Matthew West on the Future of Christian Music: ‘I want to help champion the next generation of artists that are going to be played on K-LOVE and beyond to minister the Gospel.’
Matthew West might just be the busiest guy in Christian music. He’s built a career writing chart-topping songs for other artists alongside a stable of hits he’s carried with his name on it as an active recording and touring artist in his own right. Additionally, the father of two is an author and a podcast host. He also leads a management company that guides the careers of several of the genre’s foremost rising stars, as well as half a dozen songwriters. His 11th studio effort, “Jesus Is King,” is set to bow this fall. Following a Winter Jam run earlier this year, he’ll helm a 17-city tour in support of his forthcoming project beginning Sept. 10, headlining a crop of mostly West Coast dates.
KLOVE.com recently caught up with the three-time K-LOVE Fan Award winner to chat about why being a part of one of the largest annual tours in Christian music felt like a homecoming, why it’s easier writing for another artist’s project than it is an album of his own; and why, at this stage of his career, he’s more interested in creating movements than music.
KLOVE.com: Alongside Chris Tomlin, Katy Nichole and more, you were a part of the Winter Jam lineup this year for the first time in a decade. What was your experience like this time around after 10 years away?
Matthew West: At the very beginning of my career, I was one of the opening acts on Winter Jam, and I had a 15-minute set. That was my first time in an arena. My very first hit song, “More,” was out. And so, it really felt like a full-circle moment to come back to a tour like Winter Jam and be one of the headliners. Actually, I got a little emotional on the last day of this year’s Winter Jam. We had a worship service, and they asked the artists to share what was on their heart. And when I got up to talk to the rest of the artists and all the crew and musicians — about 150 of us in this room backstage — I started crying. I had this moment where I was overcome with emotion, just with gratitude for how far the Lord has brought me. I was overcome by God’s faithfulness. The people who run Winter Jam, they’ve been so kind to me over the years… It felt like the perfect timing and a sweet homecoming.
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KLOVE.com: In the last few years you’ve started managing and mentoring other artists. You currently manage Anne Wilson and Peter Burton. What was it about a young Anne Wilson, in particular, that made you go, “I want to be a part of this”?
Matthew West: So I first met Anne when her record label called me and said, “Hey, we’ve got this young artist. Would you write with her?” And so we wrote a song called “My Jesus,” which was the song that launched her career. We became really close through that experience. I have two daughters, and I saw a lot of my daughters in her. Her parents started calling me asking for advice, and then she would start asking me questions like, “What would you do in this situation?” And she found herself in need of management and called and asked if I would help. My first instinct was that we’re friends through songwriting; I wanted to keep the creative process sacred, so I set her up to meet with all these other managers. And after every meeting I’d say, “How’d it go?” And she’d be like, “Good. I want you to manage me.” Finally, we came to an agreement, and I said, “Do we feel like we can still step into the songwriting room and leave the business at the door? As long as we make that our commitment, then we’ll partner together.”
In a world of Taylor Swifts, I want my daughters to look up to an Anne Wilson. And so the thought that I could be a part of helping her career and ministry trajectory was exciting; but then also, to hear her testimony — the tragedy that’s touched her life — her why was important. Any artist that I manage, I need to know their why, and I need to believe in their why. And for Anne, there’s never been an ounce of, “My why is to be famous” or “My why is to be a celebrity.” Her why is: “Look, I wanted to be an astronaut, and then my brother died, and I saw how music helped me; and I think I can use it to help other people when they’re in the middle of their pain.” So I’m like, “I can get behind that.” The [best] thing is when I go to her concerts now, and I see all these young girls at the show; and they’re looking up to Anne and Anne’s pointing them toward Jesus. So to be able to take part in that kind of thing is really special.
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KLOVE.com: Peter Burton just garnered his first No. 1 song with “Where Would I Be.” As his manager, what has that been like for you to stand back and watch listeners immediately connect to his music?
Matthew West: It’s just so much fun… The writers that I signed [AJ Pruis and Matt Armstrong] wrote the song with him, and I get to cheer them on and celebrate the success of these people; and hopefully, if I had anything to do with it, I helped open doors for their talents to be heard. I didn’t write the song. I just believed in this artist; I believed in these writers, put them together. They came up with an incredible song, and here we go. We’re off to the races. It’s just as rewarding, if not more, than when one of my songs goes to No. 1. I love being behind the scenes and helping artists and writers reach their God-given potential.
KLOVE.com: Is that one of the reasons you decided to expand your management company beyond your own professional endeavors?
