bv. 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:
