Gracie McBride (Who performs under the name “Gracie Virginia”) performs at the first Home Grown concert series in August 2023. At Home Grown, she performs original songs using both the keyboard and ukulele. Photo courtesy of Nikki Hirst

What was once an empty roof in Brooklyn, New York, became a creative space filled with artists and audiences alike — with a focus on celebrating human creativity that comes from Christ — thanks to musician Gracie McBride.

Home Grown, a rooftop concert series McBride started in 2023, has hosted six events over the past two years, transforming an empty rooftop to a community overflowing — literally.

“It was far beyond what I would have thought or expected because it was such a natural growth,” McBride said in an interview. “I had to set a cap on the event invite that I could only have 60 people. If I hadn’t, probably more would have come, but we could not have fit any more people.”

McBride said she first got the idea for Home Grown when sitting alone in her room writing music.

“I was just focusing a lot more on my personal music that year and was getting to a point where I was listening to some of the songs that I had written more recently and going, ‘I actually don't think these are half bad,’” McBride said.

The crowd listens on a Brooklyn rooftop as Tim Nagy performs in July. There were so many attendees that a few people had to sit on the stairwell roof as well. Photo courtesy of Gracie McBride

McBride said she knew she wanted a space to share her music but was fearful of posting it online.

“Because then, my parents, cousins that I haven't seen since I was little and all of my acquaintances from middle school would be able to see it all at once,” McBride said.

She wanted to offer a solution that took away these online pressures not just for herself but for her community. Thus, the first Home Grown came to be.

Originally, it was just a gathering of close friends, with around 20 to 30 people in attendance, McBride said. After the event ended, however, the attendees quickly swarmed McBride with the question, “You’re doing this again, right?”

McBride began making a running list of artists on her phone and reaching out to them — and not just musicians. Home Grown became a place for poetry readings, monologue recitations and stand-up comedy too, she said.

A screenshot of McBride’s notes app shows her 2024 artist list. She would write down names of artists as they came to mind and reach out, encouraging them to perform. Photo courtesy of Gracie McBride

At the core of Home Grown is the belief that everyone’s art is worth being shared.

“It is worthy of being shared because there’s only one person that can make your art, and that’s you,” McBride said.

McBride hosted a mix of regular Home Grown events and themed nights. The most recent theme night was Christian Indie music.

McBride said she noticed that in a lot of Home Grown events, artists would share bits of Christian music and poetry in their acts.

“I am a Christian, and I have a lot of Christian friends. So, we write about things that are close to us, and our faith is close to us, so it comes out in our art,” McBride said.

Noticing this theme, McBride said she wanted to provide a space for Christian art, specifically. She recalled the challenge she gave herself during Lent as another inspiration for this theme: giving up secular music.

“I wanted to be intentional with what I was listening to and also explore all the different kinds of Christian art and music that are out there because it's not just Hillsong or the hymns that we sing on a Sunday morning,” McBride said. “There's so much out there.”

Musician Ryxn Camp performs his original songs at Home Grown in June. Camp was one of 7 performances that night, including other musical acts, comedy and poetry. Photo by Gracie McBride

“I sometimes have a hard time with Christian media and feel like it's up to standard, cheesy or dumbed down in any kind of way or cliché,” McBride said. “But sometimes, things are cliché because they're true.”

Seeing different, new iterations of the genre, McBride knew she wanted to give a platform for all of the potential and diversity of Christian music.

“If you really break it down, it's an incredible truth,” McBride said. “Maybe that's the reason for Christians to get together and to share their art and their work — to figure out new ways to say these truths to ourselves.”

Through these performances, whether explicitly Christian or not, McBride said she has witnessed just how God-honoring art can be. She has been inspired by the art shared at these shows and incorporates it into her own music, hoping that others who have left Home Grown want to do the same.

The community and art that have blossomed through Home Grown are a true testament of the connection between art and faith. Let this concert series be a reminder that anyone’s creativity can make a difference — whether that is through music, poetry, acting, comedy or something else altogether.

Lexie is the Editor-In-Chief of Koinesúnē. She has a B.A. in Media, Culture and the Arts/Creative Writing with a minor in Business Management. Her work has been published in Iridescent Women as well as the American Library of Poetry. In her writing, she aims to share truthful and life-building stories.