Raised By Wolves, Saved By the Lamb | Franni Cash
Franni Cash spent years singing alongside her family in We The Kingdom. Now, for the first time, the story belongs entirely to her.
The two-time GRAMMY-nominated, three-time Dove Award-winning artist has officially released her debut solo album, Here I Am, a deeply personal 13-song project built from more than 200 songs written during one of the biggest transitions of her life.
Franni Cash during her Heart of the Gulch interview discussing her debut solo album Here I Am.
After walking away from We The Kingdom, Cash wasn't simply starting another musical project. She was figuring out who Franni was outside of the family band that introduced her voice to millions.
And Here I Am doesn't avoid the difficult parts.
Inside Franni Cash’s Heart of the Gulch Interview
Welcome to Heart of the Gulch, a Nashville-based interview show and music platform featuring artists, singer-songwriters and personalities shaping music and entertainment. Host and creator Tony Mendoza sits down with Franni Cash to unpack Here I Am, life after We The Kingdom, “Raised By Wolves,” faith, religious trauma, touring with Brandon Lake, working alongside her husband Austin Cain and finding the confidence to build something under her own name.
For Cash, that process required writing—a lot.
More than 200 songs were considered before she narrowed Here I Am down to 13. Some were written with the Christian music industry in mind. Others were songs she initially believed might be too personal for anyone else to understand.
Those became some of the most important songs on the record.
“Raised By Wolves” Was Almost Too Personal to Release
Franni Cash with host Tony Mendoza during her Heart of the Gulch interview in Nashville.
“Raised By Wolves” began with an idea from Cash's husband, producer and songwriter Austin Cain.
Cash immediately found its other half: raised by wolves, saved by the Lamb.
The song draws from Cash's childhood growing up in a religious cult and the painful process of separating people who misrepresented God from her own relationship with faith. What initially felt like a story too specific to share became one listeners began connecting to themselves.
The surprising part? The song came together in roughly 30 minutes.
Cash tells Tony that after spending most of the day writing “Wildflowers,” she mentioned the “Raised By Wolves” concept to songwriters Andy Cherry and David Leonard. Guitars came out, the room shifted, and the song quickly took shape.
What Cash once thought she'd never release eventually became one of the defining songs of her solo career.
Franni Cash during the release era for her 2026 debut solo album Here I Am.
200 Songs, 13 Tracks and a New Franni Cash
That vulnerability runs throughout Here I Am.
Cash opens up about “Church Clothes,” “Jesus All Along,” “Darken The Doorway,” “Shoes To Fill” and even “Under Your Wings,” a song that nearly made the album.
“Shoes To Fill” became particularly emotional. Written about her father and the pressure of growing up around his success as a songwriter and producer, the song ultimately turns that pressure around: rather than trying to fill someone else's shoes, Cash realizes she now has her own shoes to fill.
That rawness carried into the recording process.
Instead of replacing every early vocal with a polished studio take, Cash says many of the vocals heard on the finished album came directly from the original demos recorded while the emotions were still fresh.
Here I Am officially arrived September 18, 2026, with 13 tracks including “Raised By Wolves,” “Darken The Doorway,” “Church Clothes,” “Menace,” “Jesus Girl,” “Jesus All Along” and “Welcome To The Club.”
Life After We The Kingdom
Franni Cash discussing the story behind “Raised By Wolves” and her journey of faith.
Going solo also meant learning how much work had previously been divided among a band.
Cash describes herself now as the engine behind her career—but she's hardly doing it alone.
Austin has become a major part of this chapter, producing and writing with his wife while joining her on the road. Cash estimates they've already played somewhere around 75 to 100 shows together.
That road has included an arena run supporting Brandon Lake, where Cash began seeing something she hadn't experienced quite the same way before: people showing up specifically for her songs.
She also reveals how she found the courage to personally ask Lake about joining another tour. That decision eventually helped put her back in arenas for his spring run.
Following the release of Here I Am, Cash headed directly onto the road with Amy Grant and is preparing for her own headline dates, along with shows supporting Crowder.
Faith Without Pretending Everything Is Perfect
Franni Cash with her husband, producer and songwriting collaborator Austin Cain during her Here I Am era. Cash discusses working, writing, producing and touring alongside Cain during her Heart of the Gulch interview.
Some of the most personal moments of the conversation move beyond music entirely.
Cash and Mendoza discuss heaven, hell, church hurt, Christianity and what happens when the people representing a religion become the source of someone's trauma.
For Cash, healing required separating those experiences from her understanding of God.
It's an idea running throughout Here I Am: faith doesn't erase fear, doubt or painful experiences. Sometimes faith means confronting them.
That makes the album's title feel particularly fitting.
After years as one voice inside a family band, hundreds of songs, arena stages, uncertainty and rebuilding, Franni Cash isn't introducing a character.
She's simply saying:
Here I Am.
Watch Franni Cash on Heart of the Gulch
Watch Tony Mendoza's complete conversation with Franni Cash as they discuss Here I Am, “Raised By Wolves,” We The Kingdom, Brandon Lake, Austin Cain, Dolly Parton, faith, fan comments and what's ahead in 2027.
Check out more Heart of the Gulch interviews on our website and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Tony Mendoza is the Nashville-based host and creator of Heart of the Gulch, featuring conversations with country artists, singer-songwriters and personalities from Nashville and beyond.
