Christian music has had a mini mainstream moment over the last few months, with unexpected crossovers and sold-out arena tours. But there’s a whole other conversation going on at lower volume that’s worth tuning in to. These five artists are making faith-driven music in the indie and folk spaces — singer-songwriters and small-room acts whose work sits comfortably next to Phoebe Bridgers or Josh Ritter as much as anything on a Sunday morning setlist. If you haven’t found this corner of Christian music yet, here’s where to start.
The Gray Havens
Dave and Licia Radford have been making indie folk together since 2012, the kind of longevity that either means you’ve found your lane or you’ve been overlooked. In their case it’s both. The Nashville husband-and-wife duo builds songs around soaring arrangements and theological depth with a lightness of touch that keeps the material from feeling heavy — earthy indie folk with lush elements of pop and rock, narratives that reach for transcendence without announcing themselves. Their 2025 album This Is Not The End is a strong entry point, and their catalog rewards going back. Dave is a former American Idol contestant, which tells you almost nothing useful about what this music sounds like.
Jon Guerra
Guerra coined the term “devotional music” to describe what he makes — less Sunday morning worship, he says, more Monday morning prayer. It’s an accurate distinction. His catalog, which includes Keeper of Days (2020), Ordinary Ways (2023) and Jesus (2025), draws from Nick Drake-style folk and baroque pop without the preciousness those touchstones can invite. He also composed music for Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, which tells you something about the contemplative register he works in.
Allie Paige
The Newport Beach singer-songwriter spent three years building His World from scratch after scrapping an early version of the project entirely — keeping only the lyrics and rebuilding the music independently. What came out the other side is something genuinely hard to place: bossa nova, reggae, gospel and Hawaiian folk woven together with live strings, flutes and vintage instruments. The Adele and Joni Mitchell comparisons track, but they undersell how much her own voice carries the record. She released “God of My Seasons” in March 2026, and it’s a good entry point if you haven’t heard her yet.
Chris Renzema
Renzema’s Manna was written for the cynic, the skeptic and the stalled-out in faith — not a demographic most Christian music is chasing. The album sits comfortably outside radio-friendly territory: inspired by early ’70s folk, punk rock, and Wilco, with songs about depression, religious dissonance, and the experience of standing dry-eyed at a revival when everyone around you is weeping. The people finding his music tend to find it and stay.
Skye Peterson
Peterson’s fourth album Through Line drops May 29 — which makes right now the best time to get acquainted if you aren’t already. In 2025 she and Addison Agen launched Fielder, an alt-folk duo that spent the year touring with The Arcadian Wild, and she’s been releasing singles in the lead-up to the new record: “Never Not Been Okay,” “Hey Doubter” and “Made For” all landed earlier this year. She writes hymns for Getty Music on the side, which tells you something about her theological range, but her solo work lives somewhere much quieter and more personal than that context implies.
