ABOUT
Cody Carnes is a worship leader passionate about creating space where innovative artistry and authentic worship can collide. As a songwriter, he’s penned numerous cuts recorded by his wife, GRAMMY®-nominee Kari Jobe Carnes, as well as the powerful anthem, “The Cross Has The Final Word.” He wrote or co-wrote every song on his full-length debut, The Darker The Night / The Brighter The Morning, a sonically compelling project that fuses declarative lyrics with infectious pop-infused melodies.

Ironically, Carnes never thought he’d be a worship artist, because he couldn’t write a worship song. By the time he finished high school and moved to Dallas, he felt a clear call toward full-time ministry; but he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life singing other people’s songs. Taking a step of faith, he left the band he was a member of at the time, and the next morning, suddenly—or perhaps, divinely—he found himself able to write his first worship song, a track that eventually recorded by Gateway Worship. “It was just this testament to God telling me, ‘Whatever I’m calling you to, I will equip you to do it,’” Carnes remembers. He’s been writing and leading worship ever since.

Now, he’s taking yet another leap of faith and releasing his full-length debut, The Darker The Night / The Brighter The Morning (Capitol CMG). With the help of producer and
in-demand drummer Jeremy Lutito (Colony House, Leagues, The New Respects), Carnes crafted a sonically compelling project that marries powerful worship lyrics with an indie rock sound. “I came into this project with a specific sound in my head,” Carnes shares, “and everything Jeremy has produced matched perfectly with what I was imagining.” Between them, they played nearly every single instrument on the album themselves, bringing to life a vision Carnes had been harboring for the better part of five years.

The record’s title, which comes from a line in the song “Hold It All,” captures the hope found throughout the album. “We live in a war of dark and light, but the truth is, it’s not a fair fight. Darkness has already lost,” Carnes contends. “John 1:5 says, ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot extinguish it.’” Charting his own path with The Darker The Night / The Brighter The Morning, Carnes can’t help but think his debut is the first step in an exciting journey that’s the culmination of years of vision and artistic growth. It’s the record he was born to make—an authentic reflection of the husband and father as a songwriter, worship leader and a solo artist.

“I just felt like it was important for me to be obedient and true to the sound I feel like God was putting in my heart,” he offers. “I’m really proud of the record because I feel like I could hand the record to someone and know that it’s a representation of me—spiritually and musically. This is who I am.”


Cody Carnes is a worship leader who’s passionate about creating space where innovative artistry and authentic worship can collide. As a songwriter, he’s penned numerous cuts recorded by his wife, GRAMMY®-nominee Kari Jobe Carnes, as well as the powerful anthem, “The Cross Has The Final Word.” He also wrote or co-wrote every song on his full-length debut, The Darker The Night / The Brighter The Morning (Capitol CMG), a sonically compelling project that marries declarative lyrics with infectious pop-infused melodies. More information: http://codycarnes.com
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