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On his new album Christian Name, a record rooted in faith, the songwriter processes the grief of his stillborn son
For a long time, it looked to Charles Wesley Godwin as if 2024 would be the greatest year of his life. He was fresh off the late 2023 release of Family Ties, his third album, and splitting his time between a sold-out headlining tour and supporting slots for Luke Combs, Turnpike Troubadours, and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. At home, Godwin and his wife, Samantha, spent the year preparing for the birth of their third child, a boy they decided to name Samuel. In mid-August, he opened for Turnpike and Isbell in Kansas City to a crowd of 18,000 — and sang with Turnpike during the encore to a lengthy ovation. Six days later, all that unraveled.
“August 22nd, 2024, we lost Samuel,” Godwin says. “He was stillborn. I buried him. Ever since that day, I’ve been a different person.”
The West Virginia native had written himself out of a lengthy writer’s block with Family Ties, his third record and his Big Loud debut, and he had written prolifically well into 2024. Instantly, all of the songs seemed pointless. “None of those fit what I needed to say anymore,” Godwin tells Rolling Stone.
