Renowned gospel-soul group Larnell Starkey and the Spiritual Seven will put on a show for anyone, at just about any time.

That's in part because the Franklin County-based act has been on the international radar since about 2002, when it won the National Quartet Convention championship in Louisville, Ky., -- turns out, it's not just a contest for quartets. And recently, the band was selected for the Virginia Commission for the Arts tour directory.

But mostly, Larnell Starkey and the Spiritual Seven stay busy because the family band still sounds amazing, 41 years on.

This weekend, fans in both Roanoke and Blacksburg can hear the Seven.

On Saturday, the act hits Jefferson Center as part of the annual "Kimoyo Presents 'From Africa to Appalachia' Benefit Concert." The show, which also features fellow Franklin County act The Wright Kids and Zambian Vocal Group, benefits Kimoyo, a Roanoke-based organization specializing in cultural diversity and education programs. On Sunday, the Seven will perform at First Baptist Church in Blacksburg. March includes a Virginia Arts Tour through far Southwest Virginia.

And if you hear a joyful noise spilling out of Chestnut Grove Baptist Church in Wirtz, on a random Sunday, that might just be the Seven, rocking its home church.

"We've never forgotten where we come from," said Dar Alexander, band manager, pianist and the only sister among the group's sibling, sons and grandsons. "We've never forgotten the itty-bitty little churches that we played in. We've never forgotten them because that's made us who we are today."

The young Starkeys

When the founding members of Larnell Starkey and the Spiritual Seven were children, they watched their father and grandfather pick guitars during Sunday afternoon get-togethers.

"They'd give us a quarter to dance," brother Walter Starkey said.

They danced, but they also watched. "We'd say, 'Look at Daddy play!' " Walter remembered. "He was our B.B. King. He could play the blues. He could play church songs."

The Starkey siblings -- Larnell, Danny, Walter, Tim and Dar -- got the itch to perform. They sang and played old soul and R&B songs, often rehearsing in their parents' front yard.

"The neighborhood would come around ... next thing you know, we've got an audience standing out there in the yard," Walter said.

After their mother, Elsie, told them to give up the soul and R&B they were singing and go back to their gospel roots, things slowly began to take off. But it wasn't easy, traveling in old school buses that the brothers converted.

"It's been a learning experience, these 40 years," brother Danny, the band's tenor singer, said. "It's a road, a long road. But I wouldn't trade it, because it made us who we are. And we owe it all to God."

They traveled first as simply The Spiritual Seven, but it turns out there were a lot of acts with the same name. So they put lead singer and eldest brother Larnell's name at the top of the bill. Though there have been as many as 11 people in the band -- there are eight these days -- the number seven has significance, they said.

"It's the Biblical number for perfection," Alexander said. "I'm not saying that we're the perfect band, but that gives us something to strive for every day."

The next generation

The Starkey siblings have passed on their knowledge to younger generations of the family.

Bassist Eric Starkey, 29, and guitarists Otario Wells, 14, and Travis Starkey, 13, are sons and grandsons of the founding players. And they're not afraid to push against expectations. Travis took to the stage at last year's Old Fiddler's Convention in Galax. He played "Cluck Old Hen" and received a standing ovation, the family said.

Walter said that one of his grandchildren, 6-year-old Chaz Whithfield, is a wunderkind drummer who already wants to come out with the band.

"Hopefully we will have taught enough and left enough that they will pick up and carry on with somebody" when the original siblings are gone, Alexander said. "Even if they have to get a couple of other cousins ... or whatever to join in and keep the name going. ... But we hope that this legacy that we are trying to create, we hope that it doesn't stop at our death. We hope that this is a family thing that can carry on."