Marie Miller, a folk singer and songwriter, has recently started transitioning from secular pop-folk music to more faith-filled music after a decade-plus in the music industry. 

She is now performing more for a Catholic audience than ever before, hoping she (and listeners) will have a deeper encounter with Christ through her songs. 

Faith Background 

A native Virginian, Miller grew up in a big Catholic family where Catholicism was the center of daily life. 

Even from a young age, she has loved music and performing. 

Miller then connected her love of music to her faith after she read Pope St. John Paul II’s “Letter to Artists.” 

In this letter, John Paul II talks about how “beauty is a call to transcendence” and how it stirs in the faithful a “hidden nostalgia for God.” 

Consequently, Miller felt a call from God. 

Those words inspired the young woman to connect both her music and her faith, discovering how the beauty that she was searching for was found in God through Catholicism. 

She then began writing songs and learning different instruments such as the mandolin, piano and guitar. 

“Each one of us has a unique quest, something only we can do to make the world more beautiful, more humane, more fraternal. If it feels like we’re too small, it’s a mistake,” Miller says on her website.

Early Musical Career

Miller, 34, focused more on pop-folk songs at the time. But that was just the beginning of her musical path. 

She was signed by Curb Records when she was only 16 and continued her songful pursuit, before taking a break and attending Christendom College for a year. 

Back in 2015, Miller even performed for Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia for the Festival of Families. 

She opened for the Backstreet Boys and toured with American Idol winner Kris Allen and the group Five for Fighting. 

In 2018, Miller left her label company and began recording independently, and she produced her first album with the fitting title Little Dreams. In the title song, Miller chose to return to a more acoustic and folk-oriented approach, giving a nod to her roots. 

Over the years, Miller began forming a team and fundraised with her initial investment to start producing new music. Her released singles were being streamed on platforms such as Amazon and Apple Music. 

Miller started to gain popularity in the music industry and with her audience. Her 2019 song Imaginary Friend was streamed more than 300,000 times in the first two months on Apple Music. And on Jan. 24, 2020, the music video for Little Dreams premiered at Billboard.com. 

She loved pop and folk music and writing in this genre felt natural to her, she explained to the Register.

Pivot to Catholic Music 

It wasn’t until Miller started watching The Chosen, a popular TV series that illustrates the life of Jesus and his disciples, that she realized her view of what it means to be “perfect” needed to change. From this show, she realized that Christ was choosing these “imperfect” people to be his closest friends and to tell his story to others. 

Taking this message to heart, she recently decided to start singing about Christ and focusing more on her faith in her music. 

“We all want to be saints,” she said when talking about how her music influences her faith. 

She asks herself, “Am I doing something that will make me holier?” 

She says that her faith influences her music since “you write about what you love and what moves you.”

“As I have gotten older and grown in my faith, Jesus continues to be who I love the most,” Miller said, “and he moves me the most. I can’t help but sing about him.” 

According to a recent article, Miller says that she is still creating music for the same reason she always has — to connect people to beauty, solace and cheer.

Recent Music 

Miller released her latest single — Woman — with fellow Catholic songwriters Sarah Hart and Sarah Kroger on Nov. 3. The song is the first part of a larger project that will be released in spring 2024. 

“Woman is about three women in Scripture who are transformed by their encounter with Jesus,” Miller told the Register. 

Miller sings the part of the woman at the well, cited in Scripture, starting at John 4:7. 

The other two women mentioned are the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8) and St. Mary Magdalene during her encounter with Jesus after his resurrection (John 20). 

The song is about Catholic femininity. 

Jesus says to the woman at the well, “Give me a drink,” and she realizes she can now serve Christ through this desire to be satisfied. 

When discussing the impact of the song, Miller recalled that Kroger, one of the female songwriters, says that “Jesus would meet your needs.” 

Miller is hoping to release a Hymns by Her series on Instagram comprised of one-minute snippets of all of her favorite hymns, which will incorporate Advent and Christmas songs. 

For now, Miller prays that Woman inspires modern women. 

“It’s a song that I hope reminds women they are loved, cherished and called to share the very heart of God.” 

Future Concerts and New Releases

To learn more about Marie Miller and to listen to her music, click this link.

Marie Miller will be performing at St. Joseph’s Church in Macon, Georgia, from Dec. 3 to 6 as part of a parish mission, partnering with the Franciscan Friars of Renewal. Her new album will be released this spring. To follow her shows and buy tickets, click here.