The land I’m Livin’ in

The Land I’m Livin’ In is a new live album from Jonathan and Melissa Helser.  It was recorded on the land in North Carolina where the Helsers have poured the last two decades into their greatest passion: cultivating community and discipleship. In approaching this album, Jonathan and Melissa wanted to capture the sound of the testimonies they’ve fought for on this land.  They decided to fill the room with alumni from their discipleship schools and worship alongside a company of musicians and friends who have journeyed with them for years.

Together, they left space within the music for the band to walk off the map of the written song and into what God was doing in the moment.  The outcome was powerful.  Captured over three days, The Land I’m Livin’ In is an album filled with the spontaneous, raw and personal moments of adoration that have marked the Helsers’ worship since the beginning. From the passionate surrender of  “I am Your Beloved” to the explosive joy found in “I Can’t Get Away” and the confident declaration of “Sound Mind”, this album is an authentic expression of what God has been doing in a community for more than twenty years.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

WE RISE WE BOw

We Rise We Bow (2019) is the latest studio album from the Cageless Birds. Our dream for this album is that when you hear it, you would hear the sound of North Carolina and feel the heartbeat of our community. One of our favorite elements of this album is the unique theme of declaration and testimony.  This album is a compilation of songs that reflect our own personal stories, our friendships, and the time that we have spent fighting together for the next generation.  We Rise We Bow was curated as a gift to you, the listener, as a collection of songs to declare as your own. 

on the shores, 2010

“To record the music of your life is in itself a gift, but to do it with your best friend and the love of your life is a gift beyond explanation.   In the 11th year of our marriage, we decided to take the beautiful journey of recording an album together.  In years past we’ve soared to the highest heights and traveled to deepest depths, and in the end we have collected these melodies which are some of the greatest treasures we possess.  As songwriters, we write to express the language of our seasons to God and to man.  We gladly give these songs to you—the listener, the worshipper—to pour your own heart over Him. May you find God as consistently good as we have.

In the autumn of 2010 we moved the furniture out of our house and filled our home with instruments.  We invited some incredible musicians, who also happen to be our dearest friends, to spend a week arranging, creating and dreaming into the new songs we’d written.  The following week, we took these songs into a studio called “Threshing Floor.”   The music that we captured in those days is the sound of a family diving deep into the heart of Love.  At the helm of this grand adventure stood our fearless friend and producer who gave the next year of his life to carefully weave together the songs on this album.  There is nothing like being surrounded by a group of friends who fight for your dreams.  To have among those friends musicians, artists, and a producer, who all helped bring our hearts and songs alive is an honor beyond words. 

Our favorite part of writing music is how a song can become like a diving board taking you to the deep places.  This album is really like being on the shores of what happened that week in the studio. If you want to dive deeper, look for Endless Ocean, Bottomless Sea a double disc collection of the extended versions and experiences of these songs.” -The Helsers

live at home, 2012

“Live at Home” is the first creative adventure of our collective Cageless Birds. The idea for this album was born one day when we were dreaming out loud together. We fell into one of those moments where beautiful “what if” statements started cascading upon one another.

Our conversation sounded something like this...

“What if we recorded an album in our house? What if we invite everyone in our band to record one of their songs for the album? What if we recorded the whole album in one week? What if we film each song, so that everyone could see what’s happening in this community? What if we made this project a true story and didn’t overdub or gloss over the mistakes? What if we let it be a real live album...”

One of us said ‘this is crazy’ and both of us said ‘let’s do it.’ And so we did. We are excited to share with you this project that came from our community stepping out on the water.