An Interview with the Christian Family Band, Iris ’n Mae

Used By Permission

On Facebook many weeks ago, I (Sharon) saw one of my high school friend’s mom post a beautifully-written song performed by her granddaughters.

The song was, Grace Upon Grace. I was especially touched that this song (among others!) was done as a family unit—Mom (Amanda), Dad (Brent), and daughters (Rhian & Iris).

Soon after I heard the song, I messaged Amanda to ask if I could interview her lovely family for this blog. Thankfully, she agreed, and I love the responses from her and her family!

-----

Interview:

Q1: Has your family always been interested in music?  What was the starting point for how your family jumped into writing/recording music?

AMANDA (MOM): Music has always been a big part of my family growing up...at least 4 generations have been singing or playing instruments in church.  For us now, someone is always singing, humming, or playing something. Both girls went through the Children’s Music Academy’s three-year program.  They teach rhythm, piano, recorder, guitar, with a focus on music theory.  This was foundational to what has come about.  At school in 6th grade, Rhian was taught the ukulele.  She loved it and just excelled. There have been several silly songs made up on the spot or even collaboratively written, but a year ago marked a true song-writing season in our home.  February 2025, there was a snow day, school was cancelled, and Brent was working from home. From his morning devotions, he wrote some thoughts in poetry form/ song form. He showed it to Rhian, and she added chords and found a melody for it.  Maybe after only a few hours of working together, they wrote their first song together.  From there, they got excited about sharing the Gospel of Jesus and His grace in music form.  After some research and asking advice from a friend who writes/produces music in Nashville, they bought a simple system to record and found a distributor to publish the music on their various platforms. 

BRENT (DAD): My side of the family?  Not so much, ha!  But Amanda’s family comes from a long line of musicians.  Ever since we’ve been married, our house has always been filled with music.  Whether that’s singing or listening to music, the girls since they were young have always enjoyed it! 

I was at the kitchen table one night, while the girls were getting ready for bed.  I was meditating on John 7:37-38, where Jesus was giving the invitation to come and drink.  I started writing down thoughts, and from this came the song called River for the Thirsty Soul.  The next morning a song began to form in my mind. I went upstairs and I tried playing a tune on the piano.  When Rhian woke up, she joined me and helped me arrange it.  She basically took over from there.  After about an hour, she grabbed her ukelele and played/sang it for her mom and sister.  Iris who had learned to sing harmony joined in.  And since then it has spurred us onto a season of songwriting. 

RHIAN (DAUGHTER, AGE 13): Definitely.  For me, listening to mom lead worship through the years, music has always been a part of our family.  But that snow day in February was the starting part for writing, recording, and producing music. 

IRIS (DAUGHTER, AGE 11): Yes!  It was a snow day in February. 

Q2: Do you have any favorite themes to write/sing about?

BRENT: The Gospel.  Christ’s finished work and His free offer of salvation.

RHIAN: Christ would be mine.  I wrote another song with my friends, and it was about a life changed by Christ. 

IRIS: Just fun songs. 

Q3: What is the name of your band?

BRENT: The band’s name Iris ’n Mae comes from the girls’ names (Iris plus Rhian’s middle name Mae) and some play-on-words of Irises in the month of May. 

RHIAN & IRIS: Iris ’n Mae

Q4: What is everyone’s role in the music writing/recording process?

AMANDA: Brent writes the initial bulk of the lyrics and sometimes has an idea for a melody/tune in his head.  Then he collaborates with Rhian and she creates the chord progressions and melodies.  Sometimes hours, sometimes days, they can usually finish or mostly finish a song.  Iris easily jumps in with harmonies.  Rhian plays the ukulele and simple chords on the piano.  Iris is also picking up the ukulele and learning.  Brent sets up the recording equipment, and each voice and instrument is recorded separately.  It can takes anywhere from 3-5 takes before getting it right.  Then the tracks get placed all together and edited by Brent.  The song is then uploaded to the distributor that copyrights their music, making sure it’s not infringing on anyone else’s work.  After a few days, it is then released on the various music streaming platforms for anyone to listen and enjoy. 

BRENT: I’m a song-writer, producer, and “roady”.  I help set up the recording equipment in our closet, hanging up blankets to cancel out noise, and encourage the girls in what we have discovered is a very difficult process.  I then help lay each track, edit the songs, then get them ready to upload for publishing. I am not musically inclined, but years of sermon-writing and a little bit of poetry-writing as a kid has helped lay a foundation for putting our heart to song.  Now I may have an idea in my head, but Rhian is a big help with the music theory and helps give input on composition. 

RHIAN: I compose a lot of the music and Dad does more of the lyric writing.  I play the ukulele, sing, and sometimes the piano.  Sometimes, I set up and help record.

Q5: What is your favorite recorded song and why?

BRENT: River for the Thirsty Soul and O Longing Soul have been two of my favorites.  They are evangelistic songs, and as a Dad it has been really cool to see the opportunities the Lord has given my girls to share the Gospel in song to family and even strangers.

RHIAN: Grace upon Grace; Other than the lyrics, it just has the richness of the piano. 

IRIS: Grace upon Grace.  It just like helps others a lot.  It encourages others. 

Q6: How has God encouraged you and others through your music?

AMANDA: It is dear seeing the girls grow in their faith and even having opportunities to lead worship in various settings.  It encourages the older generation to see kids being vocal about their faith and using these gifts to serve the Lord. 

BRENT: From the beginning, I’ve asked the Lord to give us opportunities.  My desire was that this would be used for ministry before it became a performance for the girls. With my role in the Missouri Baptist Convention, we have many churches without pastors and worship leaders.  Even though the girls are young, it has been enjoyable to see the opportunities the girls have had in leading others in worship. 

RHIAN: I’ve grown closer in my walk with God in the last year and in songwriting.  It’s also encouraged a lot of my friends and their families. 

Q7: Do you have more songs in the works?

BRENT: Yes!  Rhian asked that I take a break until she can get caught up on recording what we already have.  But I just got back from a road trip, and I couldn’t wait to show her one I had just finished!  We have 17 songs that have been written in this last year (none of which have been assisted by AI! Ha!).  Need to finish them, and record, but it’s a long process!

RHIAN: Definitely!  About 15 more songs have been mostly written, but still need to be tweaked before recording.  But some of these written songs we have already performed for various groups and churches.

IRIS: Yeah, we have a lot more!

Q8: How can people find your music online?

BRENT: We do a wide distribution of music, so you can find them on most streaming platforms.

RHIAN: Spotify, Pandora, Iheart Radio, YouTube, Apple Music, etc.

IRIS: Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, and more!

Q9: Any additional thoughts??

BRENT: What I love most about this is from beginning to end, it is an activity I get to do with my girls in songwriting, producing, and serving the Lord together. 

-----

Please check out Iris ’n Mae on any of the above-mentioned platforms! My favorite “music spot” is YouTube. Here’s a link to their YouTube account and song, Grace Upon Grace. Please give it a like and subscribe to their channel. We can help get the word out about Iris ’n Mae’s beautiful and God-honoring music! Plus, be sure to give them a positive review on whatever streaming platform you use!

~Listening On,

Sharon