Our Story
BWCo
Our Story (2016 to 2025)
In 2016, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, became a focal point of racial tension following the police shooting of Alton Sterling, a Black man who was selling CDs outside a convenience store. The incident sparked widespread protests and led to calls for a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. In response to the unrest, local pastors organized a night of worship and preaching at The River Center in Baton Rouge. Inspired by the powerful experience, Young Life Area Director Scott McClain prayed for a way to “keep the spirit of the night going.”
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McClain, along with his longtime friend, singer-songwriter Tyson Motsenbocker, began discussing how they could unite people who might otherwise be divided. After years of prayer and conversation, they assembled a small board of directors and raised funds to produce music aimed at promoting a vision of collaboration and bridging divides of race and religion. In 2022, Motsenbocker invited his friend Joshua Randle (Shua), a rising Indie Soul singer-songwriter and worship leader, to join the vision of BWCo. The BWCo community also brought in Kaitlyn Danos, a local Indie Christian singer-songwriter from Houma, Louisiana to join the collective.
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In the summer of 2022, Motsenbocker, Randle, and Danos gathered in San Diego, where they wrote three songs over two days and recorded them on the third day at the Melody League Studio. This collaboration demonstrated the unifying power of music, bringing together people from different genders, races, denominations, philosophies, genres, and geographies to create great musical experiences. Since then, Big Water Collective has expanded to include the highly respected San Diego singer-songwriter Matthew Wright. In 2023, the collective wrote and recorded a second four-song EP titled Live from Singing Serpent Studio. Their third EP, The Reconciled EP, is was recorded in October 2024 in Nashville, TN, with Grammy Award-winning producer Mitch Dane at Sputnik Sound. The five song EP was directed by Tyson Motsenbocker and will feature Danos, Randle, and three new collective members from South Louisiana: Taylor Webb, Michael Crosby, and John Ellender. It is set to be released in August, 2025. A fourth live album/documentary - “It Was a Good Day”, is set to be recorded in the Fall of 2025 in San Diego, CA.
Our Name
The Mississippi River inspired our name. The term "Mississippi" originates from the Algonquin word “misi-ziibi,” used by the North American Indian Tribe, meaning "Great River." The vision for Big Water was born at the River Center in Baton Rouge, LA, which sits along the shoreline of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, LA.
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Our logo is the Bald Cypress. Bald Cypress trees have long been a staple of Louisiana swamps and rivers. Like other coastal trees, they dig deep down into the soil and are firmly planted making them strong and resilient to storms, winds, and hurricanes.
“…but those who delight in the law of the Lord, and who meditate on his law day and night will be like a tree planted by the rivers …” Psalm 1:2-3
Personal Statement
I feel deeply. Everything around me, I feel it. Every unkind word, every slight, every disruption…I feel it. Seeking unity with others through music addresses all the things I feel. For a moment in time, I’m in control.
Music is therapy.
Life is managed through a note. You can choose your instruments, pick your sound, dream for a moment. A dear friend of mine once said, “Real life is more complicated”. It is. But under the sounds of life in music I am free. I find a safe place.
Music is shelter.
Songs written and composed by friends. They are kind and talented musicians. Every unnecessary word ceases and the world changes. I need that. Music gives me a place to go.
Music is control.
The uncommon gift of God’s words are given to us freely. They are right here in front of us! They pass through our eyes daily and we miss them. Music offers a reminder. A second chance. It sets us loose.
Music is liberating.
Scott McClain, Executive Produce BWCo