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Growing up as a pastor's kid, Dan Bremnes always believed in God. Until one day, he realized he didn't.
"When I was young, it was simple," says Bremnes about his faith journey. "I went to YWAM after I graduated high school. That was amazing. I think what happened in my 30s, I got burnt out on religion. I saw too much and knew too much. All of my foundations started to disappear."
These moments of doubting his faith while touring as a Christian artist bothered Bremnes.
"It wasn't one thing. It was a lot of things, and I think it came from my disappointment with what I expected to see, what I expected with my own life and music career. For me, God was all out there instead of right here [pointing to his body]. I found myself in an emergency of faith."
Bremnes is Canadian, as he was born in B.C. Once he started his music career, he and his wife moved down to Nashville, TN. The couple have two kids together.
"Being on tour as a Christian artist was probably the best thing for me," says Bremnes. "When anything is uncomfortable, we tend to pull away. A lot of that is for our survival. We learn when we're young, don't put your hand on a hot stove. For me, it was the best thing to stay in it, because I had to face all of my stuff. It was very uncomfortable and good for me."
Finding God Again
Dan found that in the same way he wrestled and doubted his Christian faith from many little things, was the same way he found God again.
"My journey, it's been a number of things. For me, coming back, there was one tour I was on last year where I was alone. God was with me driving for a week, and it was crazy. Just going into my life and my heart. Going to parts of pain in my life and being healed by them. I think the big instigator was this music I was making, to be honest."
Bremnes has opened up to people online about his doubts about God and the system he had been a part of for so long. Through this, he encountered some negativity but also a lot of compassion.
"The Bible says what sets you free is the truth. I think it's because we're afraid of punishment or the consequences that we're not able to be honest with ourselves. Can you be honest with yourself, with where you're at? I think that's where it starts. As Jesus said, 'I'd rather have you hot or cold.' For me, the clincher was the honesty, and that's where the breakthrough came."
New Single Reflecting His Faith Journey
Bremnes released two singles in 2025. The first, "Started with You," was released Jan. 17, 2025. The second single, "Call Your Name," was just released on Feb. 28, 2025.
"I found myself in a writing room and one of the writers, I told them, 'I don't know what to do. I want to be honest but I'm struggling with my faith.' He said, 'What's left of it?' I remembered a few months before, when I was at my lowest point, I wasn't just wrestling with my faith. I was wrestling with my life. I tried everything I could, and at one point, I thought I could call out to Jesus. Maybe that'll work. And, it did. Everything broke open for me in that moment. The writer looked at me and said, 'Let's write about that.'"
The latest single goes through each faith moment of Bremnes's life, including when he got baptized and the harrowing moment of finding out that his mom died in a car accident when he was in his 20s.
"I'll never forget the day we lost her," Bremnes posted the day his single came out. "The way she made the person she was talking to the most important person in the world. They way she knew Jesus. I love you, Mom. This song's for you."
Bremnes will be releasing two EPs later this year that connect.
"The project I'm working on is called Hero and the Villian. The first half of it is coming out in June. I've never actually told anyone yet. You're the first to know, Canada. The Villian section will be coming out starting in August, it'll be about 13 or 14 songs. I'm really happy with it."