At Work - The Observer

18 Supplement to the OBSERVER • Saturday, March 24, 2012 VISION 2012
PLAY
There are two unique
events slated as part of the
spring performance series at
the 1891 Fredonia Opera
House, one featuring nearly
70 high energy, young performers
in late March, and
one that allows audience
members to play a part in a
folk music performance.
The Guerrillas
ACAPPELLA EXPLO-
SION
The Opera House sage
will erupt in an explosion of
acappella music at 7 p.m. on
Friday, March 30, when five
high-energy acappella
singing groups from SUNY
Fredonia come together on
one stage for one night in
Acappella Explosion.
Each of the five groups …
The Guerrillas, Much More
Chill, Premium Blend, The
Riveters and Some Like it
Hot … will present its own
performance set of traditional
and contemporary
songs. With the dramatic
rise in popularity of acappella-based
television competition
shows, such as The
Sing-Off, the Opera House
expects that tickets will sell
briskly.
The all-male group The
Guerrillas was formed at
SUNY Fredonia in the fall
of 2008 and has performed
on college campuses
throughout New York state.
This past summer, the
group was chosen to compete
in the nationally televised
singing competition
“America Sings.” The group
ultimately finished fifth in
the nationwide competition,
which aired on the Gospel
Music Channel (GMC) and
featured thousands of hopefuls
from a variety of musical
genres. The show was
hosted by Drew Lachey, a
member of the 1990s pop
music sensation 98 Degrees
and a former “Dancing with
the Stars” winner. Call-in
votes from the television
viewing audience determined
the contest outcome.
Founded in 2000, Much
More Chill is the oldest allmale
a cappella group on
campus. In 2009, Much
More Chill and Some Like
it Hot, the oldest all-female
a cappella group on campus,
opened for alternative
rock singer-songwriter Ben
Folds at Kleinhans Music
Hall in Buffalo. Each group
performed acappella versions
of Folds’ songs in
addition to their own selections.
Premium Blend is the
only coed a cappella group
on campus. It was formed
in 2005. The all-female
group The Riveters is the
newest a cappella group,
formed just this year.
Acappella music originally
was defined as music “in
the manner of the church
(or chapel).” In modern
usage, a cappella refers to
an unaccompanied, vocal
group performance of any
style, including barbershop,
doo wop and modern
pop/rock. Acappella groups
exploded in popularity
beginning in the 1990s,
fueled in part by a change in
style to one which utilizes
voices to emulate modern
rock instruments, including
percussion instruments or
“beatboxing.”
Tickets to Acappella
Explosion are $10 ($8 for
students) and may be purchased
in person at the
Opera House Box Office or
by phone at 716-679-1891,
Tuesday through Friday, 1-
5 p.m. They also may be
purchased online any time
at www.fredopera.org. This
performance is made possible,
in part, with public
funds from the United Arts
Appeal of Chautauqua
County.
ROLLING ROOTS
REVUE
A music revolution is
coming to town on April 20,
when the Rolling Roots
Revue takes the Opera
House stage.
Wepecket Island
Records, a traditional music
label based in southeastern
Massachusetts, has set out
to revolutionize the way
folk musicians and audiences
get together. Each
spring a group of Wepecket
Island recording artists performs
in a revue format,
with some individual performances
and lots of
opportunities for interplay
among the musicians, as
well.
This revue comes to the
Opera House April 20 at 8
p.m., and will feature Don
Barry, Andru Bemis, Dale
Robin Goodman, Hilary
Hawke, Russ Mello, Phil
Minissale, “Ragtime” Jack
Some Like It Hot
Fredonia Opera House to present two unique performance events
Radcliffe and The Ruckus
Brothers Jug Band. At the
end of the show the troupe
invites members of the
audience who play an
instrument and sing to join
them on stage in a closing
jam session, campfire-style.
“If you have a recognizable
musical instrument, we
want you to play with us,”
says “Ragtime” Jack
Radcliffe, Wepecket’s selfstyled
“President,
Packer/Shipper and
Dishwasher.”
“And if you have an
unrecognizable instrument,
we want you to come with
us on next year’s tour,” he
laughingly adds.
Based loosely on the
Theater Owners Booking
Association that booked
African-American performers
in the 1920s, the tour
will strut its stuff on stages
in more than a dozen cities
throughout the East this
spring. “We’re trying to
reconnect more directly
with our audiences, and in
a less structured, more fun
way,” adds Radcliffe, who
also plays ragtime piano
with the troupe.
Tickets for Rolling Roots
Revue are $15 ($13 for
Opera House members),
and can be purchased at the
box office (716-679-1891)
or online at
www.fredopera.org. may be
purchased in person at the
Much More Chill
Opera House Box Office or
by phone at 716-679-1891,
Tuesday through Friday, 1-
5 p.m. They also may be
purchased online any time
at www.fredopera.org. This
performance is made possible,
in part, with public
funds from the United Arts
Appeal of Chautauqua
County.
Chautauqua County’s
only performing arts center
presenting its own programming
year-round, the 1891
Fredonia Opera House is a
member-supported not-forprofit
organization located
in Village Hall in downtown
Fredonia. A complete
schedule of events is available
at www.fredopera.org.