In her autobiography, Jennifer Knapp recounted a troubled childhood that drove her to find solace in music. At first, she tried journaling to give expression to her misery. It wasn’t enough.

“I could write until my fingers bled, but there were times when words didn’t seem sufficient. There was still more inside of me,” she wrote. “Music seemed to give voice to what I knew in my heart but could not spell into being. I might write down words about sadness, but with the help of a minor key, I could make all the world vibrate with resonant empathy.”

She did more than that. She burst onto the Christian music scene in the late 1990s with an energy and honesty that resonated with thousands of young people searching for meaning and connection.

Knapp’s first three albums sold over 1 million copies and earned the singer/songwriter two Grammy nominations and a Dove Award for New Artist of the Year in 1999.

But success took its toll. Exhausted by the pace and pressures of the industry, Knapp stopped performing in 2002 and left the United States, moving to Australia to clear her head and nourish her heart.

Seven years later, she returned to the U.S. with unexpected news: she was coming out with a new album, “Letting Go,” and coming out of the closet as a proud lesbian in a long-term relationship.

After a firestorm of controversy, including an appearance opposite an antigay minister on Larry King Live, Knapp settled down in Nashville and settled into the work of recreating her career — this time outside of contemporary Christian music. Her new albums were less religious, but still spoke to the mysteries of love, life, loss and redemption.

In 2024 she released “Kansas 25,” a reinterpretation and rerecording of her seminal debut studio album, “Kansas,” which was originally released in 1998. The project gave her insight into her younger self and an appreciation of the passion that fueled Knapp’s rise on the Christian music scene more than 25 years ago. It proved, too, that queer people can find joy and meaning in a faith tradition that has historically struggled to welcome them.

I interviewed Knapp recently for This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine. As she prepares for a three-month tour of 32 U.S. cities, Knapp took the time to reflect on her early work, her faith and the unifying power of music.

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To learn more about Knapp’s music, writings and tour schedule, visit her website.