From humble beginnings in Duluth, Minnesota, to performing across the Midwest, worship band Presence Music has become one of the region’s most passionate voices for faith and authenticity in Christian music. What started as a small worship project led by Brandon and Leah Monson, along with friends from their church’s Celebrate Recovery group, has evolved into a full-fledged touring ministry known for its heartfelt lyrics, infectious pop sound, and a steadfast message of hope. Rooted in community and driven by a calling to bring the Gospel to local churches, the band continues expanding its reach—showing that powerful worship doesn’t have to come from Nashville to make an impact. We spoke to Brandon about the worship band’s music and future releases.
For those new to your music, can you share the story of how Presence Music began in Duluth and how it grew from youth camps into a professional touring band?
Great question. We began with my wife and me, along with a few friends from our church’s Celebrate Recovery group. We noticed a need in the area for Christian bands or groups that practiced regularly and played music, possibly a little less traditional than what many areas perform on Sunday mornings.
We hosted a few weekend camps during our first year, but it was our single and co-release with hip-hop artist KJ-52 that truly motivated us to fully pursue music ministry. Our single with him, "Down in the River," reached over 100 stations in eight countries and earned more than 150,000 views and streams across social media platforms and streaming services. It gave us the confidence to take Christian music seriously, and someday, make it our full-time income—no longer just a dream. Fast forward to today, we played about 35 days of music this summer and continue to grow quickly as a group, managing the gifts God has given us.
How has your local Minnesota community influenced the sound and mission of Presence?
It has influenced the mission. There are not many Christian artists in the upper Midwest who tour extensively and continue to release original music. There are several large churches producing music but not actively touring, so we saw a need to love our area well here. Many artists feel compelled to get to Nashville, Los Angeles, or New York City as soon as possible. There's nothing wrong with that, but we feel called to the mission field of the Midwest and using our music and events as a catalyst to help introduce people to Jesus.
Regarding the sound, our area is a melting pot of musical influences, especially country and folk. We aim to make our music as poppy as possible to stand out slightly from the thousands of churches offering high-quality worship music. However, influences of country and folk music continue to sneak into our music, especially in "New Soul" and coming soon, "Pick Up That Book."
Has your music expanded across the Midwest and beyond?
For the first year or two, we mainly played in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Over the past year, we’ve expanded somewhat—not across the entire country, but significantly into the Dakotas and Iowa, as well as into Illinois and Nebraska. Social media and streaming enable us to reach audiences nationwide and worldwide, but keeping our touring closer to home lets us deliver a high-quality, national-level event for smaller churches that might not have the budget for a night costing $5,000 to $10,000 or more.
With a rotating roster of musicians alongside Brandon, Leah, Merrill, Andrew, and (recently added) Jacob, how do you maintain the band’s sound and vision as unified?
My knee-jerk reaction is that we typically play the same two sets for six to 12 months without any changes. We have an original set in Ableton and a heavy worship set that we only tweak once or twice a year. However, we also include untracked covers and new original songs that we are trying out or haven't recorded yet to keep things fresh. Besides the physical set, we have a strong and active group chat, and we also hold virtual band meetings, so we all stay in sync. We encourage each other and grow together as a Presence Music family.
Presence Music recently partnered with NRT Music. What has that partnership meant for the band’s ability to reach more listeners?
It has been an incredible partnership for us. NRT provides us with label services that allow us to selectively choose what we need help with and are willing to pay for. We considered another label with national distribution and decided to stick with NRT because the alternative asked for too much from us in exchange for the same or less than we would get with NRT. NRT has been fantastic in providing mentorship from [NRT owner] Kevin [McNeese] and some of the other artists. Additionally, the opportunity to network and collaborate with other artists on the label has been valuable. Finally, having the NRT team leverage their existing relationships and reach out to introduce us to new listeners has been a significant boost for us.
When you review your latest collection of songs, what overall theme unites them?
We have some songs that serve as openers and are overtly poppy, inviting people to worship and learn more about Jesus. More recently, we've released songs with themes that aren't exactly controversial but push the envelope in messaging, at least a bit more than the typical vertical worship you might hear on a Sunday morning. These include songs about not being afraid to ruffle feathers if it means reaching one more person for Jesus, such as “Lower Me Down,” and about accepting that it's okay not to be perfect and that we don't have everything together when coming together as a church body to seek Him, like “Let the Truth.” Overall, all our songs revolve around our central theme, making it hard to miss Jesus in everything we do. We hope our listeners feel that.
Throughout all these songs, there’s a strong theme of honesty—about struggles, grace, and hope. Why do you think transparency is so important in Christian music today?
Transparency is essential in Christian music because people crave authenticity. The world offers many polished images and simple answers, but life isn’t always that tidy. When we honestly share our struggles, doubts, and failures, it creates an opportunity for others to say, “me, too.” This kind of honesty fosters connection and highlights the grace and hope we’ve found in Jesus.
For me, music isn’t about pretending to have it all together — it’s about showing how God meets us right in the middle of our mess. If a lyric or a melody can remind someone that they’re not alone and that God’s love is bigger than their struggle, then the transparency was worth it. At the end of the day, it’s not our perfection that draws people closer to Him; it’s His goodness shining through our brokenness.
How do you balance writing music that is both deeply personal and broadly relatable for the church and broader audiences?
That balance is something I often think about when I write. On one hand, I want the songs to come from a genuine place in my own walk with God—because if they aren’t personal at the start, they won’t carry much weight. However, at the same time, I am aware that we’re called to serve the church and the broader community, so I strive to write in a way that invites others to engage with the story.
Sometimes that means taking a particular struggle or breakthrough I’ve experienced and uncovering its core—the universal truth beneath it. Maybe it’s the feeling of being lost and then found, or the relief of laying a burden at Jesus’ feet. If I can capture that essence in a lyric or melody, it can resonate with someone even if their details differ from mine.
Ultimately, I see it as a testimony: I share my personal journey, but always with the hope that others recognize their story in it, too—and, more importantly, God’s story of grace and redemption that we all share.
Looking ahead, what’s next for Presence Music? Can fans expect a full-length album, more singles, or new collaborations?
We have some exciting things coming up. Some of this is exclusive just for you. Feel free to share as much or as little as you want. So far, we've only released singles, but we’re using our new single "Found in the Hurt" to launch the Found in the Hurt EP in the coming months. There will be stories from my wife, Leah, that are still overtly Christian but more personal, and in a singer-songwriter style, she will talk about her childhood and her testimony of how God has brought her and us, as a couple, healing from deep hurts and sorrows in our lives.
We're also working on a pop-rap remix of our Christmas song "Who Knew" with Blake Whitely, and we're really excited about it. There aren't many quality Christian Christmas pop/rap songs outside of the 116 Christmas albums, so we'd like to add this one to the list. Additionally, this winter, we're releasing an original worship song with area worship leader and Presence Music family member Xena Alexandria, along with a reissue of a song from a decade ago that was a Dove Award Song of the Year. We'll share just a teaser of that one for now.
How can we pray for you?
Pray for wisdom to help navigate continued growth in our band. Prayers for Leah and me to put God first, our family second, and the band and our music ministry third.
A portion of this text was generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI.
Kevin McNeese began NRT in 2002 and has been involved in the industry since 1999 in various roles. He has been a fan of Christian music since 1991.
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