physical sense, but is actually about putting away self-destructive ways in favor of a faith-filled life. Williams was intrigued by the title when he was sent the song.
“They played me ‘Killed a Man’ one day when we were hanging out and just the title alone, I was hooked,” Williams says. “And as soon as I heard what was going on in the song, I was like, ‘This is genius. Please let me record this.’ This song was too good for me to let go.”
Similarly, “Hated” doesn’t center on harboring ill will, but rather finding strength to stand up for one’s convictions, even when it brings backlash. “Friend in High Places” is the first song Williams wrote for the album and marked by the poetic lyric, “I’m livin’ proof, what a carpenter from Nazareth can do/ How a hammer and a nail can make things new.”
“That is one of my favorite lines in the song,” Williams notes. “Every time I would play the demo back, I just wanted to go ahead and put the song out. We kind of just tested the waters to see what people thought, and it gave me a good idea to see what direction I wanted to go with the rest of the songs on this record.”
Williams doesn’t shy away from the struggles to stay firm in his faith on songs such as “Wait For Me,” and “Say a Prayer,” the latter a track he calls one of his most cherished songs on the album. “I’ve had the song for a few years. It didn’t feel right for the last record, and I really wanted it on this one. It’s one of my faves on the record, and it may have a special feature at the top of the year on it,” he teases of the song.
Williams’ sandpaper-and-silk voice has made him a favored vocalist for collaborations, such as his two duets with Dolly Parton, and collabs with Big Daddy Weave and TobyMac. He recently teamed with Crowder on a new version of Crowder’s hit song “Still.” In 2021, Williams joined Christian music trio CAIN on a remix of CAIN’s hit “Rise Up (Lazarus),” and Cain joined Williams’ Revival Nights Tour last year.
On the new album, CAIN joins him on “Church Kids,” a slice of nostalgia for generations of people who grew up attending Sunday morning and Wednesday night church services, singing songs such as the 1983 Michael W. Smith classic “Friends,” and knew that each summer would include a week-long stint at a local church’s vacation bible school program.
“It was just this idea of all the things you see, all the sights and sounds growing up in church as a kid, some of it great, some of it not so great, and finding faith through it. And now, [Williams and his wife Crystal], we’re in this season of our own lives where we’re raising up our own church kids. Especially my generation, I think they’ll get a lot of lyrics that are in this song and they’ll be like, ‘I remember singing that song.’”
Current generations of music listeners are more likely to get their first taste of a new CCM favorite on social media rather than in a church setting—a shift that has compelled artists to spend more time focusing on creating content to promote music.
“I’m trying to get better at it, but I guess if you don’t figure it out, you’re going to get left behind,” Williams says of balancing making music with making social media content. “I’m not the guy that’s going to be on my phone shooting a video and posting it later. I think the best thing that’s working for me right now is to try to find a couple of days a month when we can get together and put together some content, some videos and versions of songs we can get out to people, and let them see a little bit behind the curtain. It’s not something that you think about whenever you start down the road of playing music. I mean, I’d love to just be able to focus on writing really good songs and putting out good music, that’s really where my heart is. But obviously, you got to make yourself available and things like that, so I’m having fun with it. I’ll get better at it as we go, I’m sure.”
Williams, booked by Jeff Roberts Agency, will launch the current iteration of his Revival Nights Tour in October, with openers We The Kingdom, Ben Fuller and Leanna Crawford. He says he’s still tinkering with the set list and just how to weave in the new music amidst his hit songs.
“We’re talking through our set list and trying to figure out what songs we are going to play. I think we’re playing eight out of the 12 new songs. Some of these songs I’ve never played live and haven’t played since the day we worked on them in the studio. There’s always a new energy when you’ve got new music to play in the set.”