Sometimes you think you know what you're going to write about and other times you end up going in a different direction that planned. That's what happened with this post. It was originally going to be me talking about what I thought of this tour and then it kind of snowballed into something else. I've long since learned that it's better to just go with it when it happens since it doesn't happen a lot. See, seeing this show made me realize a few things about a cappella music and I started off intending to just list a couple of those things. And ended up with practically a full post just talking about those things. So I decided it'd be best to split it up. This part being more about a cappella music in general and the second being about the three main groups on the tour. We had a couple of groups open the show here in Nashville and my thoughts about them will be included in this one,
Now.
I was lucky to grow up with parents who were both able and willing to take me and my brothers to all kinds of events and shows. The first concert I remember going to was Gloria Estefan; my first country concert was Reba McEntire and Vince Gill. I remember going to see A Chorus Line and West Side Story as a kid and Les Misérables in 7th grade. I was exposed to different styles of music from early on and absorbed it all like a kind of musical sponge. I've spent a good chunk of my life watching music performed in one fashion or another. But never had I experienced anything quite like what I experienced almost two weeks ago at the incredible Ryman Auditorium. Roughly two hours of music featuring absolutely no instruments other than the human voice. Or perhaps slightly more accurately, the human body as there was some foot stomps along with some hand claps and snaps. You do not go to the Sing Off Tour; you experience the Sing Off Tour.
Now.
I was lucky to grow up with parents who were both able and willing to take me and my brothers to all kinds of events and shows. The first concert I remember going to was Gloria Estefan; my first country concert was Reba McEntire and Vince Gill. I remember going to see A Chorus Line and West Side Story as a kid and Les Misérables in 7th grade. I was exposed to different styles of music from early on and absorbed it all like a kind of musical sponge. I've spent a good chunk of my life watching music performed in one fashion or another. But never had I experienced anything quite like what I experienced almost two weeks ago at the incredible Ryman Auditorium. Roughly two hours of music featuring absolutely no instruments other than the human voice. Or perhaps slightly more accurately, the human body as there was some foot stomps along with some hand claps and snaps. You do not go to the Sing Off Tour; you experience the Sing Off Tour.
I read a handful of reviews in the past week to see what people were saying about the tour and they were all positive. All of them. One thing that I kept reading over and over was how nothing can prepare you for how powerful a cappella music is live. I thought I had a pretty good idea how it would be and I was wrong. I was very wrong. It was so much more than I expected and I left knowing that I had no choice but to write about it. Hence the second post in a row that is not directly about country music, but that's okay. Because a cappella music is something that everyone can appreciate. If country music speaks to the heart than a cappella music speaks to the soul. So let's talk about it.
The Sing Off , for those who are not aware, was/is a reality show on NBC where multiple a cappella groups competed against each other for a record deal with Sony. I think I might have caught an episode during the first season, but no more than that. I'm having a hard time figuring out just why I never got into it since this is right up my alley, being the sucker for great harmonies that I am. But that doesn't matter.
What does matter? The fact that this show has done some pretty wonderful things for a cappella music. They've proven that a cappella is more than barbershop quartets; it's actually pretty darn cool. It's diverse and interesting and is a breath of fresh air in a time when so much of the music we hear is produced by machines. A machine is just no match for the power of the human voice. It's not even a competition.
If there's one bad thing about a cappella music is that it's done a great job of highlighting everything currently wrong with country music. This is a bit problematic for me, but no matter. I'm not going to harp on this too much, though I do want to say that more performers - country and otherwise - would do well to watch the groups I'm going to talk about and others. They could learn a lot from these guys. Most importantly, help them understand that if you want an audience to care about what you're doing than you have to care. You need to show that you care. If you want an audience to love what you do, than you need to love it and show that you love it.
See, I've determined a few things about a cappella performers lately. The first is that you'd be hard pressed to find people who love music more than they do. You'd have to love music to get involved in something like this. If anyone thinks that what these people do is easy, it isn't. Not at all. It's actually quite difficult. Especially when you consider that they are operating without the safety net that instruments provide. Or a prerecorded track. Everyone needs to be on their game at all times because it's not going to work otherwise. Also worth noting that we tend to be a lot harder on singers when they mess up than we ever are on instrumentalists.
