Kim Gentry Meyer's 'Herald' a Splash of Color to Glorify God
Singer/songwriter Kim Gentry Meyer has developed a bit of a reputation over time for being a renaissance woman. In addition to writing and performing her music, she is a multi-instrumentalist, visual artist, poet, model, and even represented Massachusetts a few years ago in the Mrs. America pageant.
But it is her music that truly makes her heart burst with excitement. So much so, that she has built upon her lifelong faith and values with her debut solo album. Titled Herald, the folk-pop infused recording not only showcases the foundational truths of God’s love that Kim has experienced first hand in her life, but she also painted the album’s cover, a splash of vivid color that represents her sacrifice of praise to honor and glorify Him.
I recently sat down with Kim to discuss the new album, the vital importance of finding restoration in our lives, and the story behind the Herald album cover and several other paintings related to it.
Watch Kim Gentry Meyer's Latest Music Video "Mind of Christ"
To look at your resume, I come away from it thinking, Kim is truly a renaissance woman. You are a singer, songwriter, poet, painter, Mrs. Massachusetts as we were just discussing. Is there anything you can’t do?
Well, you know, something I would love to do in the future is do some acting. I haven’t done that since I was a young person. I always starred in all of my high school musicals and all of that kind of thing. I loved acting, but never really pursued that. I definitely continued the music thread. I have done music my whole life and continued that into adulthood until now. But someday I would love to do that. That's definitely on my bucket list. But I'll be honest with you, the most serious answer to that question is yes.
If that's where the Lord leads me, because I'm kind of at midlife. I have some lived experience, as I said, that I want to share. I feel like I have been through some stuff. I can talk about some stuff. The only thing I would say I'm an expert at is my own stuff. I feel like if I can share that, I think I have the expertise to do that. And so I want to do that. And so what I did was ask the Lord how He wanted me to do it. And so far it's been the music, the writing, and the arts. And so, if there's some acting or something else that He knows is in my heart that I want to do, that He could help me develop and do for Him, then I would say that's something I would love to do. But I just really want to stay on mission. I’m past the point of hair-brained ideas.
Let's jump into the album. If you were trying to encourage a friend or family member to take the time to listen to your new album, Herald, what would you say to them? What would your sales pitch be?
The Lord gave me the word, “herald”. I was searching for something really specific and I was like, Lord, I need to know that I have something to offer. I need to know what I specifically could do or can do. Who am I to you? And He gave me this word, “herald”.
If you're struggling with what foot to put in front of you, ask the Lord. He told me very simply. So that's the origin of it. I think I found that I really do connect with people when I talk about that. And then they're like, “Oh, that's interesting. Well, what did you do?” And I said, I did this little album and I started writing and curating songs I'd already written. They're all just from my heart, from my experience, from what the Lord kind of just deposited in me. And I just tried to give it back to Him to the best of my ability. And so it's a peaceful album. I think it's a reflective album. It really reflects my style and what's on my heart at this time, and who I am at this moment in time as an artist.
I understand that this record is built upon your lifelong foundation of faith and also the faith of your family members, especially the faith of your grandmother and your great-grandmothers. Please tell me about them? Why were they so special?
I'm really privileged to come from a faith-filled family. Both of my mother's grandmothers were in ministry, which is pretty amazing. One was a church planter and one was an evangelist. And so, my mother would always tell stories about them. I'd say probably more than anybody else in my family, I felt a connection to that. I felt it since I was very young. And then, my paternal grandmother would lead the hymns in their little country church. And so, when I was little I used to play hymns and she'd sing with me. So, that deposited into me very early. This sense of legacy, this sense of generational faith has just always been with me. My middle name is Berteal, which is my maternal grandmother's middle name, so I have that pull there too. I've always felt like a part of that has just been passed down to me. To honor her, my brother and I had a folk pop duo several years ago, and we named it Berteal. We did some recording and we toured. We did a lot of different things. So, I just really feel a calling to do the best that I can and do all that I can, and just bring forth anything the Lord has given me talent wise, to develop it, and to then give it back to Him. And so I think this whole “Herald” project came out of that. It's funny how you think nothing's working out throughout your life, or things just don't quite work out here and here and here, and then it's like all of a sudden He's taking all these little pieces and putting them into something bigger and brighter.
