Missing Person Soup Kitchen Quartet

Will Fanning, Bill Kimmons and Rebecca Kimmons — has been around in one form or another since 1982, when they wheedled their first performance during a break at one of West Virginia's early Friends of Old Time Music and Dance (FOOTMAD) festivals.

Their a cappella arrangements of old-time gospel songs brought down the house, and they've been at it ever since. They have come to the attention of a wider audience, however, since the late 1998 release of their first collection of songs, "Stirring It Up," on CD and cassette tape. The collection demonstrates their broad range of interests, from old time gospel and ballads to new songs in the traditional vein. Their individual influences are also evident in the blend they achieve.

Will Fanning is a native of Dublin, Ireland, with several generations of sweet, melodious communal singing informing his impeccable ear. His first American musical heroes were John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, Mike Cross and contemporary bands such as The New Grass Revival. He is an accomplished bluegrass musician, and he performed his original song, “Spring Rains,” on the 2002 compilation, “Songs of Home,” produced as a premium for the W.Va. Lottery Commission.

Bill Kimmons, originally from Statesville, North Carolina, learned musical theater singing such roles as King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Sgt. Meryll in Yeoman of the Guard, and Huckleby in The Fantastics. He was introduced to old-time music when he moved to West Virginia in 1976. From 1995 through 1999, Bill taught southern gospel harmony singing with Ginny Hawker, Kay Justice and Tracy Schwarz at the Augusta Heritage Center's vocal week workshops.

Rebecca Kimmons grew up in southern West Virginia listening to her grandmother sing in the ancient a cappella style of the Primitive Baptists. Singing and songs from every era were woven into the fabric of her everyday life — not for performance, but for entertainment among friends and for worship. Baptist, Pentecostal, Nazarene, and Presbyterian musical traditions are all part of her foundation.

The combination of her contralto voice singing lead, Will's tenor/baritone, and Bill's bass results in an unusual sound. Their arrangements are not traditional southern gospel harmonies, but the three manage to fill out songs to the extent that some listeners claim to forget that the singers are unaccompanied by instruments.

Once you've had a taste of the full, robust sound of Soup Kitchen, you may very well hunger for more.