When he was an 18-year-old youth group kid, Austin French drew the short straw for his church’s youth-led Sunday service. He was prepared to play guitar and lead worship, something he was comfortable doing. Instead, he was assigned to deliver the message. Wracked with nerves, Austin searched the Bible to find something he could teach. He landed on Luke 7, the story of Jesus interrupting a funeral. The story is significant because for spiritual teachers of the day, participating in a funeral would make them ceremonially unclean. When Jesus saw a funeral procession going by, He ignored the custom, went and touched the coffin and said, “Arise.”
Austin’s newest project, Wake Up Sleeper, is inspired by that early sermon, a reminder that Jesus is ever present in whatever situation we might be facing. With catchy hooks and impassioned, Spirit-fueled lyrics, Austin hopes to inspire those who may have become disillusioned with Christianity or perhaps have left the faith altogether, something he’s all too familiar with himself.
“Rest for Your Soul,” is a song written from a place of personal exhaustion. Dad to three kids ages five and under, rest is hard to come by on a good day. Every available moment is filled with the constant needs of his young children. While wrestling with bone-deep weariness, Austin came across Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” He wrote “Rest for Your Soul,” trusting that his heavy burdens weren’t meant to be carried alone.
“All of us can find our spot in that, needing rest,” Austin says. “But He says, come to me and I will give you rest. We don’t have to wonder if it will happen, because it’s something He’s said He will do.”
“Jesus Can,” a vibey story song about his growing up years, is Austin at his most vulnerable and most redeemed. Writing the song brought up so much pain (and ultimately healing) from his past, he decided to expand the idea into a book. “I’m an artist whose life has been radically saved through a very desperate situation,” Austin says. “That’s the goal of the book and this song, to share my history and my story. When you think you can’t make it out, Jesus can make a way.”
It’s an apt addition to the project and fits perfectly into Austin’s primary message, a message that’s carried through on every track - lean on God through the hard times, let Him carry the heavy burdens, choose to be alive in Him. As much as Wake Up Sleeper is an autobiographical story of growing up and finding God, Austin hopes it’s also a legacy for his children, each song is a heart-filled encouragement that the best it yet to come.
Husband. Father of two boys and two girls. Singer. Songwriter. Storyteller. Sharer of God’s Word.
It was when Jordan St. Cyr was a teen and served with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) that he found the inspiration to pursue music as a career. He eventually released an EP, and in the years that have followed, he has released more music and has received numerous life-changing opportunities to work alongside many talented songwriters, producers, and artists, all of whom have encouraged him along his journey. From playing numerous events of all sizes and meeting people from many different walks of life, humanity’s deep desire for meaningful connection has been revealed to him and the hope to find something more vibrant than our current reality.
St. Cyr dropped his first full-length self-titled album in the spring of 2022 with Seattle-based label, BEC Recordings. The project features the chart-climbing radio hits "Fires" and "Weary Traveler" - both of which offer a pursuit of hope, even in our darkest moments, to know that God gives us stories to share and encourage one another through our fires and weary travels, to give us strength in the midst of them. And it was “Fires” that quickly put St. Cyr on the map, hitting the airwaves on major networks and stations for nearly 18 months straight and reaching millions weekly and going top 5. “Weary Traveler” followed, which also became his first No. 1 hit single, taking the top spot on all radio charts.
2022 continued to be an astounding year for St. Cyr. He became a two-time GMA Dove Awards nominee, being recognized for Best New Artist and for Short-Form Video Of The Year ("Weary Traveler”), followed by sweeping the GMA Canada Covenant Awards with six wins, the most out of any other nominees and adding to his already five Covenant Award wins. He was recognized as Artist of the Year, Album and Male Vocalist of the Year along with Best Pop Song, Live Music Artist, and AC Artist of the Year.
While he continues to create music and tour, Jordan St. Cyr is really just getting started.
“God has walked my family through so much these last few years,” he shares about his music. “We’ve been gifted a deeper understanding of what pain and suffering can bring about, and I believe the message of my songs is a gentle reminder of our desperate need for a faithful God. No matter what our current reality is, we can know with assurance that the present-working power of Jesus is with us every step of the way.”
“My prayer is that my songs would bring comfort and joy to those who hear them. I pray that listeners would be more hopeful and open to the depths of God’s love for them knowing that their circumstances are not a reflection of how God feels about them. Rather, their circumstances would reveal the closeness and nearness of the Holy Spirit.”