4 time Grammy Charlie Peacock & Andi Ashworth from the heart
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find the love of your love and then chase your dreams and then get to help others do the same in a grand way?
On this pod just for you, we get to talk to a couple who's not only gotten a chance to do this beautifully, but who also tells us the MOST important lessons they learned about love in the process, from the stage at Carnegie Hall to the kitchen humbly serving teens and youth across many years, Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth.
Yes, there were blazing trails and also a myriad of fires to put out as Charlie and Andi found the glow of their love together from the beautiful vantage point of starting out as kids together themselves and now climbing to over fifty years of being together and still producing in a variety of ways.
Yes, there's no doubt that Charlie and Andi have been one of the most influential couples in music and art globally, and it's hard to name all of the ways they've influenced this generation and the one coming up - the span is incredible, from Amy Grant to The National.
With four Grammys under their belt and a beautiful hospitality ministry with their conjoined gifts shining out together as they created from their Enneagram 3, 2, and 4 heart spaces, you'll see that they surely have indeed helped many, as you'll hear on the episode with them today.
Yet even with all of these credentials, Charlie and Andi have allowed God to work in and through them humbly, and they are willing to tell us that even amid the fame and glory, the pieces of their life, love, and legacy that matter most for all of us as we talk about their new book now on pre-order, "Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt".
Listen on Apple or Spotify here! Watch on YouTube here!
PS. For my fellow researchers and music lovers, there's more fun below as we share a picture of Charlie and Andi from their youth from Andi's The Writer and the Husband website and more of their amazing credentials below!
Charlie Peacock: Peacock began his iconoclastic career in the 1980s as a singer-songwriter for Exit/A&M and Island Records. In addition to his unique solo efforts, Peacock has played a lead role in creating major chart hits in three separate decades—most notably Amy Grant's "Every Heartbeat" (1991), Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move" (2002), The Civil Wars' Gold debut album Barton Hollow (2011) - earning Grammys for Best Folk Album and Country Duo - and the (2013) #1 Billboard Pop debut, The Civil Wars, featuring the co-written single, “The One That Got Away.” In recent years, Peacock's solo output has included his acclaimed singer-songwriter release, No Man's Land (2012), and four jazz/improvisational releases, including Trout Creek Ranch (2021).
In the 2010s, Peacock dedicated himself to championing the independent music scene. Toward that end he has worked with Brooke Waggoner, The Civil Wars, Ruby Amanfu, k.s. rhoads, Lenachka, and the Ten Out of Tenn project featuring Erin McCarley, Butterfly Boucher, Matthew Perryman Jones, Trent Dabbs, Katie Herzig and more. A long-time advocate for social justice, Peacock has worked directly with International Justice Mission, and the ONE Campaign (a fruitful relationship that began in 2002 when he hosted co-founder Bono and, later, ONE President David Lane at his home, putting them in front of Nashville's artist community).
Jazz collaborators include Eddie Henderson, Ravi Coltrane, Marc Ribot, Jeff Coffin, Felix Pastorius, Don Alias, Joey Baron, Béla Fleck, James Genus, Kirk Whalum, Victor Wooten, Roger Smith, John Patitucci, Eric Harland, Steve Swallow, Matt White, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Production credits include, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Holly Williams (with Jackson Browne, Jakob Dylan, and Gwyneth Paltrow), The Lone Bellow, Switchfoot, Brett Dennen, Jon Foreman, Kris Allen, Lenachka, Ben Rector, Chris Cornell, and co-wrote and produced “Hush,” the title theme to the AMC drama Turn: Washington's Spies featuring Joy Williams and The National's, Matt Berninger.
Music is a family affair for Peacock. His son, Oscar-nominated songwriter-producer, Sam Ashworth, and daughter-in-law, singer-songwriter Ruby Amanfu (co-writers of “Hard Place”, the Grammy® nominated, break-out hit for H.E.R.), often contribute to Peacock's productions. Peacock's daughter Molly, and son-in-law, Mark Nicholas (music publisher), are co-founders of the music platform, Noisetrade.
Peacock is married to the writer, Andi Ashworth. The couple are co-founders of Art House America with branches in Nashville, St. Paul, and Dallas. They've been together for 50 years and have two grown children and four grandchildren.
Andi Ashworth: A native Californian, Andi Ashworth has lived in Nashville, Tennessee with her family since 1989. She is a writer and diarist, Master Gardener, cook, maker of home and lover of good books. Unique to her vocation, Andi has been a companion-along-the-way to many people, sharing stories about life and its challenges over meals, walks and cups of tea. After providing hospitality to thousands of people in her home, The Art House, it is her joy to be in a new home and a more private season of life, enabling her to create comfort and beauty on a smaller scale. She loves gathering her family around the table, discussions with her book group and Scrabble games with her husband – a perk of their later years.
Andi earned her Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis at the age of 53. She's written for Comment Magazine, Critique, By Faith and The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture, among others. She's also been the speaker at various gatherings around the country, including Laity Lodge in Texas, Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh, Art House Dallas Writer's Workshop, Imago Dei Women's Forum in Portland, Oregon, and the Art/Music/Justice conference in Falls Church, VA. From 2010-2018 Andi was Editor-In-Chief of the Art House America Blog (as well as essayist), overseeing hundreds of interviews and essays from a variety of authors including Tish Harrison Warren, Steven Garber, Lanier Ivester, Sandra McCracken, Russ Ramsey and Viola Weinberg.
