Emerging Christian singer-songwriter Weston Skaggs is drawing attention with his latest release, “In The Garden (Bob Dylan ‘Saved’ Version),” a gritty and reflective reimagining that blends rock, gospel, and introspective storytelling. Released through Old Bear Records, the track leans into a driving drum groove and the steady pulse of a Wurlitzer electric piano while exploring how deeply misunderstood Jesus was by both followers and critics – and questioning whether much has changed today.
Listen to the song here.
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Skaggs describes his sound as “experimental-folk-gospel-storytelling,” weaving together influences that range from 1940s crooners and 1970s Laurel Canyon songwriters to modern indie rock. Alongside his work as a worship and youth pastor, Skaggs is currently preparing his eighth studio album and a 2026 tour.
In this interview, Skaggs opens up about the spiritual influence of Bob Dylan’s “Saved” era, the vulnerability that shapes his songwriting, the emotional impact of his years as a registered nurse, and why he believes the pursuit of the “real Jesus” remains more important than ever.
Q: For listeners discovering your music for the first time, how would you describe who Weston Skaggs is as an artist, worship leader, and storyteller?
I would say that I’m trying my best to be honest as I look at the world and myself through a Jesus lens. I find myself trying to bring equal doses of tension and comfort with how I write, lead, sing. I want things on one hand to feel familiar but I also like to push the listener off center a bit by doing something in an unexpected way.
Q: “In The Garden (Bob Dylan ‘Saved’ Version)” revisits a classic song through a gritty rock and gospel lens. What drew you specifically to the spiritual era of Bob Dylan and this song in particular?
As we were wrapping up my Hymns album we were discussing possibly recording the hymn “In the Garden” when my producer Chris Hoisington brought up that Dylan also had a song called “In the Garden” but that it was original – was entirely different than the “and He walks with me” hymn. The idea germinated that it might be interesting to record both together in a straightforward and stripped down way. As we talked about it, the idea to do an entire “Garden Sessions” project began to come together.
Q: The single reflects on how misunderstood Jesus was by both followers and critics. Why do you think that tension still resonates so strongly in today’s culture and even within the Church itself?
One of the beautiful and mystifying things about Jesus is that we just don’t GET Him. He doesn’t fit into our boxes. Everyone loves the idea of Jesus but wants Him to belong to them. I think a lot of us Christians today are distressed by the way in which Jesus’ name is getting used and abused and misunderstood by so many. Yet it must be some consolation for us when we see how even the first hand witnesses were largely missing His point and His purpose time after time. The crowds – and His very disciples – back then wanted to make Him about earthly power and wrap Him in a flag. We’ve done it again and again over the centuries in different places and now we’re doing it again here. Peter striking with the sword, James and John asking who will get the next best throne, the full disillusionment of Judas because of money. Nobody then fully “got” Jesus and 2,000 years later, none of our human systems or denominations have been able to get Him quite right. But there’s no more worthwhile pursuit than trying to get to the real Jesus.
Q: Your music has been described as “experimental-folk-gospel-storytelling,” blending influences from crooners to indie rock. How do you balance honoring older musical traditions while still creating something fresh and personal?
Music as an art form has always been evolving. Every classic we love was at one time pushing the envelope. I think when artists get bogged down with nostalgia too much and try to carbon copy something classic they end up creating something that’s not so great. It’s good to have influences and to love different influences, but those oldies were once a new frontier and I think that in order to truly honor them, part of what you need to do is to inhabit the feeling they were chasing while being on the front edge of something exciting. Bring your full self to your work – with influences from all over – then, even if you are paying tribute to something older, you’ll have the chance to create something truly unique.
Q: Beyond being a musician, you also serve as a worship and youth pastor, registered nurse, husband, and father. How do those different callings shape the themes and emotional depth of your songwriting?
Vulnerability and connection are the thread that runs through each of the different hats that I’ve worn. I never feel more alive than when I’m connecting with others in a vulnerable way about the realities that we don’t really like to speak about. I like to cry. I like to talk about the deep stuff that a lot of other people are scared by. I worked as a nurse for over a decade in a department where we diagnosed people with cancer every day. That cuts through the surfacy stuff to deep conversation really quick.
I began working with youth five years ago after I became burdened by the unique crisis of loneliness and anxiety among the younger generations. Again, what was needed was cutting through the simple answers and polite church talk to help young people tackle the very real and very scary challenges that their generation faces.
And I think whether it is leading the local congregation in familiar praise songs or seeking to write and record original music, the goal is the same: vulnerability and connection.
We have to be able to admit when we’re not okay and I guess I feel drawn to feel the freedom of admitting that because only then can we heal. Only then can we really belong.
Q: With your eighth studio album and a 2026 tour currently in the works, what can listeners expect from this next chapter creatively, musically, and spiritually?
I’m in a writing period for the first time in a while. I haven’t consistently written songs for a few years now because for me it’s a bit of an obsessive mindset to get into and I did enjoy doing hymns and covers for the last few EPs. Lately I’ve been writing down a lot of bits and scraps, sitting down at the piano or with a guitar and trying to make some whole songs come out. I’ve been doing it to get away from the news but then I just write about the news so we’ll see what they’re like. There might be some Old Testament prophet/protest energy in there. There will be some grappling with the isolating effects our digital age is having upon us. Also, going to counseling in recent years has probably helped me to write from a better inner-vantage point of what’s going on inside me. My writing is probably better trauma informed than ever – ha!
I’m terrible when it comes to putting tours together but I’m working on some dates for later in the year and hopefully will be able to get back into Old Bear Studio to record some fresh sounds next year. I’d really like to do a fully original album again next.
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