Charles Wesley Godwin has announced his new album, Christian Name, which is out on 24th July 2026, via Big Loud Records. In 2024, Godwin and his wife, Samantha, suffered an awful tragedy when their third child, Samuel, was stillborn. “To put it simply, my heart was broken,” Godwin says. “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.” And while the human instinct following such loss might be to turn away from the divine, Godwin says the devastating experience recommitted him to God and firmly cemented his faith. “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,” he says, speaking to not only his personal transformation over the past few years but also to how this distinctly spiritual quest is reflected in Christian Name. “The point of this project was to point to God,” Godwin continues, “and let people know he’s really helped me through this time in my life.”
“These songs really meant a lot to me,” Godwin explains. “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.”
Christian Name is a highly personal affair for Godwin: he took direct inspiration for both the album title and album cover from his late grandfather, Charles Godwin, a Methodist preacher, and he’s quick to note how critical a role his creative community of friends and musical collaborators played in the album’s conception.
Not only does Christian Name include a pair of feature collaborations; the earworm Better That Way with Luke Combs and Hey There, Son featuring Wyatt Flores, but it’s also the result of Godwin partnering with some of music’s most treasured songwriters: Stephen Wilson Jr. (Brand New), Liz Rose (I Caught The Sunrise), Lori McKenna (Hey There, Son), 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).
“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,” Godwin offers. “That was a lot of their influence. The album needed that.”
Godwin has released the first single Better That Way featuring Combs, for which you can see the video below.
