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With eight fiddles, a booming upright bass, and a stage packed with nine family members, a Piatt County bluegrass troupe proves that bloodlines and bluegrass make a joyful noise.
Rock lore insists that internal band dynamics are doomed to self-destruct. Decades of Behind the Music specials have conditioned audiences to expect egos, fractured relationships, and dressing-room meltdowns whenever talented musicians share close quarters.
Then there is the King Family Band.
Hailing from rural Monticello, Illinois, this nine-piece acoustic powerhouse—comprising parents Tim and Kim King alongside seven of their children—upends the cliché of band drama with three-part gospel harmonies and synchronized fiddle bows.
“I enjoy being with my family and having all of us doing something together,” says 11-year-old Rebecca King, one of eight active fiddle players in the household.
Her mother, Kim, who also plays fiddle, agrees. It isn’t every day an audience sees a mother, father, and a stair-step roster of kids from college-age to preschool command a stage with old-time bluegrass and gospel hymns.
“That’s what makes us unique,” Kim says. “People really respond to seeing a family united in music.”
Staying Connected Through Strings
Leading the sibling lineup is 19-year-old Caleb, a freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A versatile multi-instrumentalist who anchors the family sound on fiddle and five-string banjo, Caleb balances the group’s performance schedule with college life and another project—Splintered Cross, a contemporary Christian rock outfit he formed with siblings Carson, 18, and Rachel, 16, along with two friends.
“Overall, I just love music,” Caleb says. “Playing in a family band is a wonderful way to stay grounded and connected at home, especially now that I’m at the U of I with a full schedule.”
With two independent studio albums under their belt—Pray Praise and En Route—and a calendar packed with weekend gigs stretching beyond state lines into Missouri and Indiana, the Kings have built significant regional momentum.
While Kim modestly insists they perform strictly for the joy of it, a first-place finish in the amateur showcase at Springfield’s competitive Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival proved their technical chops. Handpicked from a pool of fifteen regional contenders, the Kings turned heads among veteran bluegrass traditionalists.
During the competition, the family tore through the gospel standard “Highways and Hedges” and the timeless fiddle tune “Boil the Cabbage Down.” Even the youngest siblings, six-year-old Renee and four-year-old Robin, stepped up to the microphones. Renee took the lead vocal on “Highways and Hedges” with unflinching poise.
“That took a lot of hard work,” Kim recalls with a laugh. “For Renee to hold her own melody line while everyone else stacked harmonies around her was quite a feat.”
Onstage, their showmanship shines during “Boil the Cabbage Down.” In a crowd-pleasing stunt inspired by high-energy Branson acts, the King children line up shoulder-to-shoulder, reaching across to draw their bows across the strings of the sibling standing next to them without missing a beat.
Precision, Drive, and the Bluegrass Spark
Taking musical cues from renowned family ensembles like The Duttons and The Haygoods, the Kings have steadily broadened their instrumental color. In addition to a sea of fiddles, 14-year-old Kendall adds rhythmic drive on the mandolin, while eldest daughter Rachel takes on lead vocal duties. Holding down the low end through every tempo shift is patriarch Tim King, whose steady basslines provide the rhythmic engine in an ensemble that performs entirely without percussion.
“Our core strength has always been in the instrumentals,” Kim explains. “People love the fast-paced traditional showstoppers—the twin fiddles, ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown,’ ‘Rocky Top,’ and dueling banjos.”
While Splintered Cross satisfies Caleb’s appetite for loud guitar amps and energetic rock shows, he finds the acoustic drive of Appalachian bluegrass just as electric.
“There’s an incredible amount of energy in bluegrass,” Caleb reflects. “When an audience comes ready to have a great time and you match that energy from the stage, there’s nothing quite like it. It’s an absolute blast.”