When Brandon Lake goes over all the exciting things going on in his life, he's got a lot to talk about. Some of them are taking place in stadiums and big indoor arenas while others are happening on or near his family's farm in coastal South Carolina.
He's been extremely popular in his own particular field for a long time, but the inspiring and influential Christian musical artist is spreading his joyous message of faith like never before. These are tremendous times for Lake and his fervent followers, and he's rightfully rejoicing as he continues to dramatically expand his fan base as a crossover artist.
"I've had more opportunities than ever to put songs in front of the world, and it's not just the Christian space that are listening," says Lake. "God has opened up doors for me to be able to have songs that are next to the leading influencers in music right now, next to the Morgan Wallens and the Shaboozeys of the world."
He's gotten a lot of new attention through his collaboration with Jelly Roll on "Hard Fought Hallelujah," but the platinum-selling song already had tremendous success before their high-profile pairing. It stayed at number one on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart for 26 weeks and climbed to number 40 on Billboard's Hot 100, which ranks the popularity of songs across all genres. In addition, it earned Lake his first nomination for a CMA Award, and his ambitious album new album, King of Hearts, debuted inside Billboard's Top 10 for all genres and at the top slot on its charts for rock, alternative and Christian music.
While 2025 has clearly been a breakout year for Lake, he looks at it as putting God in the mainstream spotlight.
"It doesn't get me excited for me," he says. "It gets me excited just knowing that more and more people can stumble onto that and that it has the power to change their lives."
Lake's unique and unconventional approach to sharing his spiritual message had already earned his great success. He's won five Grammy Awards so far in his career, and many of his earlier songs (such as "Gratitude," "We Praise You," "Coat of Many Colors" and "Graves into Gardens") are more or less standards in contemporary churches and staples in praise band repertoires. He's also up for nine different Dove Awards right now, more than any other artist.
His Home on the Coast
Though he freely gives the glory to his higher power, there's no question that performing in front of rapturous crowds night after night is a thrilling experience. As Lake has learned, there's a downside that can surface once those waves of energy and adulation have receded. He's very thankful that he has a comfortable place to land.
Up the coast from Charleston lies the tiny town of McClellanville, which is often described as a quaint fishing village. Not far from there is where Lake and his wife Brittany are raising a family of three young boys and a few animals, including a small herd of cattle.
The non-denominational Seacoast Church is where faith and music became such powerful parts of Lake's life. The son of a preacher, he started singing spiritual songs in church as a child and took up guitar a few years later. He's now 35 and has been a professional recording artist for about a decade.
Life’s Ups and Downs
The fact that he's been able to spread his musical message so broadly is one of Lake’s countless answered prayers. He describes his high profile and his quiet rewards at home as a best-of-both-worlds scenario, but finding the right balance between the two can be tricky. That realization came to Lake as his star was rising a few years back. Returning home from his first big tour, he suffered an unexpected emotional crash, which he sometimes refers to as "adrenaline fatigue," that left him despondent and confused.
"I had never really experienced depression or anxiety or panic attacks before," he says. "Mine came about because all my dreams came true in a span of a few months. I went from small town to touring the country practically overnight and writing songs with all my heroes and I didn't realize how that would alter my state of mind. I went to a really dark place and started dwelling on negative things."
He's not surprised that relief was close at hand, he says, only that he didn't immediately turn to that source. He believes he had made things worse by trying to handle it alone before reaching out for help.
"Isolating myself was the worst thing I could have done," he says. "The moment I leaned into my community and God, that's when it was quickly healed."
He wrote songs as part of his catharsis, releasing them as the album Help! in 2022. He was astonished by the number of people who could personally relate to what he had endured and overcome.
"So many people are quiet about their struggles because it can feel humiliating or like a weakness," Lake says, "But I've only gotten stronger by being honest about what I'm dealing with, and that's when the healing came. So, I hope others will do the same and encourage them to do so. I've even hired a health and performance coach and changed a lot about my lifestyle to make sure I stay healthy."
Going Home to His Church, His Family
Another way that Lake finds rejuvenation is returning to his home near the Atlantic shore. The once-humble Seacoast Church started in suburban Charleston in 1988 with a hundred people or so gathered in a former movie theater. Today, the main campus in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has a spacious sanctuary that accommodates 2,500 people with thousands more attending services in more than a dozen satellite locations or watching them online.
Lake was on staff as a worship leader for many years, so many of church leaders and congregants have known him since long before he was so widely known in larger circles. When he's off the road these days, he and his family tend to favor the small-town feeling they find at the church's smaller campus in McClellanville, which typically draws around 80 worshipers on a given Sunday, he says.
"It's always like a fun family reunion when I'm home," Lake says. "Nobody's been more supportive than they have. They call every win that I have a win for them, and they celebrate everything that God's doing for me and my family."
At the same time, he says, they're not blown away by his accomplishments.
"Someone like me needs someone who's proud of me but not impressed by me, and that's what keeps me grounded and gives me a foundation," he says. "They encourage me, but they don't treat me like a celebrity, and they also ask me the hard questions. And that's what church is all about. So, returning home is like a celebration but also it's like a time of re-centering."
Grounded on the Farm
Lake says another way to regain his footing is his day-to-day life on the farm with Brittany and the boys. The scenic Lowcountry property is on a creek that leads directly to the ocean, which means they can easily load up 10-year-old Blaize, 8-year-old Beau, and 2-year-old Banner in their Sportsman center-console for fishing or a leisurely cruise on the open water.
"You feel just isolated enough," he says of his rural getaway. "It's just far enough outside of Charleston that I feel like I can turn things off and be alone and be with my family. And we have a bunch of acreage on the water. I've never been able to live very long off the water. It just speaks to me and feels like home."
But it's not all play. Lake says he feels good getting his hands dirty and breaking a sweat, so he welcomes chores such as tending to the livestock, which include 23 head of cattle, a pig and three miniature donkeys.
"We're experimenting with breeding Angus and Wagyu. Brittany's a big animal lover, so I got her the miniature donkeys to cuddle with when I'm over on the other side of the farm processing cows," he says with a laugh. "There are some high highs and some low lows for animal lovers out here, but it's a beautiful place."
Whether he's out on tour on down on his farm on the alluring outskirts of Charleston, Lake has time to reflect on his life and career, and he seems to like what he sees.
"It's been really cool to travel the country and play these songs in arenas and stadiums, but I'm also excited about just continuing to grow deeper roots in my town," he says. "I never expected it to happen like this, but I would say that that was a prayer in my heart, that God would give me the ability to reach people beyond our little genre. And I don't think Christian music was ever meant to be a genre. It's a lifestyle. It's a message."
