What: The Sojourners

Where: University Centre Farquhar Auditorium, UVic

When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $25 250-721-8480 (auditorium.uvic.ca)

Gospel music was the soul-sanctified fuel inspiring such rhythm-and-blues heroes as Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin.

The influential sound of black gospel - with its fire-and-brimstone passion and call-and-response structure - wasn't unlike that of soul and Motown. The essential difference was that, rather than delving into romance and sexual intrigue, gospel's lyrics praise the Lord.

Will Sanders sings tenor for the Sojourners. The Vancouver gospel trio, who last year were nominated for a Juno award, plays UVic Centre auditorium on Valentine's Day. The Sojourners - including singers Khari McClelland and Marcus Mosely - are backed by a stellar band: former Victoria guitarist Paul Pigat, bassist/saxophonist Bill Runge and drummer Geoff Hicks (of Colin James's band).

Some folk, perhaps worried about being preached to, are leery of gospel concerts. But there's no fear of Biblethumping with the Sojourners, Sanders says.

"We don't sing to convert people," said the Louisiana native from North Vancouver, his home of 25 years.

"We always come out of concerts with people feeling uplifted and positive. Not because we're preachin' to 'em, but because the music lends itself to that, the positivity."

As well as gospel, their repertoire is dotted with blues and other secular songs. A typical Sojourners concert might include interpretations of The Neighbourhood by Los Lobos, or Death Don't Have No Mercy by Rev. Gary Davis.

Legendary West Coast bluesman Jim Byrnes was instrumental in the Sojourners' career. In fact, perhaps imagining an itinerant future for the trio, he even suggested their name.

Preparing to cut his Juno-winning 2006 album House of Refuge, Byrnes was on the prowl for gospel vocalists to sing backup. He originally hoped to enlist the original Soul Stirrers (who'd once boasted Sam Cooke as lead singer), but the members were too elderly and spread out geographically.

Instead, Byrnes found three black gospel singers in Vancouver: Sanders, Mosely and Ron Small (since replaced by McClelland). Until then, they hadn't formally worked together as a singing trio.

"We had so much fun in the studio, I said to them, 'This can't be a one-off. This is an act. You've got to get out in the world and do this,' " Brynes said this week.

"Over the years, we had worked with Jim a lot," Sanders said. "It's just that this thing took off, the Sojourners."

All Sojourners were expatriate Americans who'd learned to sing gospel in church.

As a young man who'd served in Vietnam, Sanders - who grew up in Alexandria, Louisiana - tried his hand as an R&B singer. When that didn't work out, he enlisted for a decade-long stint in the navy.

What eventually took him to Canada was his marriage to a Vancouver woman. Here Sanders found work in musical theatre. But he kept up an interest in gospel, singing in such groups as Circle of Voices and Cloud Nine.

"For me, personally, it's my faith," he said. "It's just the stuff I grew up doing."

Sanders says the Sojourners' distinctive vocal harmonies are influenced by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions and the Soul Stirrers.

Byrnes says the Impressions comparison especially makes sense - partly because both groups specialize in threepart vocal harmonies (gospel quartets were more common).

The Sojourners look forward to recording a new album for Black Hen Music this summer. Like their last disc, The Sojourners (2010), it will combine the blues and gospel.

Brynes is also looking at a new recording, to include contributions from the Sojourners. His album will focus on classic country songs by such artists as Buck Owens, Marty Robbins and Ray Price.

The Sojourners, hoping to perform more U.S. concerts in the future, plan to showcase their music at Folk Alliance International in Memphis later this month. And in March, they'll perform at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.

"It's going to be pretty wild," said Sanders, who turns 62 in June.

"The career didn't really start kickin' off until I was 50. I'm very surprised we're doing as well as we are. I didn't think the music would take off like that in Canada."

achamberlain@timescolonist.com