Andy Squyres: Wrestling with God in song and story
The singer-songwriter showcased his honest, faith-filled music at a house concert in North Carolina.
Andy Squyres is a Christian musician whose emotional depth and heart-on-sleeve truths have made him one of my favorites.
His songs wrestle openly with suffering, doubt, hope, redemption and faith — offering a nuanced perspective on Christianity and the human experience.
I’ve followed Andy for several years, and Anne and I first saw him in-person last summer with about 50 others at a church in Minneapolis.
This past Saturday night, we saw him again — this time even closer to home, at an intimate house concert in Mooresville, North Carolina, just a few miles from where Andy and his wife, Amy, live.
We’ve already got tickets to see him next month at a coffee house in Concord, which pretty much seals it: we’re officially Andy Squyres groupies.
Andy, who calls himself a “poet priest,” sometimes compares himself to Bob Dylan. Both are masterful storytellers, but let’s be honest — Andy’s voice is at least a hundred times better.
I compare Andy to great Christian storytellers like Rich Mullins and Andrew Peterson.
He’s unafraid to blend beauty and brokenness without giving easy answers. His songs feel lived-in and weathered. His music bubbles up from tragedies, such as losing one of his best friends to cancer at age 32 — a man with a wife and children.
Cherry Blossoms
My favorite Andy Squyres song — and his most popular based on streaming downloads — is “Cherry Blossoms.”
Here is the start of the song:
Well I feel a warm wind blowin'
Meltin' all the sadness off of my soul.
And I smell the sweet cherry blossoms
Pourin' all their gladness into my soul.
In winter, I believe you.
In springtime, I see you.
It's so good to be with you,My hope has come!
Lord You make all things new!
Your love is my breakthrough.
Now I sing hallelujah!
My hope has come.
A poignant reflection on grief and renewal, “Cherry Blossoms” describes a faith that endures through winter.
In the “winter,” when life is cold, barren, and God feels distant, Andy chooses to believe anyway.
In the “spring,” when beauty and life return, he sees more clearly the goodness and faithfulness of God that were always there.
The song beautifully captures that tension: trusting God when he is hidden and rejoicing when his work becomes visible.
Miracle Service
“Cherry Blossoms” is an “old” song (released in 2015) that was introduced to us by Frank Albert, who was a worship leader at Good Shepherd Anglican Church.
One of my favorite new songs from Saturday night — one that will be on Andy’s upcoming album — was “Miracle Service.”
One of the great joys of an Andy Squyres concert is how much he brings the audience into the experience. He doesn’t just sing; he tells stories, shares his heart, and even pauses for a Q&A right in the middle of the concert.
Before playing “Miracle Service,” Andy told a story about driving with Amy through a nearly deserted town west of Bakersfield, California. They passed a tiny church with a sign on the door:
“Miracle Service every Wednesday at 6 p.m.”
Andy joked that he was amazed any church could actually schedule miracles. But that sign stuck with him. It sparked something deeper — a reminder that, even in the gritty struggles of life, God really does reach into this world to do the miraculous.
“It is about being tired of the postmodern interpretive lens and discovering faith once again,” Andy wrote on social media.
Postmodernism approaches everything — including scripture, history and personal experience — with deep skepticism, relativism, and the belief that truth is subjective rather than absolute.
Certainty is suspect, and feelings and personal perspectives often carry more weight than facts. Grand, universal truths (like biblical claims about God or salvation) are often questioned, minimized, or seen as one of many competing “narratives.”
But “Miracle Service every Wednesday at 6 p.m.” allowed Andy — and us — to reclaim childlike faith — believing again in God’s real, active presence, not endlessly doubting it.
The chorus of the song goes like this: “Dash me on the Rock of Ages, let me break as darkness rages, anything to feel your love again.”
It’s a vivid expression of surrender and longing for God’s presence.
“Rock of Ages” echoes the metaphor of Christ as the unshakable foundation. To be “dashed” upon this Rock suggests a willingness to be broken or humbled, allowing God’s transformative power to work within.
I could talk for hours about Andy Squyres — there’s so much depth, beauty and hard-won truth woven through his music and poetry.
But for now, I’ll simply leave you with a few links. I hope you’ll take some time to discover his art and his fierce love for Jesus.