Changing hearts, stirring souls and engaging and challenging minds like never before, three-time GRAMMY® nominated, chart-topping gospel artist Travis Greene’s latest RCA Inspiration album Broken Record goes beyond the usual shouts of “Hallelujah” to create a fresh, inviting worship experience that takes us deeper than we could ever possibly imagine into the love and grace of God.
Recorded live with the worship team from Forward City Church – the ever-growing, increasingly influential congregation Greene and his wife, Dr. Jackie Greene co-pastor in Columbia, SC – the 11-track collection follows in the tradition of his previous live albums, including Crossover: Live From Music City, which reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart and earned a 2018 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Gospel Album. Yet by design, the singer-songwriter and worship leader’s musical intentions transcend the tried and true.
“The songs on Broken Record are driven by the concept that while God is everything we always say He is – “Way maker,” “Promise Keeper,” “Miracle Worker,” – I believe He is also a God of process,” says Greene. “From my reading of Scripture, He is drawn to broken things and people, and we are more useful in the hands of the Potter when we’re broken. When He breaks us, it’s for a reason, so that He can remove our shells and plant new seeds in our lives. He only breaks things that he’s already blessed.”
“My goal is to go beneath the surface and express some real truths beyond what we think He wants to hear,” he adds. “It’s more like a soundtrack, very theatrical in its presentation, not just a blatant praise and worship session but a journey of discovery. I wanted to balance serious worship and contemplation with a spirit of fun, playing around with unique melodies and concepts, so that it’s not the typical music you would hear in church.”
Greene is laying the foundation for the October 11 release of Broken Record with a unique rollout of key lead singles, starting with the R&B/gospel/pop-rock infused “Won’t Let Go,” which dropped August 23. “This song started with the idea that God will never let me go,” he says. “It’s encouragement for people who feel they can’t do enough for God, but there’s more grace in Him than sin in us. People feel all sorts of excitement and emotional highs in church, but when those things are done, the battles and storms of real life still happen. It’s all about encouraging anyone who feels left, or lonely, or trying to figure out how they’re going to make it through. God will hold you together if you lean into His grace.”
The next single, due September 6, is “Good and Loved,” a soaring, powerhouse duet by Greene and special guest, former Bethel Music worship leader/songwriter Steffany Gretzinger, that reminds us in the midst of our trials that God is good and we are loved. Its release will be accompanied by a performance video. Following that on September 20 is “Great Jehovah,” a fun, high-energy full vocal ensemble song that evolved from a singalong snippet at the end of “Have Your Way (Great Jehovah)” on the Crossover album. Then on October 6, Greene will release “The Breaker,” a passionate, lyrical power ballad that gets to the core of the album’s message with lines like “I’m free when I’m broken by you” and “My life is safer when I get to the breaker/Bring my mistakes to the hand of the Maker.”
The release of “Won’t Let Go” coincided with Greene’s annual Engage Culture Weekend, a multi-faceted event created to give back to the community in his home base of Columbia. Running August 23rd-25th, this marked the third anniversary for Forward City Church. The weekend featured empowering live events with special guests including Kirk Franklin, DeVon Franklin, Heather Lindsey, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and others.
Unlike most live worship albums which are tracked at a church or rehearsal space, Greene decided to record Broken Record at Audio Ethic in Charlotte, NC, a Christian musical gear distribution center he uses for his tours. Because the gear that he uses was already there, and his band was in town rehearsing for a tour, it made logistical sense to invite the worship and media teams from his church there. The videos that will be accompanying the songs will even show instrument and gear cases strewn about. “We didn’t even advertise that were tracking there,” Greene says. “The session was super organic and spontaneous. I wrote at least four songs the week of the recording!” The only song on Broken Record that was not tracked in that single day warehouse session in February 2019 was “Won’t Let Go,” which Greene wrote and recorded in June.
Growing up with a mother who was a minister and choir director, Travis Greene says that gospel music “was like oxygen in our house, always part of my life,” and no artist inspired him and strengthened his passion for God more than 14-time GRAMMY® winning legend Kirk Franklin. Now an inspirational trailblazer in his own right, Greene’s dynamic fusion of music and ministry since the release of his 2010 debut album Stretching Out prompted Franklin to anoint him as one of the artists who are the “future of gospel music.” Greene has since been GRAMMY® nominated for his Crossover: Live From Music City album and his singles “Intentional” and “Made a Way”; earned one GMA Dove Award (Urban Worship Recorded Song of the Year for “You Waited”) out of eight nominations; won 11 Stellar Awards (including 2018 Artist of the Year and Producer of the Year; and scored a Billboard Music Award. Greene has also scored two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart and 3 #1’s on the Gospel Airplay chart.
Much like Franklin in his early heyday, Greene’s meteoric rise has been chronicled everywhere from Billboard, Rolling Stone, TMZ and the New York Times to prominent magazines like XXL, Rolling Out, JET, Ebony, ESSENCE and Vibe.
The singer’s compelling life story begins with miracles that show grace in his life even before he began pursuing his musical gifts. He was originally still-born but was resuscitated, and at the age of four, while living in Germany where his father was based in the military, he was brought back to life after a four-story fall from a building. Though his father passed away when Greene was only five, he grew up a “military brat” who developed a unique appreciation for and understanding about many world cultures – all of which laid the foundation for his ministry today. Though he didn’t perform for people until he participated in his mother’s prison ministry in their adopted home state of Georgia when he was 18, Greene’s passion for music was an important part of his early life.
Though less dramatic than the early-life miracles, Greene attributes his pursuit of his musical career to a moment of divine intervention. It came in the form of his piano instructor at Georgia Southern University, where he majored in business and minored in music. Just before graduation, she asked him his plans. He said he was going to get an MBA and then move to New York and work a corporate job. She asked him what he was passionate about. When he said, “music and ministry,” she told him he needed to pursue those. While attending Georgia Southern, he played keys at a local church and one day the pastor heard him singing and told him he should lead worship.
These moments of encouragement led Greene to develop his raw talent further and set his sights on making gospel music for a living. He bought a laptop and got some recording equipment and software, believing he was following God’s plan for his life. He struggled for years, having to move out of a foreclosed house he was living in, subsisting on grits and Wendy’s, and had a car that broke down every other week. His dedication to music meant he only worked part time, usually at churches where he attended. He went through the ups and downs of having limited success and resources, and even when he achieved Billboard chart success and airplay with his debut album, he was barely making enough to survive.
“This is an example of why I sing about our patience with God and His patience with us,” Greene says. “Things happen when they are supposed to and when we are ready. The struggle forces you to be persistent and learn a lot of necessary lessons. The interesting thing was that even when I was in lack and didn’t know where my next meal or rent payment was coming from, I still felt fulfilled because I was in His will.”
“In line with what the songs on Broken Record express as part of the overall worship experience, when God breaks us, it’s his way of getting us in touch with our intrinsic value to Him and understand the broader reach we can have through empathy for others who have been through the same struggles,” he adds. “There is so much power and beauty beneath the shells we often hide behind, and God wants to reveal that to us so that we may better serve others. I think the album very honest and poetic, and I would love for people to print out the lyrics so they can track along with us. I believe if they can get beneath the surface of the beats and melodies and dive into the meaning of the words, it can be very liberating for them.”
Travis Greene
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