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After years in the making, local singer-songwriter Avery Tallent will offer his latest album “Something New” during the HSJ Online Benefit at 6 p.m. Saturday at WILLow LeaVes of Hope, located at 326 Jackson St. in downtown Hope.

The much-anticipated third album from the 26-year-old Hope resident offers a continuation of the message delivered by his first two albums, he says.

“Pretty much the whole theme of it is reaching towards something better,” Tallent says. “To reach forward to Christ-like things instead of all earthly things.” 

Though he has added some secular songs to his musical catalogue, Tallent says holding true to his Christian music roots comes first and foremost.

“I just wanted to stick with promoting the Gospel and promoting my music through that,” he says.

When it came time to beginning the process of recording “Something New” Tallent didn’t have to go far.

The Hope resident once again teamed up with childhood friend and sound engineer Drew Kujawski, owner of Chop Shop Sound Studios, who assisted with recording Tallent’s previous album.

“This is the second album I’ve made with Avery,” Kujawski says. “And we’ve both done a lot of learning.”

Of course, life has played a role in the timing of the nearly three-year-long process. The pair admit the years’ long recording project was a sometimes-imbalanced mixture of applying previous lessons learned and proven techniques, while navigating new issues and finding solutions.     

“But even with a lot of life going on, it was always a pleasure to sit down with Avery and work on making something we were proud of when things calmed down,” Kujawski says. “It was a nice reprieve.”

Kujawski describes the album as “a nice mix of acoustic and modern rock.”

“It feels like home to me,” he adds.

Of all the tracks on the album, Tallent says “Faithfully” is one that especially stands out to the singer-songwriter. Recorded before this album was even a thought, Tallent says “Faithfully” talks about the steadfast faithfulness of God even in the face of humanity’s inconsistent unfaithfulness.

“He is always faithful to us,” Tallent says.

Tallent will perform a selection of his secular songs Saturday evening, he says, and copies of the latest release will be available. 

Tallent will also be performing an original song co-written with David Webster and inspired by the life and writings of former Hauser educator and long-time friend of and contributor to HSJ Online, Todd Grimes. 

“I’m doing the same ol’ mission to let people hear about Jesus and the Gospel,” Tallent says. “That hasn’t changed, and I don’t think it is ever going to change."

Check out Avery Tallent's music on YouTube, Spotify and iTunes and watch for the latest news on HSJ Online.