The Upload with Brooke Taylor

This week on The Upload, Brooke Taylor sits down with Grammy and ACM-nominated country artist David Nail for an incredibly honest conversation about success, family, grief, faith, and learning to appreciate the life that’s right in front of you. David has spent more than two decades in Nashville, with hits like “Red Light,” “Let It Rain” and “Whatever She’s Got.” Now, he’s releasing Flowers—his first full-length album in more than a decade—and says he’s experiencing his career from a completely different perspective. The nerves are still there, but so is something that wasn’t always as easy for him to find: joy. David opens up about how much of his life was spent immediately chasing whatever came next. Even after a great show or a career milestone, his mind was already moving toward the next goal. But with age, faith and fatherhood, he’s learning to slow down long enough to actually experience the moment he’s in. Sometimes that looks less like a sold-out show and more like walking his kids to school on a Monday morning and being overwhelmed by the simple thought: “I just can’t believe them kids are mine.” That shift in perspective runs throughout Flowers. Brooke and David unpack one lyric in particular: “I got everything I wanted without getting what I thought I wanted.” David reflects on the dreams he once believed would define success and the realization that constantly focusing on the next level can blind you to everything God has already put in front of you. The conversation also gets deeply personal as David talks about fatherhood and the example he hopes to set for his three children. He shares the guilt and second-guessing that come with parenting, why he believes children learn more from watching how their parents live than from being told what to do, and how he and his wife are navigating raising kids in a world filled with comparison and constant noise. David also opens up about losing his mom, Donna Sue, and the complicated layers of grief that have followed. Seeing so much of himself emotionally in his son has made him think about loss in an entirely new way—not only processing the pain of losing his own mother, but realizing his children will one day experience that kind of grief too. He shares how becoming a father has helped him understand the depth of his own parents’ love in a way he never could before having children himself. That realization is woven into “Riverbank,” the final song on Flowers. David explains why the deeply personal song changed the way he thinks about legacy and why he now wants to close every show with it. If something ever happened to him, he wants his wife and children to know that the last song he performed was one written about them—a lasting reminder of what ultimately mattered most. Brooke and David also talk about depression, career uncertainty, comparison, perseverance, rediscovering the excitement he had when he first started touring, and what it looks like to trust that maybe you don’t need the bigger house, bigger career or next accomplishment to know that God has you exactly where you’re supposed to be. The conversation closes with David sharing what he’s praying for in this season: patience as a father. He gets emotional talking about his mom’s faith, the godly woman he found in his wife, and his desire to make sure grief never prevents him from being the kind of father he wants to be. 🎧 If you’ve ever been so focused on where you thought your life should be that you’ve struggled to see the beauty of where you already are, this conversation is a powerful reminder to slow down, find joy in what God has given you, and stop measuring your life by the things you haven’t accomplished yet. Follow The Upload:📸 Instagram — @theuploadpodcast🎥 TikTok — @theuploadpodcast🔗 Listen on iHeartRadio — The UploadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Country artist Drew Baldridge is back on The Upload—making him Brooke Taylor and Pastor Mark Evans’ first-ever returning guest. And a lot has changed since his first conversation with Brooke. After years of navigating the music industry independently, Drew now has a major-label deal, a No. 1 song with “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” two young boys at home, and a new album that might be his most personal yet: Farm Faith Family. Drew shares how the three pillars behind the album—farm, faith and family—tell the story of where he came from and who he wants to be. Growing up on a farm in Southern Illinois taught him that a music career isn’t all that different from farming: you plant seeds, endure droughts, weather the storms and trust that something will eventually grow. He gets emotional remembering the season when he was struggling to pay rent in Nashville and his grandfather quietly sold a load of wheat to help keep his dream alive. The conversation turns to what it means to be a godly man in a culture that often celebrates something very different. Drew shares the story behind “A Man Don’t,” a song inspired by learning that someone he knew had been unfaithful in his marriage. Now raising two boys of his own, Drew says he wants them to grow up knowing what a biblical man looks like: someone who stays, leads, takes responsibility, loves his family and is willing to be called higher when he gets it wrong. Drew also gets honest about the tension of making message-driven country music in an industry where those songs don’t always fit neatly into the mold. He shares the discouragement of being told by a major country platform that his music didn’t fit its messaging—and the questions that can