Ellie Holcomb Explains Why Her New Album "Canyon" is a Thirst Quencher

Singer-songwriter Ellie Holcomb hopes the songs on her new album will serve as invitations for us to come drink from the living waters, who is Jesus himself. Holcomb's newly released third studio LP, Canyon features 12 newly crafted songs that she has co-written with Natalie Hemby, Bear Rinehart of NEEDTOBREATHE, Thad Cockrell, David Leonard, and Jon Guerra. The album was produced by Cason Cooley and executive produced by her father Brown Bannister. 

"I've never been more excited to let songs out into the wild, y'all! I've poured my soul out into each melody," Holcomb reveals. "I've poured my pain and my hope and the comfort I've known in the hands of Love into each lyric. I hope this record will feel like an invitation to come dance in the river, to breathe deep, to grieve, to weep, to hope, to sing, to remember that you are beloved even in your most broken place and that our suffering never has the final word because of who Jesus is and what He's done for us.

I hope these songs wash over you like the look your parents had, smiles sweeping broad across their face, as they watched you dance like crazy to music as a kid. I hope this record instigates some epic dance parties in your kitchen and some windows down/screaming at the top of your lungs singing in your car road trips. I hope the songs whisper an invitation to plummet the depths of your own pain and discover that there's a the current of Love that runs deeper."

At the heart of the record is the promise of God: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!" (Isaiah 55:1a). 

"Water always moves to the lowest place, and so does God," Holcomb explains. "However deep your sorrow, there's a Man of Sorrows who will meet you, weep with you, and hold you in that place until you begin to breathe and hope again. I wrote this record from a place of being embraced in the valley. I wept and grieved, but I was held, and from that held place,  learned to sing in the Canyon of all the pain, and as it turns out, when you sing in a Canyon, you wouldn't believe how your voice echoes off of every broken place!!!! I hope these songs will echo from the deepest valley to highest mountain to remind every beating human heart that they are not alone.

I hope these songs will echo off of your hearts and stories and that we'd all end up lifting our voices together in a song that reminds us that Love wins in the end because Love beats death. Praise be to God. It's the most beautiful story I know, so thanks for listening to these songs that were born in a canyon, and thanks for singing along.

Are you thirsty? Are you weary? There is plenty to drink at the banks of the river. There's a current of love that will carry us when it feels like we can't carry on any longer... if we'll only let it. Come drink your fill, there's always enough. Come rest and let the burdens you carry heavy on your shoulders slide off into Love's capable and strong hands. Come. Breathe deep. There is a Love that runs deeper than our deepest ache or pain. There are hidden reservoirs of peace and hope beneath us that we can access at any moment." 

Fans can catch Ellie Holcomb this fall during special performances. She will be joining Lauren Daigle for her World Tour on select dates in September. She will also appear with Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors for their own famed festival, Moon River Music Festival, returning in September. And she will have her Ryman Auditorium solo debut on August 19th, tickets can be found here.  

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