Daniel: I heard you mentioned earlier this week that Brian Alvey will be joining the group. Is this true?

Roger: We’ve known for a long time that Brian is an extremely talented individual. He has been working with us for the past year, behind the scenes, doing marketing and promotion, and helping with a lot of things that we’re involved in. Now that he and Lauren are married, we’ve decided that we’re going to take advantage of his talents and have him join us in the road, on stage. We feel that he has real calling to share not only singing and playing, but through his songwriting and his speaking ability as well. We’re going to be having him fill a wide variety of roles.

Daniel: With four people on stage, will you continue to go by the Talley Trio?

Roger: We will just be The Talleys. Some songs will be trios, and some will be four-part, but it will not just be the Talley Trio.

Daniel: Brian is a tenor singer; will you be singing bass?

Roger: Now, obviously, I’m not going not to suddenly become a bass singer. There are a lot of parts that I can sing, but bass is not one of them! So don’t look for a traditional quartet sound.

Daniel: Could you tell us a little about Brian’s background in Southern Gospel?

Roger: He has sung with Southern Sound, Beyond the Ashes, and Tribute Quartet. He has played instruments on stage with Southern Sound and Tribute Quartet, and written several songs for Tribute Quartet, including the hit single “That’s Why I Love Him So.”

Daniel: Will Brian be playing instruments on stage with the Talleys?

Roger: Yes. He plays a wide variety of instruments, including piano, bass, and acoustic and electric guitars, and we’ll be doing more live music with him playing some. On some songs, we’ll do four-part harmony, and different trios on others. We’ll just have a much bigger variety on stage.

Daniel: And for the question everyone’s wondering, by this point: When will he start?

Roger: We have had a rehearsal or two already. We’re working on some of the songs that we are currently singing. We hope to be ready to debut this new sound by September 1st. This fall, we will begin work on a new recording with the four of us.

We are excited about what he will bring to our team.

This project, as indicated by the title, is full of songs that will encourage the Christian that is going through a trial.  The project has a nice mix of styles of songs and Lauren continues to be one of the finest singers in Southern Gospel Music.  …  The project, like the singer, is top notch in every way.

Read the whole review here.

The song was co-written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, ten years ago . . . to the day. They finished writing the song on January 31, 2001, and didn’t have a clue the impact the song would have in other genres and, now, Southern Gospel. Co-writer Townend stated:

I think one of the reasons the song is so popular is that it can stir up our emotions . . . but the emotion is not the central feature of the song. Because the lyrics stay fixed on the unchanging truths of our salvation, it not only provokes emotion, but engenders faith, strengthening our spirits, not just stirring up our souls.

It’s on Lauren’s Songs in the Night album, which you can preview and purchase here. It is also one of the featured February releases in the Crossroads soundtrack series, coming soon! The soundtrack can be pre-ordered here.

Brian Alvey sang tenor with Tribute Quartet until earlier this year; he currently works in the Talley Trio office, in marketing and promotions. Lauren will continue to perform with the Talley Trio.

The wedding date has not yet been set.

Congratulations, Lauren!

It’s more than words and music. It’s a journey, and you’re invited.

Throughout the week, I plan to post updates from other Crossroads artists and staff on this site. I will also be making general posts, including extended summaries of the evening concerts, at my own website (www.southerngospelblog.com).

Many of you are familiar with our friend Keena, who has opened her home to 8 foster teenagers and who has frequently posted her experiences on this site. She and the kids recently invited us to their home for Sunday lunch and they attended the Sunday night service we sang in that night.

At the end of the service, we all joined the congregation for a fellowship meal. (Have you noticed several of my stories involve food?! Hmm.) The church staff directed us to a reserved room. We discovered six young men sitting around a table. They offered to get up so that we, Keena and several of the kids could sit down, but we all ended up crowding around the table together.

As we got acquainted, these guys in their 20s began telling us about their lives. They live together with a group leader in a small house as part of a discipleship training program. They voluntarily participate in a strictly regimented schedule with Bible study and prayer as their main activities of the day. They shared their testimonies with us, stories of all different backgrounds of drug abuse, imprisonment, personal tragedy and emptiness. As they spoke, you could see a thousand questions arising in the foster kids’ minds.

The boys asked if they had to do push-ups. The girls asked how they had enough space for all their stuff. Then the real questions started.

“How did you get off the streets?”

“Do you miss being with your family?”

“Do you just pray and read the Bible all the time?”

As these kind young men told the kids how the Lord had changed their lives, you could see the light bulb coming on for the teens: They are just like us.

No matter who you are or where you’ve been, there is someone just like you who has already been there, someone who can show you where to go. That person may be “showing up” for you right now! Are you watching? Share that story with all of us here.