By By Lydia Grimes
features reporter
A familiar face will return to town next weekend to sing at a local church.
Tyler Young sings tenor with Southland, a new Southern gospel group that will perform at Alco Baptist Church Sunday.
Young, son of James and Linda Young, is a native of East Brewton.
Young is a 2007 graduate of W.S. Neal High School and has been attending Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Andalusia for the past two years. He will enter Troy University this fall to major in music industry and performance. Young said he hopes someday to become a music producer or maybe even be an artist on his own. He said that he grew up involved in music.
The group sings harmony with Phillip Young (no relationship) on the piano and sometimes Tyler Young playing his guitar along with the track music.
The group’s founder and leader, Grey Aplin, has been playing Southern gospel since he was 12 years old when he was playing drums for the group The Oldtimers Quartet. After that group disbanded in 1987, he formed The Rhythm Masters Quartet. When this group disbanded in 2002, Aplin said he tried to fill this the void in his life be becoming one of the directors of the LBW Community College. But he still thought something was missing.
Aplin said he woke up around midnight one night last March with a message from God — the names of the members who would become Southland.
Tyler Young sings first tenor for the group. Aplin said no one would ever know that Young has only been singing for about three months.
The other members of Southland are; manager and lead vocalist, Greg Aplin; lead vocalist, Landon Morgan; female lead vocalist, Erin Chavers; baritone, Andy Gibson; first tenor, Dillon Worley; Morgen Battney, alto; and Phillip Young, keyboards.
The group will perform at Alco Baptist Church at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 26.