Prepare to be lifted up, jump and shout, shimmy in your seat, and dance in the aisles, when The Harlem Gospel Travelers come to Vashon Center for the Arts in support of their Grammy-nominated album “Rhapsody.”

The concert takes place 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 30, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

Singers Idefayo Gatling, Dennis Bailey, and George Marage have joined forces with soul musician and producer Eli “Paperboy” Reed to create modernized funky versions of classic gospel songs, mined from the retro music catalog of The Numero Group.

“Gospel is at the root of everything,” Gatling said in a recent radio interview with DJ Mateo, of KFFR 88.3 FM, in Winter Park, Colorado. “Country, folk, rock, soul, blues; we love it all and it’s all in there. That’s what The Harlem Gospel Travelers are all about. They’re here to move you, to lift you up, to free you from your burdens and take you someplace higher. Because even when the world seems its darkest and everything else gets stripped away, the music still remains. It always does.”

“Rhapsody” is the third album released by The Harlem Gospel Travelers (HGT), and features Reed on guitar, Jesse Barnes on bass, Noah Rubin on drums and percussion, Gregory Kelly on keys, and Asher Bethune on tambourine. It garnered a Grammy nomination for the Best Roots Gospel Album of 2024.

It was with considerable pride that Harlem Gospel Travelers was the first openly queer group to be nominated in any gospel music category.

“It is great to be a representation of a positive force and gospel music that is accepting of all people,” Gatling said, in reponse to the nomination. “There are a lot of queer people in the traditional church. But the openness has not been there; people are very hush-hush about it. We want to represent people being free and sharing love and understanding with each other. That’s something that I see in our show all the time, people are inspired by us to go and spread love.”

One great song on the album is “Ever Since”, which was originally recorded by Pastor T. L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir in 1971. Reverend Barrett was the very influential pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Chicago, where the congregants included Maurice White and Phillip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire.

There is also great falsetto singing on the album. George Marage sings the lead vocal on “God’s Love”, the third song on the album. The introduction is pure church organ which soon leads into the sweet high vocals, seemingly inspired by Mariah Carey.

Other notable cuts include the song “God’s Been Good to Me,” which has another danceable uptown funk groove; the lyrics praise God’s ability to make everything all right. “Get Involved’ is a mid-tempo song with funky drum and bass backing it all up; the smooth vocals are reminiscent of Smokey Robinson. The song “How Can I Lose” features precision soul handclapping over a stomping beat in an “Iko-Iko” style from the funky streets of New Orleans.

Genre-busting song “Jesus Rhapsody, Part 1” leads off with bass and guitar in the mode of Curtis Mayfield at his best, which in turn leads into hip-hop influenced vocals, and then brings it down to a groove filthy enough to be played late night in the club — although the urgent request is for “Mary’s Baby” instead of something carnal.

“Have You Tried Jesus” appeals to the masses to try for salvation; it is sung in the elegant style of Russell Tompkins Jr. of The Stylistics. And “Searching for the Truth” is gorgeous, harmonizing with a lead vocal evocative of neo-soul master Maxwell.

If you love soul, funk, and R&B like I do, you’ll love The Harlem Gospel Travelers.

“We have people that come to our show, and they’re like, ‘I don’t believe in God, but I believe in the music and I believe in the message you’re spreading,’” said bandmember Mirage. “So I feel like we are doing good work, and we’re gonna continue to do what we need to do and represent good vibes, good energy, and glory.”

Watch and listen to Harlem Gospel Travelers’ live session on Seattle’s KEXP 90.3FM at youtube.com/@kexp or search @harlemgospeltravelersofficial to find their dedicated YouTube channel.

Get tickets for the concert on Vashon at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Rik Reed, AKA DJ Rik, was the producer and host of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, one of the founding shows on KVSH-LP 101.9 FM, featuring soul, funk and R&B music. He has been a board member of Voice of Vashon for a long time.