Matthew West: Yeah, our company continues to grow; and the reason for the management part of it is the same reason I step in and write with artists: I really believe in Christian music. I really see how God works through it. I’ve had a front row seat to it, and I’m very proud of it and protective of Christian music. And so… I want to help champion the next generation of artists that are going to be played on K-LOVE and beyond to minister the Gospel. I’ve had people champion me, and now I get the chance to look around and go, OK, what does it look like for me to now champion others and give them open doors and help their music reach a lost and hurting world?
So that’s the why of our company. It’s called Story House, and we like to look at each artist and help them tell the story God’s writing through their music. I get so excited because I get to be creative in different ways. I get to dream up [ideas] for them and help them think through the entirety of their artistry and maybe help them with blind spots and help them avoid mistakes that I made. Those things give me great joy.
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KLOVE.com: You have a new song out called ‘Jesus Is King.’ How did that song come about?
Matthew West: Over the last several years, I have felt a stirring to be bold in my faith like never before… As Christians, we can tend to compartmentalize where God uses us and where we’re bold. And so for me as a singer, it can be that hour on stage, and then it’s like you punch the clock and you’re off work; but what does it look like to actively seek out people who need to hear the message of the Gospel?
“Jesus Is King” is an anthem of faith for anybody who’s had their life changed by Jesus and wants people to know. It’s kind of like a bumper sticker song… I think too many times the lost and hurting world sees Christians being timid, and I don’t think that’s magnetic. What’s magnetic is going, “I believe in this with every fiber of my being, and it affects how I live my life.” And then I become a walking billboard for Jesus because people see something different in me.
It’s now become the whole concept of my next album. Every song is a chapter in the “Jesus Is King” book. It’s like “Jesus is…” and then there’s a blank, and each song fills in a blank describing the different attributes and characteristics of who our King is. Jesus is faithful; Jesus is our strong tower; Jesus is the one who leaves the 99…
KLOVE.com: In a culture of singles, why was making a concept record important to you?
Matthew West: These days, I’m less interested in just music anymore; I want to be a part of movements. I feel like maybe it’s why songs like “Unashamed” or “Don’t Stop Praying” or “Jesus Is King” keep coming out. With “Don’t Stop Praying,” during election season, we sent out 20,000 yard signs that people put up all around their towns. People would send me pictures, and there would be an entire street in Wisconsin, and everybody had “Don’t Stop Praying” signs; and it was like people were joining this movement going, “I want to learn how to share my faith with the world.”
And so, I feel like I don’t just think about a song anymore. In the beginning of my career, I think it was about a song, but now I think about revival and I think about movements and I think about creating moments where people can grab onto a song and go, “That’s a lifeline for me today.” That’s what’s driving me these days. I feel like people are finding their faith like never before that I’ve witnessed in my lifetime, and as music makers, we get to provide the soundtrack to the spiritual awakening that’s taking place. So I want my songs to be full of life, full of a message and, hopefully, something people can grab onto and go, “That’s my anthem.”
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KLOVE.com: You’re constantly writing with and for other artists. Is there a song that you’ve recently written for another artist that you’re excited for people to hear?
Matthew West: Gosh, well, Peter Burton’s new single; it’s called “So Long,” and it’s awesome. It’s going to be his next radio single. Some new Anne Wilson music that is going to be fire; we’ve been writing a bunch. I’ve been writing with CAIN lately on their new record, some really great stuff. And then a new Jon Reddick song called “Holding On (Praise God)” — it’s powerful.
KLOVE.com: When you go in for a write, and you know it’s going to be for another artist’s project, do you approach the session differently than when you know it’s going to be a song you’re going to carry?
Matthew West: 100%, yeah. I mean, from the moment you walk in the door, you know what your role is. When I’m with that artist, I’m asking questions like, “What’s on your heart? What’s troubling you? What’s going on?” It’s all about furthering what the Lord’s doing in their life and helping craft that message. So I rarely walk out of a room going, “Oh, that song was more for me than for them.” It’s more about serving that artist.
The challenge for me is when I go make my own record. When you’re writing songs for other artists, you’re dipping into their musical style, their communication style, so you have to have a strong sense of personal identity when you go in to make your own record. The challenge then becomes finding songs that feel like this is a song only I could record. And you tend to overthink a little bit more when it’s your own record. I feel a lot freer when I’m in the room writing for another artist. I know I’m going to write another song tomorrow. So I never really hold onto anything too tightly, because I know tomorrow I’m writing again and the day after, I’m going to write again. And so it’s always about looking ahead to me.
