From Incarceration to Inspiration: How Briana Calhoun Is Bringing 'Hope on the Inside'
- Louisiana Country Music
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Some stories feel like country music at its core. Honest. Unpolished. Hard-earned. Full of hope. Briana Calhoun is one of those stories.
Raised in Farmerville, Louisiana, Briana is building her career as a songwriter and artist while also leading a mission rooted in lived experience. Through her nonprofit, Hope on the Inside, she brings music, testimony, and real human connection into correctional facilities across the South.
A Louisiana Story of Redemption
Briana’s journey hasn’t followed a traditional path. In her early 20s, she struggled with addiction and spent several years incarcerated. After her release, she began the work of rebuilding her life, earning a master’s degree in education, becoming a teacher, and continuing to pursue songwriting.
That background isn’t something she glosses over. It’s the foundation of her voice. Briana doesn’t speak about change from the outside looking in. She speaks from experience, and that authenticity is what resonates so deeply with the people she reaches today.
The Mission Behind Hope on the Inside
In 2023, Briana partnered with Louisiana legend Kix Brooks, one half of Brooks & Dunn and a Shreveport native, to launch Hope on the Inside.
The organization’s mission is straightforward but impactful: bring music, testimony, and meaningful conversation into correctional facilities, helping the incarcerated move from simply existing to living with purpose.
During Hope on the Inside visits, artists perform songs rooted in real life and real struggle. Briana shares her own story of addiction, incarceration, and redemption. Most importantly, space is created for honest dialogue. Laughter, tears, and moments of clarity happen in rooms where people are often overlooked or forgotten.
It’s work built on presence, honesty, and the willingness to sit with people in hard moments.
Music With Purpose and a Growing Platform
2025 marked a significant milestone for Briana's music. In June, she signed a global publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing Nashville, alongside Brooks. The deal expanded her reach as a songwriter while strengthening the platform behind Hope on the Inside.
Her music reflects the same themes that guide her outreach: grit, redemption, faith, and second chances. It’s country music shaped by real life, not theory, and it continues to connect audiences to the heart behind her mission.
Building Community Beyond the Prison Walls
Hope on the Inside continues to bring people together in meaningful ways, both within correctional facilities and beyond them. In October 2025, the organization hosted a Songwriters Night at 3rd & Lindsley in downtown Nashville, featuring respected voices including Chase Rice, Charlie Worsham, Jamie Floyd, Jeffrey Steele, Kix Brooks, and Briana herself. Proceeds from the night supported Hope on the Inside’s outreach efforts.
Since then, the organization has continued expanding its reach through new partnerships and events, including an upcoming collaboration with the Nashville Predators, where a portion of proceeds will benefit Hope on the Inside. It’s one of several ways the nonprofit is continuing to build momentum beyond prison walls.
Visit Hope on the Inside to learn about the organization’s mission and ongoing outreach efforts.
Why This Matters to Louisiana
At Louisiana Country Music, we celebrate artists who don’t just make great music, but make a difference. Briana Calhoun embodies the spirit of this state: resilient, honest, and driven by heart.
Her story is a reminder that country music can do more than entertain. It can heal. It can connect. And it can change lives. Whether she’s writing in Nashville or sitting across from someone inside a prison chapel, Briana’s work reflects the deeper power of music when it’s paired with purpose.
A note to Briana: Your home state sees the work you're doing, and we're proud to share your story.
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