Longmont musician finds break on worship album

Annabelle Butcher, hailing from Longmont, was featured on the “Canyon Worship 2022” album. 

Butcher co-wrote and performed backing vocals for the song “I'm Yours,” on the 11-track album produced through the The Grand Canyon University Worship Arts program based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is in her senior year in her college music career, pursuing a Worship Arts B.A. at GCU.

The jazzy pop sound of “I’m Yours” is led by vocalist Madison Russell. Victoria Gutierrez and Nicole Jaspers perform supporting vocals alongside Butcher. Butcher described her fellow musicians and co-writers on “I’m Yours” as three of her best friends. 

Though she’s only featured on one song for the student-led Christian album, she said the friendship and collaborative nature is apparent throughout the other 10 tracks.

“This album had a ton of collaborative pieces that we worked together on and I think honestly just listening to the album showcases how close-knit of a program it is that we all got to do this together, write the songs together, perform them together. And now we get to listen to them together,” Butcher said.

Back in her hometown, Butcher found her love of music in a similar spirit of community. Her family, who are still based in Longmont, are all musicians; Her mom sings and plays piano, her dad is a violinist and her two sisters sing.

Music was always in the house, Butcher said, adding that she found her love for music through ministry. Butcher performed vocals and led worships at her church in Colorado.

Butcher gravitates towards ministry more than songwriting, but playing an integral role in taking “I’m Yours” from its inception to a fully-produced song was a rewarding experience.

“I feel like the biggest thing that I would want people to take away is that songwriting is something that's accessible and something that can be really cool, even if it's not what you feel like,” Butcher said. “I mean, that's what I learned from this whole process for sure is, even if you don't really like songwriting, it's definitely worth it to do it once.”

“I’m Yours” and the “Canyon Worship 2022” album can be streamed on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.