Interview: Justin Gambino
Award-winning singer/songwriter Justin Gambino talks to Louder Than The Music about his new EP, 'Garden Of The Lord', and how a struggle to have children led to writing a personal song of testimony.
Tell us about your new EP, Garden of the Lord, and what inspired you to write it?
When I released the Made New album in 2023, so many doors opened for me to share my testimony through the media. It was uncharted waters for me; a testimony that I had buried for so long was now the main focus of every stage appearance. It definitely brought me further out of my comfort zone. I remember several times before sharing my testimony, as I was asking God to speak through me, I'd catch a glimpse in my mind of Jesus standing in a garden with His hand extended towards me like an invitation to walk with Him. I began to realize that the garden He was standing in represented me and my life. My hills and valleys. My prodigal journey. And everything in between. Some things were beautiful and blooming, while other parts of the garden were dormant or dead. Things needed pruning, tending, watering, or uprooting...it was a process and feels like it still is.
All this began a journey of writing these songs that I thought at first were just between Him and me in our secret place. And they were for a season, but now God has ever so kindly prompted me to share them with the world.
One track in particular, 'Depend On You (All I Need)', is a deeply personal song about you and your wife's desire to have a baby. What made you decide to write a song about that?
It definitely wasn't something I was intentionally wanting to write about - it just happened. I was meeting John Strattion, the co-writer on the track, for the first time. We were getting to know each other and when he asked if my wife and I had kids, he had no idea the struggle we were going through and that we had given up just months before. I answered his question with, "I wish I was a dad," and then he asked if he could pray for us. After praying and wiping away tears, he asked what I wanted to write about. I just said, "How about we write about depending on God in any season we find ourselves in?" And in a couple hours, the song was birthed. The following week my wife and I found out we were pregnant.
Congratulations on the recent arrival of your son - how is fatherhood treating you?
It's amazing how fast time goes by. It was this time last year when we wrote "Depend on You (All I Need)" after praying for the miracle that my son is. God has been teaching me a lot through this new season of fatherhood. And I think His timing is perfect. It's been an adjustment for sure, because I decided to take a year off from touring so that I can focus on being more present at home, especially during the first year of my son's life.
Time off has caused me to realize just how much I was growing dependent on the praise and applause of people. I began to miss the road. The words of affirmation. The compliments. The praise. And my desire to feed the flesh was starting to weigh on me, as I was transitioning into this new season of being a dad. I am grateful for God's timing. He is teaching me to slow down.
You've come from a background that might surprise some people, from rebellious teenager to serving soldier - what life lessons have you carried forward from those early years into your life now as an artist, husband and father?
One of the biggest lessons I've carried forward is learning just how much God is in relentless pursuit of my heart - through seasons of being a prodigal, to times when I was still figuring things out as husband, and now as a father. In whatever season I'm in, I've learned to extend grace and to trust and obey as He leads me. And I'm looking forward to the times that I'll get to teach my son those same lessons as he grows up.
If you had to pick one track from your new EP to play to someone who had never heard your music before - which would it be and why?
I think the sharing of a testimony is so powerful. I would play "Depend on You (All I Need)" and share with them the testimony that God wrote through the season of wanting to be a dad - and now being one.
What message do you hope people will take from listening to this EP?
I hope people will feel that gentle tug and invitation from the Lord to take a walk in their own garden with Him. When we accept that invitation, the Master Gardener can do His work and prune us. Then the people around us will know we are His, by the fruit that we bear.
Aside from your own music, what have you been listening to lately?
I’ve been listening to fellow friends in the independent industry - Whitlee Casey, Our Atlantic Roots, Lovkn, Peter Blomberg and Cole Jason. I've also been listening to Switchfoot's new record, Andrew Ripp, and Ryan Stevenson.
What does the next 12 months hold for you?
Striving to be a present husband and father with a lot of songwriting through the process. I hope and pray that the music I release from this current season encourages people.
