Living for Jesus proved more enticing to Zach Williams than the rock n’ roll lifestyle.

The two-time Grammy winner began in a classic Southern rock outfit, Zach Williams & The Reformation. However, following a failed marriage and another on the rocks, he changed gears. 

With religion in his life, he found calm and a new lease on life. That new approach provided immediate fruit, as his first single, “Chain Breaker,” was awarded a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

Since then, he’s picked up another Grammy, as well as five nominations, alongside a large following that is sure to join him Thursday, Aug. 1, at Sweetwater Performance Pavilion.

Making change

Growing up in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Williams was raised in a Christian family, the son of a worship leader.

A star on his high school basketball team, he earned a scholarship to play at Northwest Arkansas. However, an injury sidelined him. While recuperating, Williams began messing around with his roommate’s guitar, and his basketball dreams were replaced by musical dreams.

In 2007, Zach Williams & The Reformation were formed and they garnered moderate success as they aimed to revitalize Southern rock. Playing regionally, the band signed with a Belgium booking agency  which helped them book shows in Europe and Japan. 

It was during one of these tours in 2012 that Williams would talk about Christianity with his guitarist Robby Rigsbee, who had gotten Williams and his family to attend church with him. In between talks about the Bible, Williams would still being drinking and doing drugs. 

One morning, Williams had a revelation and decided to quit the band. He flew home and had a new lease on life.

“I can remember walking through the front door crying after I got back from that tour,” he is quoted on his website. “I apologized to my wife and my kids. I asked God to be the Lord of my life, and things started to change. I remember getting on my knees praying, saying, ‘I don’t care if I don’t do music again. I will find a job, go to church, and be a good dad.’”

Discovered

Devoting himself to his family and religion, Williams began working construction with his father and serving as a part-time worship leader at his church. Eventually, he was hired full time at the church.

“The first time I led worship was the first time in life I felt like I wasn’t faking it,” he said.

That position also led him to being discovered in 2014 by music producer Jonathan Smith, who was visiting his wife’s family at the time. 

“He heard me sing and invited me to have coffee,” Williams said. “He said, ‘I need to hear your story — people don’t sing like that without a story.’ ”

Smith invited Williams to Nashville, Tennessee, where the two were joined by Mia Fieldes. At the end of the session, “Chain Breaker” was recorded and Williams’ life was about to change as it led him to being signed to Provident in 2016.

Right choice

On a label, “Chain Breaker” was the breakout hit on his 2016 debut album of the same name. The song spent nine weeks atop Billboard’s Hit Christian Songs chart. The album also featured “Old Church Choir,” which reached No. 1.

Williams returned with his sophomore album, Rescue Story, in 2019, which matched Chain Breaker’s Billboard spot at No. 2 on the strength of “There Was Jesus” with Dolly Parton and “Rescue Story.”

After releasing a Christmas album in 2021, Williams put out A Hundred Highways in 2022, which features the hit song “Cornerstone” with fellow Christian artist TobyMac.

All of the success stems from sobriety and Williams turning his life over to the Lord.

“The biggest thing I’m grateful for is my relationship with my wife and kids,” he said. “Now, I won’t play anywhere where they can’t come along.”

And his family, as well as yours, are more than welcome to watch him perform at Sweetwater.