Kings Return, a Dallas Texas vocal group rooted in Gospel, jazz, R&B and classical music recently wowed fans with a rendition of The Lord’s Prayer. The four-piece vocal ensemble that describes themselves on social media with the simple tagline of “We sing in stairwells” has taken a break from their typical venue to promote their new single, aptly named Beauty.
Gabe Kunda, the group’s bass, spoke with Aleteia about what inspired this piece: “As spring approached, we were discussing what tune would be great to sing for Easter. The first song that came to mind was “The Lord’s Prayer.” It’s a beautiful song as well as the prayer Jesus taught us — so it’s familiar to just about everyone. Growing up, we all sang it in church. I’m so glad it’s blessing our fans!”
Aleteia readers were first introduced to King’s Return last July when the band’s take on Ubi caritas, the classical Latin hymn, went viral on social media. The group followed-up with a rendition of Ave Maria. Both pieces are prime examples of what these guys do best — heavenly music in the heart of a stairwell, the extraordinary colliding with the ordinary in a truly magnificent way.
Fans who have dug a little deeper into the King’s Return repertoire will know that these guys don’t only cover “church songs,” they sing plenty of mainstream hits as well. In addition to the already mentioned Greg Kunda, King’s Return is comprised of singers Vaughn Faison, JE McKissic and Jamall Williams. The musicians describe themselves as “a vocal band of brothers formed in 2016 from pre-existing friendships.” They further explain that their band’s name “reminds us to be our brother’s keeper and to pay homage to our King, Jesus, who has Himself promised to return.”
And today we celebrate...