Don't believe me? Think of the last time the entire country, more or less, made fun of a guitarist for messing up on a broadcast of some sort. You can't think of anything, can you? Now think about the last time a singer messed up on some sort of broadcast and got shredded for it by the general public. How many of you can think of more than one example? I'm not saying we never make fun of an instrumentalists, it just happens a whole lot less and never on as big of a scale.
I've mentioned this in both my post about Home Free and my post about VoicePlay, but I'm saying it again. Beat boxers, or vocal percussionists as I think might be the more accurate term, are a completely different kind of human. They just are.
The next thing I've determined about a cappella performers? They take music seriously. What they do not take too seriously, however, is themselves. These are people who aren't afraid to be silly onstage. Take the ping pong game that happens during the show. Yes, they "play" ping pong at one point and it was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever watched in my entire life. Ridiculous and highly amusing. You know, in this time when so many are so worried about looking cool onstage, it's so much more entertaining to watch people being silly. It's a nice change. I'd also argue that it takes more guts. Which brings me to my next determination.
The nature of a cappella music kind of forces the performers to put more of themselves out there. I'm not sure I can really explain it in a way that makes sense. There's just this rawness to it that makes everything you're watching seem more real somehow. Depending on the mood of the song, this can make for a strangely intimate experience. Again, this is one of those things where you can't fully get it until you see it with your own eyes. Watching their videos gives you an idea, and I'm going to include a few. But that's all they'll give you: an idea of what it's like. This particular tour has about a month's worth of shows left and if it's coming to a city near you, I strongly encourage you to go see for yourself. I promise it's worth it. You can go here for more details.
So who will you see on the Sing Off Tour? The three main acts are The Exchange, VoicePlay and Street Corner Symphony. They also seem to find a local a cappella group in each city to open, with other groups joining them for multiple shows. Here in Nashville, we had Timothy's Gift kick off the show with a couple of songs. The sound seemed a little wonky for me, which was unfortunate, but I will say that I liked them enough to want to hear more from them. Our other opener was the Vanderbilt Melodores, who won the last season of The Sing Off. I'll be honest: their first song didn't do much for me. It wasn't bad, mind, I just wasn't feeling it. And then "Take Me to Church", originally by Hozier, happened and my goodness. They said that was the song that won the competition for them and I believe it. That was something, especially the second half. That was when it fully hit me how special and powerful a cappella music is. This is why you should never let one song decide how you feel about an artist as a whole, people. This is why it pays to keep an open mind. Always give an artist the chance to win you over.
If there's one bad thing about a cappella music is that it's done a great job of highlighting everything currently wrong with country music. This is a bit problematic for me, but no matter. I'm not going to harp on this too much, though I do want to say that more performers - country and otherwise - would do well to watch the groups I'm going to talk about and others. They could learn a lot from these guys. Most importantly, help them understand that if you want an audience to care about what you're doing than you have to care. You need to show that you care. If you want an audience to love what you do, than you need to love it and show that you love it.
See, I've determined a few things about a cappella performers lately. The first is that you'd be hard pressed to find people who love music more than they do. You'd have to love music to get involved in something like this. If anyone thinks that what these people do is easy, it isn't. Not at all. It's actually quite difficult. Especially when you consider that they are operating without the safety net that instruments provide. Or a prerecorded track. Everyone needs to be on their game at all times because it's not going to work otherwise. Also worth noting that we tend to be a lot harder on singers when they mess up than we ever are on instrumentalists.
Don't believe me? Think of the last time the entire country, more or less, made fun of a guitarist for messing up on a broadcast of some sort. You can't think of anything, can you? Now think about the last time a singer messed up on some sort of broadcast and got shredded for it by the general public. How many of you can think of more than one example? I'm not saying we never make fun of an instrumentalists, it just happens a whole lot less and never on as big of a scale.
I've mentioned this in both my post about Home Free and my post about VoicePlay, but I'm saying it again. Beat boxers, or vocal percussionists as I think might be the more accurate term, are a completely different kind of human. They just are.
