**An Evening With Alex Young & Friends celebrating the release of their debut, self-titled album** The Alex Young And Friends project began with a dare from a friend— what if you tried to write a worship song? Young had played his own songs for years, but had never intentionally written with faith-based music— or worship as a genre— in mind. “Christian” music felt like a limiting label. And there was the matter of inspiration. How does one approach God in a song without sounding preachy, or formulaic? But to appease his friend, he gave it a shot. And, to hear Young describe it, it was as if a dam had been broken; songs poured out at an unprecedented rate. The songwriter realized he had something resembling an album on his hands, and one that didn’t camp out in traditionally “worshipful” sonic spaces, borrowing as heavily from roots and folk music as from pop. But the subject matter demanded community— as personal as faith is, it’s also inherently collective. So Young began to call on the network he’d built over decades spent writing songs, producing music, playing shows and leading worship. Flanked by a group of friends playing real instruments, Young pursued an intentionally communal project of directly expressing the ups and downs of being human, on Earth, accessing the Creator through a dim mirror. Donations from a Kickstarter campaign helped fund production and studio time; Young co-produced the project with Jason Hoard (Crowder, Shane and Shane, Third Day). On the recommendation of another friend, Young joined the Nashville Songwriters Association International where “Worry” was recognized as a Bob Kingsley’s NSAI Top 40 song. (https://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/nsai-top-40-honor-bob-kingsley) In writing and playing, one goal was to withhold nothing that is common to humanity—the difficulties of anger or illness are as thoroughly represented on the resulting record as themes like gratitude and joy. Ultimately, Young hopes that Alex Young and Friends will inspire you to sing along with the redemptive story God is telling in the world. Presented by Eddie's Attic. This is an all ages event.