creep in when choosing songs about faith, commitment and family instead of simply chasing what seems most commercially successful. For Drew, the answer keeps coming back to the same thing: stay rooted in truth and keep using the gift God gave him. That perspective inspired another song on the album, “Maker’s Mark.” After the success of “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” Drew found himself wondering what any of the accomplishments would actually mean when he one day stands before God. A No. 1 song, money and career success won't be what matters. The question he wants to be able to answer is: Where did I leave my Maker’s mark? Brooke, Mark and Drew unpack what it means to steward whatever gift God has given you—whether that gift puts you on a stage or simply allows you to show up for someone who needs help. They talk about surrounding yourself with people who will sharpen you, opening up when you’re struggling, saying no to the things culture tells you are normal, and viewing your everyday work as an act of worship. And in one of the most personal moments of the episode, Drew talks about the tension he feels between a career he believes is a ministry and the family he desperately wants to be present for. Now that his oldest son understands when Daddy is leaving for the road, those goodbyes hit differently. When Brooke asks what he hopes his boys will one day say mattered most to their dad, Drew’s answer is simple: “He tried to walk like Jesus did.” 🎧 If you’ve ever wrestled with ambition, comparison, family, or how to stay faithful to who God called you to be when the world is pulling you somewhere else, this conversation is a reminder that success isn’t just about what you accomplish—it’s about what you do with what God gave you. Follow The Upload:📸 Instagram — @theuploadpodcast🎥 TikTok — @theuploadpodcast🔗 Listen on iHeartRadio — The UploadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Upload, Brooke Taylor and Pastor Mark Evans sit down with Macy Page, wife, mom of two and sister-in-law of country artist Thomas Rhett, for a deeply personal conversation about walking through Stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer and discovering a relationship with Jesus that changed everything. After receiving a diagnosis that turned her family's world upside down, Macy underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy. Today, she's cancer-free—and while she doesn't minimize how difficult the journey was, she says she looks back with an overwhelming sense that she was carried through it. “I don't know how to explain it other than Jesus,” Macy shares. Macy grew up in church, attended Christian school and had always considered herself a person of faith. But cancer forced her to confront a difficult realization: knowing about God wasn't the same as truly knowing Him. Faced with fear and uncertainty, Macy found herself surrendering in a way she never had before—and says the diagnosis ultimately led her to experience what it really means to be led by the Holy Spirit. She also opens up about an incredibly difficult part of her story that she hasn't widely shared. Just days after learning she had cancer, Macy discovered she was pregnant. Suddenly, she was facing questions about how the pregnancy could affect treatment for an aggressive cancer. Throughout the conversation, Macy gets honest about the fears that don't simply disappear when treatment ends—the next scan, the next doctor's appointment and the desire for more time with her husband and children. She shares why surrender has become a daily practice and how the hope of eternity changed the way she viewed even the worst-case scenario. Brooke, Mark and Macy also talk about the difference between being around Christianity and actually walking closely with God, the power of prayer, learning to hear and follow the Holy Spirit, and why suffering can radically reshape what matters most. For Macy, cancer stripped away so many distractions and left her with a new urgency: people need to know Jesus. Macy also shares the practical ways her community carried her family through treatment—from helping with her children and school pickups to providing meals and even having her house cleaned. It's a beautiful reminder that when someone you love is walking through cancer, sometimes the greatest gift is simply finding a way to take something off their plate. Through it all, Macy says something that might sound impossible after a Stage 3 cancer diagnosis: “I would not change a thing.” She wouldn't choose cancer, but she also wouldn't trade the closeness with God she found through it. 🎧 Whether you're facing a diagnosis, walking alongside someone you love through illness, or simply struggling to trust God with something you can't control, Macy's story is a powerful reminder that surrender doesn't mean the absence of fear—it means knowing Who is carrying you through it. Follow The Upload:📸 Instagram — @theuploadpodcast🎥 TikTok — @theuploadpodcast🔗 Listen on iHeartRadio — The UploadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Upload, Brooke Taylor and Pastor Mark Evans sit down with Hannah Love Mooney—wife of Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney, mom of four boys, former Miss Arkansas USA, and host of the Unexpected with Hannah Lovepodcast—for an honest conversation about motherhood, faith, spiritual warfare, and raising children to know Jesus for themselves.  