Annie Edwards carries a new sound. It’s the sound of power. It’s the sound of a warrior. It’s the sound of revival.
You might call Edwards and her band, New Sound Worship, a living prophetic declaration. They are releasing the new sound of victory and love over a generation. Psalm 98—”Oh, sing to the Lord a new song”—marks this up-and-coming prophetic band. Edwards’ ministry was birthed out of Impact Church, overseen by Ryan LeStrange in Bristol, Virginia.
Charisma caught up with Edwards to talk about the inspiration behind her music, the sound, her influencers and more in this exclusive interview. Her debut album, Limitless, is stirring the hearts of all who hear it.
Charisma: What inspires your music?
Edwards: I make time every day to just talk to Holy Spirit, and a ton of that time is devoted to just listening to what He’s saying. Sometimes my songs are written about moments, about instructions to His people for a service or for a group of meetings.
There are times when He talks to me about the purpose of my voice in this movement, and He inspires songs that are declarations of atmospheric shift. Other times I’m just going about my day, singing the song of my heart to Him for that moment, and those songs of praise translate into songs that work really well for corporate settings. If I had to pin down my inspiration to one thing, it would hands down come from intimacy with Him.
Charisma: How would you characterize your sound?
Edwards: My sound is that of power; when we lead worship, we are declaring the goodness of God and the authority He has given to us. My sound is a loud, bold cry of a warrior that I hope calls others to walk in the dominion they were granted by Christ. That doesn’t mean I abandon quiet moments when Holy Spirit is ministering in that way, but I know the sound God has called me to carry.
Charisma: What bands or singers have influenced you?
Edwards: Of course, Steffany Gretzinger, Misty Edwards and Amanda Cook. Those women are anointed vocalists and—more importantly—are sensitive to the direction of Holy Spirit. Their spontaneous worship moments are super-powerful and really inspire me as a lover of His presence.
Charisma: Why is music so vital to the next great move of God?
Edwards: Sound in general is important: the words we speak, the music we surround ourselves with and the sounds we produce as worshippers. Historically, music set the atmosphere for warriors before a battle; it was a soundtrack of faith for David the young shepherd and produced shock waves that were capable of destroying physical structures. I believe music has a way of amplifying our personal and corporate praises to affect our reality and shift it into alignment with God’s reality.
Charisma: What is your favorite song on your new album, and why?
Edwards: My favorite song is “Faithful” because the lyrics floated around in my spirit forever; it was my anthem for a couple of years. I didn’t even really see it as a song until one day when I sat down and played the intro melody on my keyboard, and the words just flowed out.
Charisma: What role should music play in revival?
Edwards: Music is critical to revival. In the Bible, we find that when we move on from this life, the entirety of eternity will be us worshiping around the throne. Since revival is, at its most basic form, heaven’s culture established here on earth, it makes sense that a revival culture would be centered around worship. Even though worship isn’t always expressed in song, I believe music is a critical element used in connecting our hearts with God’s.
Charisma: Why is worship so powerful in warfare?
Edwards: Worship is a lifestyle of focusing on the goodness of God. If we move our eyes off of our protector we begin to focus on things that are trivial, problems we make for ourselves or snares the enemy throws our way. It is imperative we make our home in the truth that God is our ever-present help and will guard us forever. Once that becomes a truth we own, no weapon formed against us will ever be able to prosper. {eoa}
The Lord is releasing the angels of abundant harvest. Charisma House is releasing Jennifer’s book with a profound prophetic word and teaching principles to cooperate with heaven in this season. Check it out at angelsprophecy.com.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer’s Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.
Billy Hallowell 
James Lasher 
