FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Performance – MSU Riley Center, Dr. Daniel Barnard, DMA, Executive Director 601.696.2201, [email protected] Media – Leading Edges, Lynn Combest, Vice President-Sales, 601.483.9810, [email protected]

A Cappella Group Straight No Chaser Brings The Open Bar Tour to MSU Riley Center

MERIDIAN, MS – Straight No Chaser, the genre-spanning a cappella group that started as a collegiate hobby, will bring its gorgeous vocal harmonies and exuberant stage presence to the MSU Riley Center on Saturday, October 26, as part of The Open Bar Tour. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

“One reason that people immediately fell in love with Straight No Chaser,” wrote one reviewer, “is the fun they exude.” That spirit of taking the music seriously while performing joyously goes back to the group’s beginning at Indiana University.

A video of a 1998 undergraduate mashup of “The 12 Days of Christmas” and, believe it or not, the Toto song “Africa” unexpectedly went viral in 2006. A record company executive persuaded the singers, who had long since graduated and gone their separate ways, to reunite. Seven albums, several international tours and more than 100 million YouTube views later, the nine men of Straight No Chaser have become stars.

Their concert repertoire ranges from soul and rhythm and blues to pop music of various eras. It often includes playful combinations, such as a fusion of “Motownphilly/This Is How We Do It” by Boyz II Men/Montell Jordan and a medley of Disney songs with satirical new lyrics.

The Open Bar Tour features a couple of new wrinkles. The group will randomly pick a handful of lucky audience members to sit at an onstage table. And it will designate a local restaurant where fans can meet before the show; check @StraightNoChaser on Facebook. The singers even hint that they may drop by themselves for a drink or a song.

“We literally have to pinch ourselves every day that this actually happened,” said tenor Jerome Collins. “Now we’re 10 years still in the game, and we’re still a successful act. We started this just for fun, and now we’re doing it as a career.”

For fans of: Pentatonix, Home Free, The Manhattan Transfer

Tickets are $60 for VIP seats, $45 for A seats and $35 for B seats at the MSU Riley Center Box Office, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before showtime. Tickets can be purchased online at www.msurileycenter.com or by calling the box office at 601.696.2200.

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