Sandra Marie McCracken[1] (born June 16, 1977) is an independent singer-songwriter. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Drawing from folk, gospel, and hymn traditions, her music often weaves together storytelling and scripture.[2] McCracken is a founding member of the Indelible Grace artist collective based in Nashville.[3][non-primary source needed] She won the 2023 GMA Dove Award for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year for her album Light in the Canyon.[4]
McCracken grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and attended Westminster Christian Academy. As a child, McCracken would harmonize in the church choir, accompany groups on the piano, sing solos in church, and write new hymns for her congregation to sing.[5] McCracken began her musical career shortly after graduating from Belmont University in 1999. She independently released two albums, The Crucible and Gypsy Flat Road in 2000, and 2001 respectively.
In late 2003, McCracken recorded Best Laid Plans with engineer, Ray Kennedy (Twang Trust) and world-renowned producer, Peter Collins.[6] In mid-2004, McCracken signed the album to Shell Records in London, headed by Dave Robinson. Shell released the album in the UK, followed by two radio singles, "Last Goodbye" and "No More Tears", which received significant airplay and attention across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.[7]
In 2005, McCracken released The Builder and the Architect, an album of hymns.[8] The same team that worked on Best Laid Plans came together again in February 2006 to record album number five, Gravity / Love which was released in September 2006.[citation needed] In 2010, McCracken released In Feast or Fallow, another album of hymns, recorded at her home studio in East Nashville.[9][10]
In addition to her solo recordings, she co-founded the children's music collective, Rain for Roots, in 2012, with fellow singer-songwriters Ellie Holcomb, Katy Bowser, and Flo Paris. This collective has released four albums, Big Stories for Little Ones—with lyrics written by British author Sally Lloyd-Jones—The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like This, Waiting Songs, and All Creatures.
Desire Like Dynamite, released in February 2013,[11] explores deeper dimensions of sound and grace.[12]
On April 17, 2014, Sandra McCracken and her then husband fellow singer-songwriter Derek Webb, announced that their marriage was coming to an end after thirteen years due to Webb's extramarital affair.[13][14]
McCracken performing in July 2015
In 2015, McCracken's Psalms album was released without a label, and it charted No. 18 on the Billboard Americana/Folk charts.[15] This critically acclaimed release marked a shift in McCracken's music as she began writing songs for people to sing together.[5] After releasing Psalms, McCracken toured and co-wrote significantly with the Grammy-winning Christian duo All Sons & Daughters.
In 2016, she released God's Highway and it placed No. 49 in the Billboard Heatseekers Chart upon release.[16] It went on to reach No. 20 on the Billboard Americana/Folk charts.[17]
In 2017 she began writing a column on spirituality and creativity for Christianity Today.[18][19] The same year, McCracken published the Steadfast podcast. In 2020, McCracken released Patient Kingdom. The following year, she published the second season of the Steadfast podcast, with the theme of patience.[20]
In 2022, McCracken released two solo albums, Carry Each Other and Light in the Canyon. Carry Each Other (February) is an album of covers, including One by U2, Everybody Hurts by R.E.M., and others. Light in the Canyon (July) contains many songs she has released on previous albums, with a jazz twist.
Later in the year, she released an EP, titled November Songs, with a band project called Shadowlands. Shadowlands is composed of Luke Laird, Brett Taylor, and Sandra McCracken. The songs of the EP were written in the November of 2021, and released in September of 2022.
