Sunshine: Making Music About the People Who Light Up Your Life

The Life of a Modern Renaissance Man: A Video Journal, entry 15

I love the feeling of waking up and knowing there's something to be grateful for before the day has even begun. That sentiment was part of the heart behind Sunshine, a song I created with Akron Watson for our album The Devil's Advocate.

The music video is warm, playful, and full of the affection that inspired the track. There's even an accidental little bump at the beginning that made it into the footage. Romance is beautiful, but apparently it still needs to watch its elbows.

When Akron and I made music together, I loved the permission we gave ourselves to bring humor, faith, big emotion, and bold ideas into the same project. Sunshine sits on the gentler side of that spectrum. It's about appreciating another person and the ordinary miracle of getting another morning together.

This video also reminds me of something I still value deeply: music is a time capsule. Relationships change, seasons end, and the meaning of a song can grow with you. What doesn't disappear is the sincerity of the feeling that motivated you to create it.

I'm grateful for the creative partnership, the joy, and the reminder to notice what's beautiful while it's happening. The world provides enough reasons to be cynical. Sometimes the most radical thing an artist can do is make something unabashedly loving.