Cory Chisel

Like many American musicians, across vastly diverse backgrounds, cultures and genres, singer-songwriter Cory Chisel forged his first connection to the power of song through the music he heard – and made – in church. His father was a Baptist pastor, his mother played piano during services, and an upbringing surrounded by sermons and spirituals instilled in Cory the passion and portent of language and melody, and a fluency in the gospel’s rich vernacular of loss and redemption. He and his sister sang in the choir for years, and to this day, although his music exists completely within a secular context, Chisel feels a palpable connection between his own performing and the genuine theatrics of his father’s preaching. The spirit, indeed, is willing.