Tony Cummings reports on the Nashville-based pop punk singer GRACE GRABER

Grace Graber

Music critics might describe Nashville-based Grace Graber as a pop punk singer, not dissimilar to Avril Lavigne. But more telling would be what one writer penned: "In many ways Grace Graber is the voice of a rising movement full of people who believe that maybe both faith and mental health matter - in fact, maybe they're inextricably intertwined."

Anyone who's heard her latest radio hit "Grace Of God" will have sensed that there is a heartfelt authenticity in her songs that stems from living a journey she now sings about. She says, "This ministry, the rest of my music, none of this is about me. It's about what God wants to do in His people, specifically through mental health. That's an epidemic right now. We need to be talking about it more. I'm not doing music for me, to get on radio, to get signed. I'm doing music to save lives."

Grace was once a suicidal teenager, struggling with PTSD which came from the severe bullying she experienced. Then one day she heard a song by Christian pop punk band Hawk Nelson which acted like a shaft of light in her mental darkness. In a marvellous full circle moment the founding vocalist of Hawk Nelson, Jason Dunn, would feature on Grace's song "This One's For You", a track on her 'Conversations' EP, released in 2023.

For the mental health advocate, her song "Breakthrough" will, she hopes, speak to many going through the pain of mental turmoil. "I think breakthrough for me has been realising I need to accept every single piece of my life as it is and learn to love it. I just want someone out there to listen to the album and go, 'she seems like she could be my friend'. I want to be there for the misfits. I want to be the person who doesn't feel cool's best friend. And I hope little girls see me and think, 'wow, she's being completely herself' and feel inspired to go out and be themselves. I hope that they would see that every piece of their life was fashioned for a reason. Even though it probably seems broken to them, the way God's light reflects off their life is going to be so beautiful."