Daniel Kirkley is the first to admit he doesn't have the answers--but his spirit constantly searches for them.
"I don't know what God has in store for me. I just want to share what I've learned with all believers and perhaps learn together what it is to truly live by faith, not by sight in the light of God's grace."
That mentality, coupled with Daniel's natural abilities, caught the attention of record execs with Centricity Records, "a Washington-based commercial Christian music label that was founded on the principals of combining the benefits of music and ministry." Daniel entered into an agreement with Centricity Records and is currently working on his third project.
Prior to this development however, Daniel toured to support sophomore release "Seasons of Grace". "I wanted to write an album that reflected my heart in every way." Seasons Of Grace blended Daniel's piano playing abilities with his unique pop/classical vocal approach to melody and singing. It's been a time of small victories, huge letdowns and unanswered questions for Daniel. "It's been hard," he says, "everything that could have possibly gone wrong with that album did, but God was--and is-- so faithful through it."
Daniel has been musical since age five. The Lancaster, South Carolina, native continually felt called to share his faith. “I started singing just in church when I was five or six years old,” says Kirkley. “When I got older, I fell in love with science and medicine. I ended up getting an academic and music scholarship to University of South Carolina. I double majored in pre-med and classical voice, but at that point, music didn’t seem feasible as a career. I actually wanted to become a pediatrician.”
Kirkley began performing at Paramount Carowinds theme park in Charlotte, North Carolina during summer breaks. “I loved the experience so much, being in front of people and connecting with people,” the young artist recalls. “To see people’s connection with you as a person and how they could connect with a song, it was something I never experienced in the classical academic part of music. I came back to school just completely restless and not satisfied. I started to want something more besides pre-med, which terrified me.”
Julie Roberts, Daniel’s friend from childhood who has since become one of the new successful female artists in Country music suggested he check out Nashville’s Belmont University. Though people around him were surprised when he opted to leave the University of South Carolina, giving up a full scholarship, Kirkley felt compelled. “I define it as ‘blindly leaping,’ which I think you have to do often with faith,” he says. “You just step out and go for it.”
Daniel remembers sitting down with his parents one night. “They told me that they had made a list of reasons that weren’t acceptable for me to go to Belmont and they wanted me to give them my top three reasons for going,” says Kirkley. “My first reason was ‘I legitimately feel that this is where God is leading me.’ My dad stopped me and said, ‘That’s the one thing I needed to hear.’ They said ‘We’ll make it work and do whatever we have to do.’”
Daniel moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue this calling. He was accepted to attend one of the nation's premier music schools, Belmont University. After moving to Nashville, he was met with an array of opportunities that affirmed the leap of faith was the right one.
While attending Belmont, Kirkley landed an internship with BMG Music Publishing, working in the Gospel division. “I worked there two years and I fell in love with publishing,” says Kirkley, who worked with industry veteran Joe Shell. “I actually never had written a song before I started working there. I never had a concept of what a singer/songwriter was. Within my first couple of weeks there, Joe took me on what he called a field trip. It was a mastering session for Kyle Matthews, which was cool because that was actually the first time I met [Centricity A&R VP] John Mays.”
After his internship at BMG, where he learned about the ins and outs of the Christian music industry, Kirkley landed a job at Brentwood Benson Music. He also began pursuing his goal of being an artist. People began paying attention to Kirkley’s talent and it was obvious he didn’t belong behind a desk or behind a studio console, but on stage and in front of a microphone. Wanting to do a project from start to finish totally on his own, Kirkley released an independent album in 2001, "Uncompromised," on which he wrote/co-wrote the majority of songs.. He began getting calls to perform at churches and events.
When a friend introduced him to Guy Zabka, Director of A&R, at Centricity Records, he found a label home and people who were excited about his innovative sound. Kirkley’s vocal style incorporates elements of his classical training, fused with vibrant pop sensibilities, and the blend results in a unique sound, unlike anything on the contemporary Christian music landscape. His rich full voice is seasoned by years of performing and tempered by a classical education that places Kirkley in a class by himself as a vocalist.
Today, Daniel's God-given vision is to use his passion and music to share his life and testimony.
"The greatest thing about being a believer is to be a part of God's work and feel His hand guiding you through life. My life has been changed by God's grace and comfort, and I feel blessed to have this opportunity to share with others the peace that I have only begun to understand."
Daniel acknowledges that God's grace is usually ignored and trivialized in churches, businesses, families, and lives. "We point our fingers, scoff, ignore and turn our backs on Him everyday, yet we want Him to come through when the bottom drops out. There's something wrong with that."
Daniel knows God has so much in store for His children, "but first we have to accept what it means live our lives selfless...only then can God move to His full potential."
Let Love Win
There are times when our path seems so certain and our future looks planned and perfect. Then suddenly we are called into the unknown. The faithful embrace their calling—even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. Just ask Daniel Kirkley, the gifted young vocalist who abandoned a promising medical career to enter the mercurial music business.
That leap of faith has been rewarded. Daniel has become one of Christian music’s most talked about new artists, attracting top talent to his cause, including award-winning recording artists and songwriters Nicole Nordeman and Cindy Morgan and producers Matt Bronleewe (Jars of Clay, Michael W. Smith) and Mark Hammond (Josh Groban). Kirkley is quickly gaining fans with his debut single “My New Dawn,” a glorious ballad that showcases his impressive vocal gift.
The respect Daniel has received from his music industry peers led Nordeman to write the title track for Kirkley’s Centricity Records debut, Let Love Win. “I feel completely unworthy,” he says of having Nicole Nordeman write a song for his record. “I’m such a fan and have been since her first record. I am so inspired by the music she writes. To have her be willing to write a song and allow me to cut it, was such a humbling moment for me.” Nordeman returns the admiration, saying “Once I heard that voice, I was both inspired and intimidated to write something remotely worthy of it.”
The song serves as the centerpiece for Kirkley’s finely crafted album. ”It’s a call to really love people well,” says Kirkley, who hopes the song will provide a musical balm in today’s troubled times.
Kirkley co-wrote five songs on his new record, including “Everyday People.” “It goes back to the theme of having moments of hope,” says Kirkley. “To me ‘Everyday People’ is a very universal song. It says that we are all in this world together. We deal with the same stuff day in and day out. It’s much easier to stand next to your brothers and sisters and help them find a way and help them walk through moments rather than isolate yourself.”
Having worked hard to achieve his musical vision on Let Love Win, Kirkley is basking in the excitement of a dream coming true. During his early college days, the Lancaster, South Carolina native couldn’t have imagined that life would take such a turn. A good student, who grew up in a solid Christian family, he’d always loved music but didn’t really see it as a career.
Kirkley’s first single, “My New Dawn,” was penned by producer Matt Bronleewe. “The song talks about wondering around in the darkness and just kind of being trapped, but coming to a beautiful moment and realizing that from here on, it’s a new beginning and a new start,” says Kirkley. “It’s a beautiful song and I just really connected with it lyrically. It’s all about leaving everything that hinders you and everything that has weighed you down behind. Then realizing that there will be a new day every morning and it will be beautiful and bright. Just move forward.”
Now is Daniel Kirkley’s time to move forward. He’s paid his dues and he’s been faithful to the calling on his life. The folks in South Carolina may have lost a potential pediatrician, but the world has gained a tremendously gifted artist with a powerful voice and a vision to share hope. God had a plan and Daniel Kirkley has been faithful. The result is music for a bright new dawn.
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