The next thing I've determined about a cappella performers? They take music seriously. What they do not take too seriously, however, is themselves. These are people who aren't afraid to be silly onstage. Take the ping pong game that happens during the show. Yes, they "play" ping pong at one point and it was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever watched in my entire life. Ridiculous and highly amusing. You know, in this time when so many are so worried about looking cool onstage, it's so much more entertaining to watch people being silly. It's a nice change. I'd also argue that it takes more guts. Which brings me to my next determination.
The nature of a cappella music kind of forces the performers to put more of themselves out there. I'm not sure I can really explain it in a way that makes sense. There's just this rawness to it that makes everything you're watching seem more real somehow. Depending on the mood of the song, this can make for a strangely intimate experience. Again, this is one of those things where you can't fully get it until you see it with your own eyes. Watching their videos gives you an idea, and I'm going to include a few. But that's all they'll give you: an idea of what it's like. This particular tour has about a month's worth of shows left and if it's coming to a city near you, I strongly encourage you to go see for yourself. I promise it's worth it. You can go here for more details.
So who will you see on the Sing Off Tour? The three main acts are The Exchange, VoicePlay and Street Corner Symphony. They also seem to find a local a cappella group in each city to open, with other groups joining them for multiple shows. Here in Nashville, we had Timothy's Gift kick off the show with a couple of songs. The sound seemed a little wonky for me, which was unfortunate, but I will say that I liked them enough to want to hear more from them. Our other opener was the Vanderbilt Melodores, who won the last season of The Sing Off. I'll be honest: their first song didn't do much for me. It wasn't bad, mind, I just wasn't feeling it. And then "Take Me to Church", originally by Hozier, happened and my goodness. They said that was the song that won the competition for them and I believe it. That was something, especially the second half. That was when it fully hit me how special and powerful a cappella music is. This is why you should never let one song decide how you feel about an artist as a whole, people. This is why it pays to keep an open mind. Always give an artist the chance to win you over.
Finally, one of my favorite things I've determined about a cappella singers is how incredibly supportive they are of each other. There is an overwhelming sense of community among all of these people. If someone has a new project coming out, others will talk about it and help promote it. If something happens and a group member can't perform for some reason, there's always someone willing to step in for the night. Or nights, as the case may be. They have each other's backs. It's a lot like the country music world, but it seems a lot closer than that. More genuine somehow. I can't tell you how many times one of the performers on the Sing Off tour referred to the members of the other groups as their brothers. All of these groups are all over social media, both as groups and in many cases individually as well. It is not unusual to see a post from someone complimenting another group or another person. In fact you see those kinds of posts pretty often. I think that's pretty awesome.
I also appreciate how people may go to this tour strictly for one group and end up becoming a fan of all of them. If there's one thing I'm sick of in terms of the fan world, it's when fans of one artist form a weird and even insane vendetta against another act. Usually for something ridiculous. So it's quite lovely to see people being supportive of everyone. The three main acts on this tour are pretty different from each other, but it doesn't matter. You can appreciate and enjoy all of them. I'm still pretty new to this world, but I'm so happy to have found it. I sincerely hope more people start checking these groups out because they deserve your attention.
And this feels like a good place to stop. Stay tuned for part 2, where we will focus on the aforementioned three acts. The Exchange, VoicePlay and Street Corner Symphony. Coming soon!
I also appreciate how people may go to this tour strictly for one group and end up becoming a fan of all of them. If there's one thing I'm sick of in terms of the fan world, it's when fans of one artist form a weird and even insane vendetta against another act. Usually for something ridiculous. So it's quite lovely to see people being supportive of everyone. The three main acts on this tour are pretty different from each other, but it doesn't matter. You can appreciate and enjoy all of them. I'm still pretty new to this world, but I'm so happy to have found it. I sincerely hope more people start checking these groups out because they deserve your attention.
And this feels like a good place to stop. Stay tuned for part 2, where we will focus on the aforementioned three acts. The Exchange, VoicePlay and Street Corner Symphony. Coming soon!
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