A nine-voice a cappella group at full power is something to hear. Those voices powering Straight No Chaser, a vocal group formed at Indiana University back in 1996, create a powerful cascade of sound as they rise, fall and spin harmonies around one another.
That's what Straight No Chaser has been doing for 27 years now, and they've got the acclaim and sales to back up their vocal prowess. Not many acapella groups are scoring gold records these days, and their annual holiday-themed tours play to packed houses.
In fact, the group is out on the road right now on their "Top Shelf" tour, which brings them to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Oct. 25.
And while the show will certainly include holiday classics like "The 12 Days Of Christmas," tenor vocalist Steve Morgan, who is one of the original members of Straight No Chaser, said you can expect a wide variety of tunes.
"It's going to be a fun one," Morgan said. "One of the highlights of our shows (is) that we hit a ton of different genres and different eras. So we've got everything from country music to what's on the radio today. Then of course, we have the holiday classics, which span the last 100 years. So there's a little bit of everything in our show, and we wouldn't have it any other way."
He's not kidding about how eclectic the group's setlist can be. Past performances include everything from the theme from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire" to Oasis hit "Wonderwall" to Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!"
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As Morgan sees it, it's the group's job to reframe those well-worn holiday classics in addition to modern pop songs as vocal showcases.
"Every time we do an arrangement, we put our own little twist on it," he said. "I think with nine voices, you can access so many different textures. It really opens up a world of possibilities of what you can do. And I think that holiday music is certainly the most accessible for a cappella, simply because we all grew up hearing these songs many times."
Straight No Chaser has been around for more than a quarter-century, and a steady stream of young vocalists have come through the group, which is anchored by Morgan, tenor vocalist Jerome Collins and fellow tenor Walter Chase.
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"When you add a new voice, you get that influx of new energy," Morgan said. "The group takes on a different sound. So even if you're doing a song that you're done 500,000 times before, it takes on a new life when you have new voices and new energy onstage."
So how do Morgan and the gang play dozens of shows a year and keep old favorites like "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Silent Night" fresh every night?
"When we get up onstage, every show has to feel like the first one," Morgan said. "If we're not having fun onstage, the audience can't have fun. So we want to make sure that we put together a show that we can love for 60 performances. And we have confidence after all these years that the audience will love it with us."
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