Charles Wesley Godwin is gearing up for the release of his next chapter, an album titled Christian Name, which is due out July 24th. CWG has already teased a number of new tracks from the upcoming project, and it’s safe to say that this might be the most personal album of his career. In fact, he confesses as much:
“These songs really meant a lot to me. There’s parts of me and parts of the things that I’ve gone through in the last couple years that are in each and every song on this album.”
And one of those extremely personal tracks is today’s release, “Hey There Son,” featuring Oklahoma native, Wyatt Flores. Co-written alongside the very talented Lori McKenna, Godwin pens an emotional letter from a father to his son:
“I started writing ‘Hey There Son’ in 2019, around the time my first son was born. I’m a huge fan of Lori McKenna, and always felt like she’d be the perfect person to help me finish it. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to bring it to her in 2024, and we knocked it out in an afternoon. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room by the time we finished.
When Al and I started recording it, I knew I wanted that perspective shift in the final verse, and Wyatt was the obvious choice. He’s incredible, and his performance took the song to the next level. I’m really proud of this one.”
The song finds Charles talking to his son, from an infant, through his childhood, and into his adulthood as he starts to find a wife and make a family for himself. However, there’s a twist at the end… I won’t spoil it, but it packs quite the punch.
Powerful stuff.
Of course, we’ve already heard the catchy “Better That Way”,” featuring Luke Combs, and this new one with Wyatt, but Charles called in some of the best songwriters in the business to round out this album. Of course, the aforementioned Lori McKenna, but we also have Stephen Wilson Jr. (“Brand New”), Liz Rose (“I Caught The Sunrise”), Aaron Ratiere (“God’s Been Good To Me”), Travis Meadows (“Try Again,” “Every Once In Awhile”), Scooter Carusoe (“Better That Way,” “Hallelujah High,” “Place I Know”), and Tom Douglas (“Street Advice”). The album was produced by Allegheny High guitarist and Godwin’s longtime producer Al Torrence.
“I had a lot of help with this album — I sought out people and they brought a lot of the hope and the light and the lighter moments of the album. That was a lot of their influence. The album needed that.”
Taking inspiration from his late grandfather, Charles Godwin, a Methodist preacher, for the album title, Godwin calls the album an affirmation of his faith, which was tested amid unthinkable tragedy, the loss of their 3rd child, Samuel, who was stillborn:
“To put it simply, my heart was broken. It took me a few months to get myself back up off the ground, so to speak, and get back into the game and to write songs again. Coming out of that, I recommitted to my faith in God more so than I have at any point in my life. It really changed me. The point of this project was to point to God and let people know he’s really helped me through this time in my life.”
Of course, it’s easy to get angry with God, reject His goodness, and ultimately turn away all together in the wake of tragedy. However, for Charles and his wife Samantha, they clung to God even harder during the grief, and emerged with an even deeper relationship with Jesus. The Christian walk is never free from tragedy, quite the opposite actually, but the promise is that He’ll sustain you through anything and everything… it sounds like this album will be a living testament to that. Is it July 24th yet?
Christian Name Tracklist:
1. Sermon [Al Torrence, Dave Stacy]
2. Try Again [Charles Wesley Godwin, Travis Meadows]
3. Better That Way (feat. Luke Combs) [Charles Wesley Godwin, Scooter Carusoe, Al Torrence]
4. Hallelujah High [Charles Wesley Godwin, Scooter Carusoe]
5. Hey There Son (feat. Wyatt Flores) [Charles Wesley Godwin, Lori McKenna]
6. Caught the Sunrise [Charles Wesley Godwin, Liz Rose]
7. Place I Know [Charles Wesley Godwin, Scooter Carusoe]
8. Street Advice [Charles Wesley Godwin, Scooter Carusoe, Tom Douglas]
9. Every Once in a While [Charles Wesley Godwin, Travis Meadows, Dave Stacy]
10. Christian Name [Charles Wesley Godwin]
11. God’s Been Good to Me [Charles Wesley Godwin, Aaron Raitiere]
12. Gospel of the South [Craig Boyd, Tony Lane, David Cory Lee]
13. Brand New [Charles Wesley Godwin, Stephen Wilson Jr.]
The Christian Name Tour kicks off July 14th in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and runs through mid-November, with a return to Red Rocks on October 15th. In addition to his own headline shows, Godwin will be doing a co-headline run with Dylan Gossett this Summer, and he’ll open for Kacey Musgraves on her Middle of Nowhere Tour this fall.
Charles Wesley Godwin 2026 Tour Dates
Jul 2 – Calgary, AB – Cowboys Music Festival
Jul 10 – Saint Paul, MN – Minnesota Country Club Festival
Jul 14 – Sioux Falls, SD – The District
Jul 17 – Emigrant, MT – The Old Saloon
Jul 18 – Kalispell, MT – Majestic Valley Arena
Jul 19 – Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky Festival
Jul 22 – Jackson, WY – Teton County Fair
Aug 4 – San Francisco, CA- Regency
Aug 6 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24
Aug 7 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
Aug 8 – San Diego, CA – SOMA
Aug 13 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto
Aug 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren
Aug 21 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
Aug 22 – Toronto, ON – History
Aug 27 – Oklahoma City, OK – Criterion
Aug 28 – Lubbock, TX – Cook’s Garage*
Aug 29 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater*
Sept 11 – Baltimore, MD – Pier Six
Sept 12 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
Sept 17 – Landmark Theatre – Syracuse, NY
Sept 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Fillmore
Sept 23 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center#
Sept 26 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle*
Sept 29 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17*
Sept 30 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena#
Oct 1 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater*
Oct 9 – North Charleston, SC – Riverfront Revival
Oct 15 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Oct 17 – Garden City, ID – Revolution Concert House
Oct 18 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
Oct 21 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Oct 22 – Seattle, WA – SoDo
Oct 24 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theater
Nov 5 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
Nov 6 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum
Nov 7 – Cincinnati, OH – MegaCorp Pavilion
Nov 12 – Chicago, IL – Salt Shed
Nov 13 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside
Nov 14 – St. Louis, MO – Factory
* co-headline with Dylan Gossett
# supporting Kacey Musgraves
