Caitie Hurst (https://caitiehurst.com/)

Caitie Hurst wouldn’t sing at her first voice lesson.

It’s a puzzling fact, because as anyone who’s since heard her belt a high note can attest, the 24-year-old worship leader has a voice that can stop traffic.

A Hendersonville, Tennessee native, Hurst grew up in a musical family; her father was part of a touring Christian band. She looked up to female CCM singers and she loved singing, but her audience of choice?
Hurst’s family and friends saw– and heard– something special in Caitie she didn’t recognize in herself. Even after she hummed her way through that first session, no one was giving up. It wasn’t long before leaders from her youth group at Long Hollow Church put her name down to lead worship. Hurst tried to get out of it, but found herself up front, leading music ministry for the first time.

“My voice teacher told me ‘Caitie, this is a gift that God has given you. This isn’t about you. Your job is to point people to God, not to yourself.’”
While that didn’t change her hesitancy overnight, it did impact a change-of-heart for Hurst. She continued to lead worship and grow in her talents throughout high school. She wrote songs and dreamed of pursuing a music career. Then she attended a Passion worship conference. There, she felt direction from the Lord that musical ministry was where she was meant to carry out her gifts.

Caitie went to Liberty University, pursuing a path of worship-leading. After a couple years she found herself interning at a Christian music label back in Nashville, accompanied by another directive tug in her heart: to create and share Christian music as an artist. 

Hurst moved back to Hendersonville. She worked on songs; she endured moments of doubt; she trusted a calling that felt crazy. She got a job at Long Hollow leading youth ministry and traveling with the student worship band. This became an incredibly formative experience, the opportunity to mentor and support students the way she had been cared for.

“I want to bridge the gap between songs that sound like pop radio but contain meaningful lyrics. Music that communicates the Gospel in a way that doesn’t sound cliché, but sounds fun—something someone could jam to in the car.” With her heart grounded in this mission, Caitie found her sound. She wrote and recorded new songs, often inspired by experiences with the youth she mentored. 

“My walk with God- that rules everything I do. He’s given all of us a unique story.”

Hurst’s songs and worship-leading resulted in recording and publishing deals with Centricity Music in fall 2017. Since then, she’s continued to create songs with magnetic melodies and rhythm that come from the journeys she’s walked and how she’s found Christ in all of them. Anxiety; jealousy; insecurity; fear. Journeys all of us can relate to, but too often are afraid to speak about.

Caitie Hurst is done hiding. She’s singing loud.