Country Artists Cole Swindell, Anne Wilson, And John Rich Talk About Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Of Faith
On October 14, 2025, which would’ve been the 32nd birthday of the late Charlie Kirk, the “Isabel Brown Show” spoke with country artists Cole Swindell, Anne Wilson, and John Rich about the influence of Charlie on music and the world at large. (Photo credit: Isabel Brown / Daily Wire / YouTube)
The Slain Conservative Figure Has Inspired Many Artists To Be Bold In Their Faith
It’s been just over a month since Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the conservative student organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while addressing students at Utah Valley University.
On what would’ve been Charlie’s 32nd birthday, Tuesday, October 14, the Isabel Brown Show on the Daily Wire had a special episode titled “A Life Worth Singing For: Tribute To Charlie Kirk.”
During this episode, Isabel interviewed several artists about the impact the late Charlie Kirk has had on them, in both his life and his death.
Among those she interviewed were Cole Swindell, the country singer who recently wrote “Make Heaven Crowded;” country star John Rich; and Christian artist Anne Wilson.
Cole Swindell Speaks On Why He Is Motivated To Share His Christian Faith
The day Charlie Kirk was killed, September 10, is already becoming a day people speak of in light of how they learned the tragic news.
Cole Swindell, a country star who got married just over a year ago and became a father in August, remembers that day vividly, and he told Isabel Brown about how his wife got a text from a friend about the assassination.
“She got a text from a friend that told us the news, and we were like, ‘No way, no way,’ and so we flipped on the news and were following it,” Cole recalled. “The feelings… I don’t know that you can actually put what you were feeling into words other than just you couldn’t believe it.”
He recalled feeling “sad, scared, mad” and more, especially in light of his young family, noting the killing “hit everyone a little bit differently.”
Within the country music circles Cole moves in, he said this incident has been a “line in the sand moment,” adding, “This is it … a guy just got assassinated for believing how I believe, except for he was a little more bold about it.”
This, he says, compelled him to “look in the mirror” about how he is embodying his Christian faith.
“Somebody that’s living like I should be living and spreading the Word as a Christian, what I should be doing with the platform that I have, and you’re seeing that,” Cole said. “I am by no means the first one. Obviously, John Rich, the Aldeans, people that have led the way in that, and now, like I’ve said, just a lot of us are just fed up with feeling like we can’t say how we believe. I mean, there’s no harm in that.”
Continuing, he said it’s “not good enough anymore” to just be a “loving person” or to not be “judgmental,” saying, “I have to influence other people to be good to people and keep trying to do everything we can.”
While Cole never met Charlie, he said he’s been watching more of his videos, and of course noted how Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, compelled Cole to write his song “Make Heaven Crowded.”
Alluding to Erika’s heartbreaking video statement on September 12, during which she said Charlie was alongside Jesus, “making Heaven crowded,” Cole admitted he had heard the phrase before but it had never moved him until she said it of Charlie’s goals.
Asked about what he believes is going to happen culturally within Nashville after the death of Charlie, Cole said, “You keep seeing the word ‘revival’ and stuff, and I believe it. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime, and if there’s ever a chance for us to stand up and keep this going — we cannot lose this feeling right now. It just feels like everybody knows that we’ve got to do something.”
Watch Cole Swindell’s full remarks, here:
Christian Artist Anne Wilson Talks About “Going Against The Grain” As A Christian
The day Charlie Kirk was killed, Christian artist Anne Wilson encouraged Christians to live boldly, saying, “Let’s honor Charlie by living boldly for Jesus and by shining light in a world that feels so dark right now.”
Speaking with Isabel Brown, Anne said, “As someone who is 23 years old, in the heart of Gen Z, [Charlie] was such an inspiration for being bold in your faith and standing for Jesus.”
Noting her 2024 album Rebel was all about what it means to be a Christian in today’s world: going against the grain.
This Romans 12:2 principle is a double-edged sword, Anne says, noting, “When you are a believer, it makes you stand out and it sets you apart, but it also makes you hated by the world.”
Anne Wilson recently had a huge platform for sharing the Gospel, as she opened for Morgan Wallen at some of his shows on his I’m The Problem stadium tour.
“As a Christian artist, I’m standing on these stages and traveling the country, and preaching the Gospel at shows, there’s only so much that I can do,” Anne said, before saying “there’s so much hope now for our generation” as people are “fired up for Jesus.”
Like Cole Swindell, Anne also said she’s seeing this as a revival.
See her full Instagram tribute to Charlie Kirk, here:
Anne Wilson’s new album, Stars, comes out on October 17.
John Rich Compares Charlie Kirk To The First Christian Martyr, Stephen
John Rich, of the country bands Lonestar and Big & Rich, spoke with Isabel Brown about how Charlie Kirk bravely expressed many of his own beliefs.
“You have this decision to make at some point, especially in today’s culture, and that is: am I willing to say what I really think and stand for what I really stand for, knowing that I’m going to take a horrible bloody nose in my career, or possibly worse?” John said. “Knowing that the industry was so liberal, if I came out swinging as a Christian conservative patriot, I’m probably gonna be short-lived.”
Admitting that was the case, John Rich — who notably won Donald Trump’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice in 2011 — remains an influential artist within country music.
Speaking on Charlie Kirk, he said, “You know, there is a parallel, I think, that runs with Charlie Kirk and with Stephen in the New Testament.”
In Acts 7, Luke gives an account of the killing of the first Christian martyr, Stephen.
Continuing, John Rich summarized, “So Stephen was a young man, he was going town to town, he was preaching the Gospel, and he got targeted by the Romans. They didn’t want him talking about that. He was converting thousands and thousands of people, and they stoned Stephen to death.”
He added, “Right after that is when you saw the explosion of Christianity … I really do think there is a parallel to [Charlie].”
Watch John Rich’s full comments on Charlie Kirk, here:
