Mike Donehey, songwriter, performing artist, author and podcaster to name a few, is set to release his debut solo album. Titled Flourish, the project will be released on August 27th via Fair Trade Services and is available for Pre-order now.
Encouragement. Radical vulnerability. Gratitude. Acceptance. Grief. Honesty. These are just a few of the topics Donehey explores in his upcoming collection of eleven songs born from his struggle to learn what it takes to truly thrive in any circumstance.
When the world was hit by the pandemic, Donehey, like so many others, found himself struggling. Tenth Avenue North, the band he founded and fronted for so many years, was amicably disbanding and planning their farewell tour when everything came to a halt. With the tour canceled and the band officially over, Donehey found himself lost, not only in what his next steps would be, but feeling like—in his own words—a dried-up sponge.
As the months went by, he realized he needed to grieve these drastic life changes and the unknown. The more he began to open up and feel the sadness and sting of the pain, “the more joy came out the other side,” he explains. The songs started pouring in, and an album was soon written.
Writing during the pandemic became the anthem he had to sing to himself, and as the title track explains, he points to Psalm 126 to find that in Christ, he has what he needs to truly flourish. “If you want more joy, allow sadness,” Donehey says. “Grieve getting to where you need to go because the more you reduce your sadness, you numb the pain of hope. Flourish isn’t an album of naivety, it’s acknowledging that I was in a desert to appreciate the streams that flow through it.”
On “Glory I Can’t See,” produced by We The Kingdom’s Andrew Bergthold, Donehey admits to missing out on life’s joyous moments by feeling more like a victim, ultimately discovering that no matter the circumstances, beauty is right in front of us. “Something That I Can’t Explain,” co-written and produced by Micah Kuiper (TobyMac, Newsboys, Hawk Nelson), “is a deconstructionist’s favorite song,” while album-closing “Unity Hymn,” written with his sister Kanene Donehey Pipkin (of The Lone Bellow), is an important reminder about forgiveness and loving one another.
Overall, the unexpected can disrupt our lives in ways we may never have chosen. For Mike Donehey, learning to embrace the unexpected has been the very thing that continually produces encouraging and calming music.
FLOURISH Tracklist:
Standing at the edge of my world Follow you into the fire All together Glory I couldn’t see Glory Reprise Blossom Abundance from the start Something I can’t explain Inspire Inspire Anthem of unity
The post office Mike Donehey Is Set to ‘Bloom’ With New Album on August 27 first appeared on TCB.
Author: Herb Longs
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