Renowned Christian artist to headline Victoria interfaith music festival

Published 5:15 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

By Madison O'Hara

Worship singer-songwriter Patrick Mayberry is set to headline the 6th annual Uniting Hearts Music Festival this October. (Contributed photo)

For the past five Uniting Hearts Music Festivals, the planning committee has dreamed about bringing a major Christian performer as a headliner for South Texas’ only interfaith musical festival, held annually in Victoria. This year, their dream becomes a reality after booking Patrick Mayberry.

“Every time we meet for one of our committee meetings we always start by asking, ‘What has the Holy Spirit done for you today?” Rick Villa, Uniting Hearts Music Festival committee member, said. “One of his top songs is “Holy Spirit Come,” is what inspired me to tell the committee, ‘We really want to bring him here to Victoria.'”

Villa said the message in Mayberry’s hit song perfectly aligns with the festival’s annual message.

“We are letting the Holy Spirit come into our community because that’s what is consistent with all faiths—we all have the Holy Spirit; that we are all driven by the Holy Spirit and motivated and counseled by the Holy Spirit,” Villa said.

Mayberry is a singer, songwriter and worship leader who rose to no. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart with his hit song “Lead on Good Shepherd” last April and has racked up over 470,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. His top songs include “Holy Spirit Come,” “How You Love Me,” “What My Father’s Like,” “Lead On Good Shepherd” and “Easy To Praise.”

Growing up in the Church of Christ, where music with instrumentation is not practiced, Mayberry felt a disconnect between his growing love of the guitar and his growing love of Jesus. When he started high school and joined his local Young Life chapter in Cookeville, Tennessee, his music and faith merged into one.

At a Passion Conference he attended with his Young Life group, where he saw Christian artists such as Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Crowder and Kristian Stanfill perform, Mayberry truly began to see the intersection between faith and music and to understand the power of worship music.

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    • Almost 20 years, an album and four EPs later, Mayberry has connected people with the heart of God through his music.

    His song, “Holy Spirit Come,” has over nine million streams on Spotify.

    “His humble beginnings and the fact he’s a writer just made him a perfect choice for us,” Villa said. “He was inspired by his Young Life group and we have a chapter here in Victoria that’s getting young people more involved with their faiths.”

    The Uniting Hearts Music Festival’s popularity has continued to grow every year, just like Mayberry, whose career is beginning to take off.

    The sixth annual Uniting Hearts Music Festival is scheduled for Oct. 18 at De Leon Plaza and will feature various spiritual guest speakers and performers alongside Mayberry. It is a free event, but the committee asks that community members bring one canned good to donate to the Salvation Army.

    For more information about the event, please visit www.unitingheartsmusicfestival.com.

    Madison O’Hara is a news reporter for the Victoria Advocate. You can reach her at madison.ohara@vicad.com.

    About Madison O'Hara

    Madison O'Hara works at the Victoria Advocate as a multi-media journalist. She was born and raised here in Victoria. Madison can be reached by email at madison.ohara@vicad.com.

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