I can’t help but think of the term restoration in relation to this album. It sort of comes through in virtually every song. I understand you have experienced a dramatic restoration in your own life. What can you tell me about that?
That's so encouraging to hear that you really had that kind of overall thought about the body of work. That really was intentional. And so it's so nice to hear that it comes through. So, my husband and I, very early in our marriage had very stressful events happen. It led to our split. It was devastating but we reconciled. The Lord just did an absolute miraculous reconciliation. It’s been many years. We've been together over 20 years, so this is a long time ago. But we were very willing to talk about it from a testimonial standpoint, because we want to always be willing to give our testimony of what the Lord has done. And so, that's something He really has done very powerfully in our lives. So, I do know something about heartbreak. I do know something about walking through that valley in that way, and also coming out the other side. You know, your relationship with the Lord during that time and how it strengthens you and how He can use those things to really build your character, build your testimony is powerful. I did decide intentionally to really be willing to talk about that on this project because I think it's part of my story. It's my story, it's part of my testimony, to God be the glory.
In addition to being a recording artist and singer/songwriter, you are a visual artist in the impressionist/expressionist tradition. What is the story behind the series of paintings you did for the Herald project?
As I was working on the album, I knew that I wanted to call the album “Herald” to honor this conversation with the Lord and Him, really speaking directly to my spirit and saying, “You're my herald.” I'd been meditating, praying, thinking about the project, and just asking for a little more guidance on it. I was trying not to do what I think. I was asking God for guidance. And He dropped this image of a sunset into my mind. And so, I just felt inspired to start painting. And He just kept giving me images of sunsets. So, I ended up painting sunsets and did eight. I stopped at eight. That's how many songs were on the album. It just kind of felt right. And so, I just named them. This is not very creative, but I named them “Herald One”, “Herald Two”, “Herald Three”, so that they corresponded with the songs. And then what I did was figure out which one reflects the overall tenor of the album. And for me it was what became the album cover.
What's hilarious about this is that the canvas I painted the album cover on was literally busted. I had to tape it and glue it in the back. It's just this old beat up canvas that I repurposed. That also made it more special to me because it made me think it kind of represents our relationship with Christ. He renews us and restores us. That’s how I felt when I was restoring this old, ugly canvas with a hole in it that I had to glue up and paint over it. I thought, well, gosh, that's what He's done for me. And that's what He does for all of us. This painting itself and like the image on the album cover is ministry. And so I have prayed that the Lord would speak through the work and the visual art as well. Because I do think sometimes, He can use visual art too, especially where words fall short. Or maybe someone wouldn't be willing to listen to a Christian album but they might look at art and He could still speak. That was my hope.
After people have had a chance to listen to the album Herald, what would you like your listeners to take away from the experience? What is your greatest hope for the album?
That they would just be touched. That their hearts would be touched. That people who are discouraged could be encouraged, for people who maybe are feeling down and depressed and just having issues. The mind of Christ deals with that and it talks about restoration, renewing and the battles of the mind. It's all over scripture. And I think especially after COVID and just all the things going on in the world, it's really easy to feel down and distraught about things. And I would just hope that this album could be a source of light and encouragement to point people to the light. To encourage people about the truth of the Lord. To those who maybe had a relationship with the Lord, but have kind of walked away, that they could find a way back. And that those who never have, could be moved to explore that. And those who are walking with the Lord would feel encouraged and empowered and not discouraged, because I think that's another place the enemy gets us. He can get us in that area of discouragement. I pray every day, to get more ears on the project, and that what I just said would happen to the Lord working through the project.
WATCH A BRAND NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “MIND OF CHRIST” FROM HERALD:
