Tag: barbershop

New Tunesday – June 11, 2019

It may be summer, but we’re still enjoying new music!

Voicebox

What better way to start off this week than a tribute to Pride with a cover of The Greatest.

Vadé

We sincerely hope you’re not still sleeping on this group because we’re a little obsessed. Enjoy another smooth cover from this London sensation.

a cappella, Vadé, UK, London, R&B, Janet Jackson, cover song, a capella, singing

N’Harmonics

One last piece from their winning ICCA set – enjoy the champions’ live take of Choker’s “Juno.”

a cappella, ICCA, live music, NYU, Juno, Choker, singing, a capella

Studio 4

We’re getting SUPER excited about BHS International in Salt Lake City next month, so imagine our joy to see this live performance of a Chicago tune done by one of the world’s top quartets.

barbershop, quartet, BHS, Chicago, a cappella, live music

Reverse Osmosis

Sung live, RO took on the Staves, led by Sarah Exodus.

a cappella, singing, cover song, mashup, USC, California, Los Angeles

New Tunesday – May 28, 2019

Summer unofficially kicked off here in the U.S. while the new a cappella releases stay hot. Here are this week’s top new releases:

Pentatonix

The wave from Dear Evan Hansen hasn’t crested yet, and PTX rides it just fine.

a cappella, Pentatonix, PTX, Dear Evan Hansen, broadway, singing, music video, a capella

2018 AIC Show Highlights

Counting down the minutes until the BHS International Convention in Salt Lake City this  summer? Well, this probably isn’t going to alleviate that excitement – some highlights from last year’s AIC Show:

barbershop, quartet, a cappella, champions, Main Street, Gas House Gang, OC Times, Interstate Rivals, Instant Classic, Debbie Cleveland, AIC, BHS, Storm Front, Forefront, Crossroads

MAZE Voices

A beautiful original song with a spot on music video – watching this group out of Aarhus makes us a little extra sad we aren’t in Denmark this week!

a cappella, Denmark, Aarhus, singing, original music, a capella

Limited Edition

One of the best high school groups in the US, this Ben Rector cover is the perfect fit for the powerhouses from Port Washington.

a cappella, Wisconsin, Port Washington, Ben Rector, Amanda Taylor, Justin Critchfield, Ed Boyer,

The Lost Keys

Everyone loves a good couch video and this Bastille cover hits all the right places. Check out the latest from this superstar CAL group out of NYC.

a cappella, singing, NYC, live music, a capella, couch video

Take Flight 

Perhaps the first cover of an Avi Kaplan original since the former Pentatonix bass pursued his solo career, done by Harmony Sweepstakes finalists, Take Flight.

a cappella, JourneyDay, San Francisco, Take Flight, Harmony Sweepstakes, Avi Kaplan, singing, a capella, Pentatonix, PTX

Collaborate

A relatively new group out of London, Collaborate put a little shine on their live performance of My My My.

a cappella, live music, singing, London, UK, a capella

Tonal Ecstasy

McGill University’s oldest a cappella group performed a Vulfpeck cover to close out the spring semester.

a cappella, singing, live music, McGill, Canada, collegiate, a capella

 

Acaville Partners with BHS to Bring You MORE Barbershop

Here at Acaville, we love all styles of a cappella. Throughout each day we play a mix of contemporary, jazz, comedy, classical, and barbershop to make sure our all-vocal music fans get a great mix of a cappella.

This year, we’ve made a commitment to expand our library – especially in barbershop – so, it’s with great pleasure and excitement that we announce that we are working with Barbershop Harmony Society to bring you some of the best barbershop music EVER.

With the help of the staff at BHS Headquarters, we’ll be playing the audio from past international contests and showcases, recent and not so recent, so that fans can hear the best of barbershop from all generations.

We’ll kick things off this week with a recording of the 1965 Medalist Showcase, airing on Friday Night Live starting at 6 pm PDT/9 pm EDT. The 1965 Contest took place in Boston and The Four Renegades earned the gold. Also performing at this showcase are The Four Rascals (2nd Place), The Impostors (3rd Place,) The Auto Towners (4th Place & 1966 Champions), The Four Statesmen (5th Place & 1967 Champions), plus a swan song set from the 1964 Champions, The Sidewinders.

Tune in for FREE right here on Acaville.org (or on the Acaville (Apple) and TuneIn (Android) apps). If you can’t tune in on Friday night, the show will re-air during our Saturday Rebroadcasts at 8 am & 8 pm PDT (11 am & 11 pm EDT).

For even more barbershop, don’t forget to listen to our weekly special “ShopTalk” hosted by Mark Holdeman Thursdays at 4 pm PDT/7 pm EDT. It re-airs Saturdays at midnight & noon PDT (3 am & 3 pm EDT).

Want to hear even more? Here’s what you can do:

Submit YOUR favorite albums for us to play.

Submit a request or dedication for our weekly Requests & Dedications Show.

Reach out to BHS to support their ongoing initiative to digitize recordings from the pre-digital age!

 

New Tunesday – April 16, 2019

We’re pretty close to the end of the school year, so we’re waiting with unbridled anticipation of all the aca-goodness to come! And lucky for all of us, the end of year release extravaganza has begun.

But first – reigning Barbershop Harmony Society Quartet Champions, After Hours, performed LIVE on the Today Show in honor of Barbershop Quartet Day! Barbershop Quartet Day (April 11) honors the official beginning of organized barbershop with the founding of BHS, now 81 years strong. Watch it HERE.

And there aren’t any videos (yet), but 2018 National Harmony Sweepstakes Champions, 2018 AcaOpen Finalists, and now 2019 VoiceJam Champions, Business Casual, just dropped a new album. Check it out now on Spotify and then get your own copy on iTunes or Amazon!

PFC

This outstanding high school group out of San Antonio is on their way to NYC to compete in ICHSA next week, but they gave us THIS goodness before they go. And within just days of release, it has nearly 65,000 views!

a cappella, San Antonio, PFC, high school, choral program, Texas, Panic at the Disco, cover song, music video, a capella

Committed

The Sing-Off Season 2 Champions prove they still have the magic that won them the top prize.

a cappella, Jonas Brothers, Sing-Off, sing off, Alabama, Commited, cover song, music video

Six13

These recent CARA winners just keep putting out the hits. Chag Kasher v’Sameach!

Lion King, Passover, Disney, Jewish, a cappella, NYC, a capella

Citizen Queen

The fire is still burning hot for Citizen Queen who surprised fans with a live take of “Too Little, Too Late” over the weekend.

a cappella, cover song, girl group, Ben Bram, JoJo, Scott Hoying, Pentatonix

North Cape

Alright, we know at least some of you are back in Game of Thrones heaven. Here’s a treat for you out of Poland. And it’s cool to listen to even if you aren’t a fan of the show.

Game of Thrones, a cappella, Poland, singing, music video, theme song, tv, HBO, a capella

Duke Pitchforks

This Shawn Mendes song has made quite the rounds in a cappella circles this year. Pair it with a great video and some nice dance moves and we’re sold.

a cappella, Duke, Shawn Mendes, cover song, music video, a capella

5280 A Cappella

A Jonas/Zedd mashup done a cappella? Yes.

mashup, a cappella, Colorado, singing, a capella

Flight Scene

Who knew there were more country a cappella groups out there? It was good news to us, so we wanted to share this awesome Kelsea Ballerini cover.

a cappella, country, cover song, Kelsea Ballerini, music video, a capella

The Chromatix

I’m ready for a new cover of Royals. Enjoy this live take from Wisconsin.

CAL, a cappella, Royals, Lorde, cover song, live music, a capella

The Eight Tracks

So, this Jonas Brothers tune is just *so* catchy, we have another version for you.

a cappella, Boston, Jonas Brothers, Sucker, Eight Tracks, CAL, a capella

Colour of Voices

This Malaysian group is so excited for Ed Sheeran to make a tour stop, they used this music video as a lover letter.

a cappella, Malaysia, voices, Ed Sheeran, cover song, a capella

Pitches Be Trippin’

If Ariana Grande is going to own the charts, it only makes sense to put out a mashup.

Ariana Grande, a cappella, American, cover song, collegiate, a capella

Elementary Mix

I can never resist talented elementary school kids singing great music. Hear the latest from this super talented group of barbershop’s future.

barbershop, a cappella, Broadway, elementary, a capella, quartet

And while this isn’t new, Ringmasters‘ stellar version of “Notre Dame Medley” made the rounds this week as the world watched fire engulf the treasured and storied cathedral in the heart of Paris. As we saw in so many news clips, music is already bringing peace to those feeling the impact of the loss.

a cappella, Notre Dame, barbershop, Ringmasters, BHS, harmony, quartet

 

 

 

New Tunesday – March 12, 2019

This week’s #NewTunesday brings some heavy-hitters this week. From world class, to world champions, to worldwide, we’ve got your need for new a cappella amply covered this week:

The Swingles

Now with two new ladies, The Swingles quietly dropped this Spanish lullaby and it wows. Did you expect anything less?

Swingles, singing, harmony, a cappella, lullaby, folk music

Naturally 7

Somewhat under the radar, top US vocal group N7 has been competing on The World’s Best Championship. Their most recent performance was a tribute of “Fix You”, but you can also see their cover of the iconic “In The Air Tonight” or their audition using “Wall of Sound.”

N7, a cappella, vocal play, singing, World's Best, TV, harmony, a capella

Women of the World

Two new videos in two weeks from this amazing group? We feel spoiled.

