By Kendra Creer Hill
Last night I had an evening filled with fun and Christmas cheer as I enjoyed the Octappella concert with my sister, Nicole. This was a very family-friendly show. We were surrounded by toddlers and grandmothers alike and all had a great time.
No need for instruments, these guys create amazing music using only their voices. Octapella is an acapella group of 8 men who created the group 19 years ago while attending the University of Utah. The members include Jeff Loveridge (bass), David Pack (bass), Brett Lambourne (baritone/vocal percussion), Ryan Judkins (tenor/baritone), Matt Cropper (tenor/baritone), Jeremy Griggs (high tenor), and Wes Brewer (high tenor).
It was very apparent during their concert that they had been together for quite a while as they played off of each other and made jokes about everyone in the group. One of my favorite moments was when they called out their bass member (Jeff) to do a raptor impersonation that he’d done years before. They placed a small stool in the middle of the stage and egged him on. My sister and I looked at each other and she said to me “He’s going to fall on his face….” We sat on the edge of our seats as Jeff curled his fingers like raptor claws and started shrieking and stalking towards the stool. He bent his knees and sprang up. He didn’t fall, but also didn’t quite make it on top of the stool which was flung across the stage. They also had Jeff say quite a few things in his low bass voice such as “Hello”, “Merry Christmas”, and “Chubby Bunny” and had the women in the audience swooning.
Throughout their concert, they kept the energy up by not only laughing and joking, but having small acts such as their “Octapiece Theater” performed by Jeff and David where they quite poshly analyzed the soul-wrenching emotional songs such as “Ice, Ice Baby”, and “What Does the Fox Say.”
The music was all fantastic. While I loved listening to them through the audio system, one of my favorite songs was when Octappella put away their microphones to give their audio man, Mike, his “Union break.” There is something very raw and beautiful about hearing their voices unaltered by a microphone. When they finished their microphone-less version of “O Holy Night” they received the loudest applause of the evening.
They did a mix of traditional Christmas hymns and songs and also had a few fun ones thrown in such as “I Think I got this Last Year” and “Kiss the Girl”, complete with mistletoe that they carried around the audience encouraging couples to kiss.
I loved the upbeat songs like “Joy to the World” and “Mary’s Little Boy Child” and saw quite a few of the audience dancing in their seats.
Near the end of the concert, they asked the audience to raise their hand if it was their first time at an Octappella concert. My sister and I raised our hands along with about ⅓ of the audience. They continued to ask the rest to raise their hand if they’d been to a concert before. Two concerts, three, etc. Some of their fans had their hand raised even up to 10+ concerts. Having such devoted concert-goers is a testament to how fun and talented they are.
After the concert ended all of the group members went out to the lobby to meet and talk to their fans. They gathered together to get a picture for my review, and they decided to give an impromptu performance of their song “The Voice”. It was a great intimate gathering of around 20-30 of their concert attendees as they serenaded us from the steps.
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While I was among those who rose their hand as a first-timer to their concert, I plan on becoming a veteran and attending more of their concerts. I highly recommend seeing them when they have a concert or booking them for an event. They will keep you entertained, toe-tapping, and laughing throughout the evening.
The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center presents Octapella Christmas Concert 2017
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center 138 Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
December 20, 2017 7:30 PM
Octappella Facebook Event
What a great review! Thanks for all of the nice words! We look forward to seeing you at a concert again soon!