Jackson West and Bronwyn Kickasola’s new song “Home,” which dropped late August, began to take shape last November. West wrote the first verse and chorus in his dorm, then Kickasola added a verse while flying during Thanksgiving break.
“The song originally was inspired by one of my really good friends back home,” West said. “He was in a spot for a long time—still is—where he felt like he was running away from the Lord … the general idea for the song was, what would it look like if I were to write a song for my friend. What would it say?”
The duo let a specific concept guide their writing and production: the image of God drawing a lost soul into his throne room. The folky worship song develops this theme with layered vocals and acoustic instrumentation.
Spending an afternoon together this past summer, the duo began recording “Home” on a whim in a friend’s sunroom.
“[The room]’s got all these big, big windows,” Kickasola said, “so it’s not soundproof, at all. But it’s got a piano—an upright—that’s not really that in tune either. And just a couch, a floor and bookshelves. And I’d just been recording in there for fun.”
The first draft was finished that afternoon, and they came back the next day to add more elements. Friends stopped by, hanging out and contributing background vocals.
West and Kickasola believe the Lord’s hand has been involved in the song’s production and reception.
“When the Lord is present in your work,” Kickasola said, “it makes such a difference. Jackson’s intentionality in writing [about his friend], and then bringing it to me without knowing that I would have a shared experience … it wasn’t like I was thinking of somebody specific, but I had an understanding of what he was talking about.”
“The Holy Spirit is working through the song in ways that I literally would not have even imagined …” West said. “I got a text from some of our good friends who are missionaries in the Middle East. And they are listening to our song, and they said it was so encouraging.”
Many Covenant students have shared the song with their friends. Acacia Buschback ’26 dropped a link to the song in the Rowan-Suburbs sibling hall group chat.
“This is Jackson West’s new song that just came out today … he was on Suburbs last year and is a super talented musician! Give it a listen!”
The track has been streamed more than 3,000 times on Spotify at the writing of this article. West and Kickasola plan to drop another single in the coming months and hinted at further collaboration down the road.