Where the words talented, singer, songwriter, Christian and unfailingly friendly meet stands Jonny Diaz.
Diaz made waves earlier this year with his hit single “More Beautiful You.”
Now the contemporary Christian singer finds himself on a major tour opening for MercyMe. That tour pauses at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn., on Nov. 22 with songs of Christian faith, family and better days to come.
Star on the rise?
“Don’t know if I’d put star in there,” Diaz said last week by phone from his home in Nashville, Tenn., “but to play music and do what I feel like God wants me to do is a blast.”
There you go, Diaz certainly qualifies as humble. So a quick call from his Major League Baseball-playing brother, Matt Diaz, an outfielder with the Atlanta Braves, was in order.
“I think he’s a good singer and a phenomenal songwriter,” Matt Diaz said by phone from his home in Atlanta. “He’s truly inspired me in my walk through life and my walk with God.”
Jonny Diaz’s walk through his career seems like a long climb through the minor leagues to the majors. His journey began while attending Florida State University, where he played baseball and dreamt of a career in the major leagues. Music was a hobby.
“It was a personal outlet, writing songs,” Diaz said. “I didn’t think about sharing it with an audience. But at the end of my junior year, I felt God calling me to play music.”
So Jonny shelved his glove and tuned his guitar. No record label, no management, no one to book shows for him – Diaz embarked on wings and prayers mounted upon faith.
“I recorded three CDs on my own,” he said. “I played for audiences of two or three to 20 or 30 people. I simply wanted to play my music wherever I could play it.”
Diaz had no visions of entertainment grandeur. He simply followed a calling to write songs and then perform them for whoever wanted to hear. Call it a love of music with a message.
Now replace music with baseball, and Jonny’s story sounds like his brother Matt’s.
“I did have that ride to the big leagues,” Matt Diaz said. “I was drafted in 1999, but I didn’t really stick [in the majors] until 2006. Our stories relate. It’s a testament to believing that you’re doing what you’re supposed to do.”
Now how’s this. The Diaz brothers trade verbal jabs like most brothers do, yet they are intensely proud of each other. Take the time when Matt heard his brother on the radio for the first time.
“I had a game-winning hit at the start of the year, and I heard ‘More Beautiful You’ for the first time on the way home on the radio,” Matt Diaz said. “It’s incredibly special. I was so proud of my little brother.”
The brothers’ paths to success crossed earlier this year when Jonny performed after a Braves game at Turner Field in Atlanta. Matt Diaz slugged a home run that day with his bat. Jonny Diaz belted one, too, with music bound straight to the heart.
“It’s like God has a certain sense of humor about it,” Jonny Diaz said. “He knew I wanted to play on a baseball field, and I did.”
IF YOU GO
Who: MercyMe, Tenth Avenue North and Jonny Diaz
When: Nov. 22, 6 p.m.
Where: Freedom Hall, 1320 Pactolas Road, Johnson City, Tenn.
Admission: $23-$40
Info: (423) 461-4884
Web: www.jonnydiaz.com
Audio: www.myspace.com/jonnydiaz
TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
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