Conrad Fisher Turned An Old Church Into A Studio And Helped Send Ben & Rose To 40 Million Views

If you’ve been following Ben and Rose, you probably know Conrad Fisher has been part of their story from the beginning — producing their music, playing on their recordings, and showing up in their video clips.

The Associated Press recently did a piece which centers on Conrad and Ragamuffin Hall — a former Presbyterian brick church building in the rural Pennsylvania community of McCoysville — which he turned into a recording studio and performance space.

Ben and Rose along with Conrad and friends recently played two shows there, and we get a look at clips from the show and comments from Conrad in the accompanying video.

The full AP piece is worth reading — it goes deeper on Conrad’s background, a bit more on Ben and Rose, and covers other Amish-rooted artists he’s worked with.

From Amish Country to Nashville…and Back

We learn that both Conrad’s parents were raised Amish; though his father joined a Mennonite congregation as a young adult. Because of that Conrad speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, which is always a plus when you’re working with people of Amish background.

Conrad was struck by music at an early age and was able to access some popular music like Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, despite growing up in a conservative church environment. It might be funny to think of 1950s artists, who seem quite wholesome by comparison with some of today’s popular musical acts, as controversial, but that can be the case in some stricter environments. Getting exposed to that music was life-changing in a sense:

“It blew my mind, right?” Fisher, now 31, recalled. He started learning keyboards and then guitar, bass and drums before adding music production — “mostly because I was dead set on making a living with music.”

Conrad made his way to Nashville and spent three years there, with the Oak Ridge Boys recording one of his songs. It turned out it wasn’t the scene for him, though – citing the road life and shows at bars as a turn-off:  “There’s drinking and carrying on,” Fisher said. “It’s just not me. I’m not a prude, but I just don’t enjoy that scene.”

Conrad is a family man and faithful member of a Mennonite church, so that factored into coming back to his roots. After returning his success continued to grow, eventually leading to the opportunity to acquire a critical space for his vision:

Fisher considers his wife and three children his main priority and he remains a faithful Mennonite — his pastor once asked him why he didn’t just start a cabinetry business and launch a prison ministry.

Yet his music production work eventually grew to the point three years ago that he could stop working as a carpenter.

In 2022, Fisher learned an old brick church several miles from his home was up for sale. After he laid out his vision for making it into a music incubator, they sold it to him below market value.

That church became Ragamuffin Hall, which has played host to numerous musicians, who come to record music, mostly “clean country”, gospel, and bluegrass songs.

Enter Ben and Rose

Ben and Rose Stoltzfus landed at Ragamuffin Hall when Ben’s brother — a friend of Conrad’s from Lancaster — booked a session there. Their first song was a cover of a country music classic, “Slowly But Surely“, which became an instant hit:

He realized right away Ben and Rose had talent. Tapping into Fisher’s production skills, they’ve amassed more than 30 million views [note: they’ve surpassed 40 million views now] for their videos on YouTube. Eventually he proposed some live shows and the couple agreed.

“I started recording when I was 14,” Fisher said. “If you would have told me two years ago that what’s going to put me on the map or boost my business in a big way, it’s going to be an Old Order Amish couple, I would have laughed at you.”

Since then we’ve covered dozens of their songs and releases here at Amish America. Though as noted in an earlier article, Ben at least didn’t sound like he was clamoring for a musical career (“Ben doesn’t really want a career in music. He wants to be a stone mason”), the couple has booked several shows, including at the well-known Blue Gate Theater in Shipshewana, Indiana this summer.

One other development the AP story confirms: since beginning to record and perform, Ben and Rose have left their Amish church and joined a different Christian congregation.

And I can say that was a common question from the start: are they actually Amish? It’s just rather uncharacteristic for the Amish to put out music videos on YouTube. Ben and Rose, for their part, declined to comment for the story.

As I noted back in January — reading the signs in Rose’s changed prayer covering and Ben’s appearance — this didn’t come as a surprise. Even with changes in the Amish world, perhaps something like that was inevitable, if they wanted to keep on putting out music as they were. Of course, whether they’re Amish or not doesn’t change anything about the music.

A community with a complicated relationship with music

Singing is important, and common, in Amish culture – both in church and religious contexts such as youth group singings but also in everyday life – whether it’s singing for grandparents or ill members of the community, or singing hymns while at work. Playing instruments is more restricted, though that can vary by community.

The article also looks at the tension that exists for individuals within the Amish and Plain communities who may wish to express their musical gifts in ways that press against this “norm”.

We also get a look at some other artists who have emerged from a horse-and-buggy Amish background to find musical success, namely Amos Raber and LeRoy Stoltzfus. The article is worth reading in full; check it out at the link at top.

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