Warren Barfield

Warren Barfield grew up in Goldsboro, North Carolina, as the son of a pastor. The young Christian pop artist first began playing guitar at age eight, shaped by his relatives’ musical involvement and their leadership of weekly services at the local church. Following high school, he spent his early twenties performing at youth gatherings and congregational functions, which led to two independent recordings that drew interest from executives in Nashville. At twenty-three, in 2003, he released his self-titled debut album on Creative Trust Workshop, the boutique imprint run by the management team responsible for Steven Curtis Chapman and Third Day. The project displayed a crisp guitar-pop style reminiscent of Chapman’s work, achieved modest commercial success, and produced the Top Ten singles “My Heart Goes Out” and “Mistaken.” When the label closed while he prepared his next record, Barfield found himself without a contract. The death of a family friend, along with other personal events, prompted a temporary hiatus from the studio. He resurfaced in 2006 with Reach, his debut project for Essential Records. Under Marshall Altman’s production, the album explored soulful blue-eyed pop, though this direction proved short-lived. By 2008, Worth Fighting For returned him to the adult-contemporary pop-rock approach of his first release.