Women of the World, folk, a cappella, singing, international, harmony, traditional, a capella

Cadence

Losing power might be your worst nightmare, but what if it meant an impromptu unplugged set from one of the best jazz quartets in the business? Here they are entertaining in the dark at Beach Fire Brewing and Nosh House.

a cappella, power outage, unplugged, jazz, singing, Cadence

VoicePlay

In their first PartWorks installment of Season 2, the fellas of VoicePlay bring us a cover of “Mr. Blue Sky” that is sure to brighten your day.

a cappella, VoicePlay, The Sing-Off, live music, singing, a capella,

Scott & Ryceejo

This dynamic duo caught the attention of the composer with their medley of songs from Mary Poppins Returns – the latest in their long series of Disney covers.

Disney, a cappella, Mary Poppins, medley, singing, vocals, cover song, Utah, Scott, Ryceejo

BisCaydence

The recently crowned South Regional Finalists for this year’s ICCA just released a live video of their performance of “No Air” from the Betsy A Cappella Festival in the fall.

BisCaydence, ICCA, South Beach, Betsy, A Cappella , singing, live music

MVP | After5 | The Macabellas | Centenary Vocal Ensemble

The ladies of Aussie a cappella came together for a cover of “Independent Women” in honor of International Women’s Day.

a cappella, MVP, Maccabellas, Centenery Vocal Group, After 5, Aussie, Australia, women, International Women's Day

The Eight Tracks

This Boston-based CAL group just snagged 2nd place at the Boston Harmony Sweepstakes – here’s footage of their whole set!

a cappella, Boston, Harmony Sweeps, singing, competition, harmony, vocal, contest

The Techtonics

Have you been following the #SmashHitSunday series? Here’s the latest out of the UK’s top collegiate group:

UK, a cappella, Techtonics, live music, SmashHitSunday, singing, Mabel

And this one was a little late to come to our attention, but here’s a new-ish Geico ad featuring a “barbershop quartet”:

insurance, GEICO, barbershop, quartet, commercial, singing, a cappella

 

New Tunesday – February 26, 2019

Women of the World

Winners of the inaugural Varsity Vocals AcaOpen have a long list of accolades and rightfully so. Singing songs from around the world, this quartet born out of Berklee just released their version of the American Negro Spiritual, “Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho.”

a cappella, world music, Women of the World, folk music, spiritual, Berklee, Varsity Vocals, singing

Ringmasters

While performing in Germany, the 2012 BHS International Quartet Champions out of Sweden rung sweet chords inside a local cathedral.

barbershop, tag, singing, Germany, Sweden, BHS, a cappella, a capella

Citizen Queen

The girl group backed by the star power of Pentatonix is still on the rise and their latest song “Never Enough” features a simple yet powerful delivery.

female, a cappella, Pentatonix, Scott Hoying, Ben Bram, singing, YouTube

Vadé

Who doesn’t love Jamiroquai – especially when it’s sung this well? This a cappella quintet out of London claims influences from Take 6 and Committed among others and it shows.

90s music, a cappella, singing, Jamiroquai, R&B, harmony, quintet, a capella

On’lar A Cappella

Some great fun out of Turkey produced by Grammy-winning engineer, Bill Hare.

a cappella, Bill Hare, Turkey, Ankara, singing, music video

Jared Halley

The one-man a cappella sensation is back with a five-song medley from Journey.

Jared Halley, multitrack, singing, Journey, a cappella, YouTube

The Techtonics

As part of their series called #SmashHitSunday, the UK a cappella stars and 2016 ICCA Champions are pushing boundaries with their latest release, tackling subjects outside of their comfort zones.

Techtonics, UK, a cappella, singers, a capella, harmony, Varsity Vocals, ICCA

After School Specials

From the Claremont Colleges consortium in California, the 2018 ICCA Wildcard Finalist released a hot cover of Ariana Grande’s “Greedy.”

Ariana Grande, a cappella, singing, California, harmony

AcaBelles

The standout group of women from FSU gave us a live cover of Demi Lovato this week.

Demi Lovato, a cappella, FSU, Florida, singing, live music

Stratus Quartet

Topping the field of High School Quartets at Arvada High School last week, the future of barbershop looks bright.

barbershop, quartet, singing, high school, Rocky Mountain

 

One Minute With: After Hours

With humble beginnings in college, over a decade of dedication (and many more years in barbershop and music!), and a couple membership changes, After Hours reached the pinnacle of barbershop in Orlando last summer: they became the 2018 International Quartet Champions. They not only won, they earned the highest score in Society history.

This honor comes with far more than a set of gold medals and a trophy. Tim Beutel, Dan Wessler, Drew Ochoa, and Bryan Ziegler now find their place among the greats, honored with a permanent place in Harmony Hall. Their talent will be heard around the globe in coming years, but we got to catch up with them backstage at the Grand Ole Opry during #BHSOpry.

Here is One Minute With: After Hours –