He just released his latest album a month ago. Singer songwriter Garrett Lee, based in Georgia and Alabama, joins us for this podcast’s 75th episode - and towards the end of this one, I tell you about a contest to win his new cd “From the Ground Up” by simply writing a review for this pod on the “Run The Race” page for Apple Podcasts.

(3:27) Garrett, a church worship pastor too, plays a couple of tracks off his new album, one written for his now-4-year-old son and the other about remembering the foundation a marriage is built on. (13:40) He also opens up about the 3 years of ups and downs with this new music, from having another baby...to the COVID-19 pandemic...to being hospitalized with a mysterious leg injury...to having his bookbag stolen with all his hard drives and all the music he'd worked on for 2 years, only to get it back 2 months later, and released the album on his birthday, June 29.

(5:27) After he explains and plays "Hey Kid," Garrett also is honest about (22:45) the bittersweet test of faith he went through when he lost all that music, how prayer got him through it. (25:15) He started playing guitar at age 11 and has led worship at a church for the past decade. This Christian singer-songwriter doesn't want to be in a box, but connect with anyone through his alternative country Americana folk music, with his faith in God still playing a major role in his lyrics.

He calls music medicine and reminds us that God created melody. (34:55) Garrett also just recently opened up for country music icon Emmylou Harris in Lagrange GA. Does he still get nervous on stage at gigs or church? His main goal is to connect with an audience - and his own family. Garrett and his wife have a 3rd child on the way!

(40:09) He plays a bit of his new title track "From the Ground Up" and tells us why he wrote it and other songs that have special meaning like "Oh Joy." (46:59) He also closes us in prayer, before my final segment, (51:49) a "Parting Gift" from a famous wizard from the Harry Potter movies.

Thanks for listening! And tell your friends about the #RunTheRace podcast. Also, write a quick review about it. For more info, go to www.wtvm.com/podcast/.