Growing up Christian and surrounded by music, junior music business and songwriting major Meredith Aguirre is stepping into the music scene in ways she never has before.
Aguirre won Belmont’s Christian Showcase in October 2024 and will compete with other series winners in the Best of the Best Showcase in the spring.
In the meantime, Aguirre is finding her footing in a career she never thought was meant for her.
When it comes to her artistry, Aguirre was previously more centered on making music that catered to country and folk spaces.
This was the sound she adopted when she auditioned on Season 22 of American Idol last year, which got her to Hollywood Week.
“I had always written worship music and Christian songs, but it was just more for me,” said Aguirre. “I didn’t know if this was what I’m supposed to be writing about.”
But as music surrounds her life, so does her love for God, which she credits at every point in her musical journey.
Aguirre learned the foundations of Christian music while attending church and listening to Christian radio networks growing up in Houston.
Playing music also became the best way to communicate with her sister, Maddie.
Maddie is nonspeaking due to a genetic mutation which also requires her constant caretaking. Her parents have been her primary caretakers throughout her life.
The Aguirre family moved to Colorado from Texas when Aguirre was 12 years old to get Maddie access to better care.
Connecting with her sister is one of music’s blessings in Aguirre’s life.
“Music was a way for me to connect to Maddie, but also a way for me to sing about what was going on and process. Caretaking for someone takes a different kind of love. It’s not from this world,” said Aguirre.
Aguirre said she knows being a Christian doesn’t prevent her from having struggles in life. Therefore, her sister’s health journey became a foundation for Aguirre’s faith.
The opportunity to care for her sister modeled how she believes God cares for his people.
“It takes a lot to look at my sister and not see God in her, or his handiwork in my life and in my family’s life… it is such a blessing because it taught me how to love people,” said Aguirre.
God’s impact in Aguirre’s life inspires her to present the realities of life in her music, even when she doesn’t feel she can.
Over the summer, she participated in a songwriting residency through The Worship Initiative in Dallas.
At the time, Aguirre was unsure of her place in music and how she could both be honest and represent God in her work.
In spite of her feelings, Aguirre started writing “Sweet Surrender” as soon as she arrived.
The setlist’s closing song highlighted her grapples with prior pain she’s experienced through the church and her bitterness with Christian music.
The song was only meant to live in her voice memos, but she off handedly showed it to Justin Tweito, Katy Carr and Caroline Mason in a cowriting session.
Mason, a sophomore songwriting major and backing vocalist in Aguirre’s band, saw the beauty in the song through its candidness.
“At the residency, they told us to make sure to write songs that are congregational and that are easy to sing… We were deciding whether or not to continue writing it or not, and I was like, ‘Meredith, it’s up to you,”’ said Mason. “So, we finished writing it,… then we got to perform it at the showcase. It was so special.”
Mason was especially drawn to Aguirre’s lyricism both as a supporter and colleague.
The way Aguirre writes has played a role into how Mason writes her own works.
“I think her lyricism has really impacted me in just how genuine and real it is, especially in a worship setting. When you’re writing worship songs, it’s really easy for worship to not feel very personal… The honesty in her music really inspires me to continue just to be honest,” said Mason.
Aguirre’s authenticity also extends to her as a performer.
Through his experience being the ambassador and host of Belmont Showcase, Carter Guse also understands what it takes to be authentic on stage and perceived by an audience.
“She takes a really real approach to music and Christianity. She’s very authentic to herself,” said Guse. “Her music likes to amplify voices that aren’t always maybe heard. That doesn’t mean that only the ‘cool people’ get to do this.”
The momentum of their success falls back on Aguirre and the band as they practiced for their first performance since the showcase.
A string section cascaded over a three-part harmony in the repeating bridge of “Sweet Surrender.” But the music abruptly stopped when the band decided to change the key it’ll perform in.
Then, it broke out into a dramatic recreation of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” for fun.
Aguirre’s band rode with her through every hurdle of the rehearsal, which keeps the energy high and spirits up.
“For me, it’s so sweet getting to play in this band because I feel like in the rehearsals, everyone’s having so much fun,” said the band’s fiddler Naomi Dornfeld.
The connection the bandmates have in their rehearsals allows them to further connect to God through their work.
The band’s bassist, Sam Stremlau, felt God’s presence in the lyrics while performing at showcase in a way he never had before.
“In the song “Sweet Surrender,” the chorus is: ‘My soul cries out, My God, My God.’ It was only during the actual performance that…” Stremlau stops his sentence. The feelings he felt in the moment are indescribable.
“…I never noticed it during any of the sound checks or rehearsals. That was insane; it shattered me,” said Stremlau.
Their next song opens with the verses of 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind….” The song was an unfinished draft in Aguirre’s phone a few days prior, but she wanted to see how it would sound with the band.
“Comparing it to my own personal relationships, it was about somebody that said they loved me in that way but wasn’t patient and wasn’t kind. I was kind of nervous about it, but now I’m really excited about it,” said Aguirre.
The band debuted “Always and Forever” live on Nov. 17 as part of an opening set Aguirre performed for her colleague, Izzy Mahoubi at The Basement. Other opening acts included Tiffany Johnson and the band Dasher.
For Aguirre’s electric guitarist, Layton Payne sharing those experiences where faith and music combine with others makes them much more meaningful.
“I’ve longed for that my whole life because I wanted to do music. I’m from a tiny town in Georgia where music isn’t prevalent, so being able to live out my dream doing that is really cool,” said Payne.
Stremlau smiles in agreement at Payne from across the couch. The rest of the band seemed just as satisfied with his answer as they were with the breakfast burritos Aguirre made them.
“It has been super cool to be in a group of people that care as much as I do,” said Stremlau. “This music is completely shameless.”
The love Aguirre and her band have for each other is the same that she wants listeners to feel from her music. Their love for music reflects the love she has for God, said Aguirre.
“I think Christianity and religion have been used in the past to represent some really awful judgment,” said Aguirre. “… more than anything, people need real love, respect and kindness.”
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This article was written by Ria Skyer
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