Hannah opens up about the responsibility she feels raising four boys in a world dominated by screens, comparison, fear, and competing messages. She shares the prayers she has spoken over her sons since they were born, why she prays for their future wives already, and the philosophy she and Shay try to live by: “Our ceiling is their floor.” The more healing, growth, and spiritual work they do now, the stronger the foundation their children have to build upon.  The conversation goes deeper into spiritual warfare and discernment as Hannah shares how her understanding of the Holy Spirit changed after marrying Shay and how experiences with prayer, dreams, and discernment made her faith more personal. She explains why she sees herself as the “gatekeeper” of her home and why she believes parents need to equip their children spiritually rather than simply trying to shield them from everything difficult in the world. Hannah also gets vulnerable about walking through painful and frightening seasons with faith. She recalls a terrifying accident involving one of their sons that required him to be flown to the hospital, as well as losing a pregnancy last December. In the midst of that loss, Hannah says her response wasn't to ask God, “How could You do this to me?” but to thank Him—something she says only makes sense through the supernatural grace of God.  Brooke, Mark, and Hannah also unpack what it means to walk in the authority believers have through Jesus, choose faith instead of fear, put God's Word before the countless other demands of life, and speak truth even when the world may not understand it. Hannah closes by sharing the very real mental load she's carrying in her current season: homeschooling, raising four boys, building their forever home near family in Arkansas, preparing for Shay to head back on tour, and trying to trust that God has already gone before them in every transition.  It's a candid conversation about imperfect parenting, bold faith, surrender, and trusting that we don't have to control everything when we know Who does. Follow The Upload:📸 Instagram — @theuploadpodcast🎥 TikTok — @theuploadpodcast🔗 Listen on iHeartRadio — The UploadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Upload, Brooke Taylor and Pastor Mark Evans sit down with musician Madison Watkins for one of the most vulnerable conversations yet about ambition, compromise, trauma, shame, surrender, and what happens when God asks you to lay down the very dream you thought He gave you. Madison grew up singing in church in small-town Arkansas and says she knew from childhood that God had called her to music. At 20, that dream took her to Los Angeles, where doors began opening and the success she'd spent years chasing finally started arriving. But somewhere along the way, Madison says she began to lose herself. The pressure to fit into the industry slowly changed how she presented herself, what she was willing to compromise, and even how boldly she talked about Jesus. Eventually, Madison had everything she thought she wanted: viral music, money, sold-out shows and major opportunities. But on the morning of a sold-out show in L.A., she woke up covered in shingles and feeling completely empty. Looking in the mirror, she says she barely recognized the woman staring back at her. The next day, Madison felt God tell her clearly: “You forgot your first love. I need you to come back to Me and quit everything.” So she did. She laid down her career, stepped away from social media and spent eight months doing virtually nothing but resting, reconnecting with family and friends, and rebuilding her relationship with Jesus. Madison also opens up about just how dark her years in Los Angeles became. She shares experiences of betrayal in a relationship, being held at gunpoint, sexual assault, and constantly being told she wasn't good enough. Looking back, Madison describes her drift from God not as one dramatic decision, but as a series of “micro decisions”—small compromises made while she was exhausted, seeking affirmation and slowly taking her eyes off Jesus. The conversation turns deeply personal as Brooke shares parts of her own Hollywood story and the ways she searched for love and acceptance during a season when she had drifted from her faith. Together, Brooke, Madison and Mark unpack the shame that can keep Christians hiding, why vulnerability is actually a strength, and what it looks like to believe that no failure puts you beyond the reach of God's grace. Madison shares why she now refuses to hide the messier parts of her testimony. She believes Christians should be willing to talk honestly about addiction, sexuality, temptation, failure and the things we're often afraid to admit out loud. As she puts it, “Everyone is secretly waiting for someone to be vulnerable so they can be vulnerable.” After surrendering the career she'd worked so hard to build, Madison says God gave her a new vision for her music: to bring hope into places that feel hopeless and reach people who believe they're too far gone. Her message now is simple—you don't have to clean yourself up before coming back to Jesus. You're seen, you're loved, and your story isn't over. This is a raw conversation about what happens when success costs you yourself, why drifting from God often happens slowly, and the freedom that comes when you finally stop hiding and surrender everything back to Him. 🎧 If you've ever looked at your life and wondered, “How did I get here?” or believed you've gone too far for God to use your story, this episode is a reminder that you are never too far gone—and coming home can change everything. Follow The Upload:📸 Instagram — @theuploadpodcast🎥 TikTok — @theuploadpodcast🔗 Listen on iHeartRadio — The UploadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.