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Health & Fitness

Spookapella X: Annual A Cappella Festival Celebrates 10th Year on 10/26

A fun Halloween-themed gathering of top-notch a cappella groups, the all-ages festival will take place on October 26 at TCAN. This year's featured guests are North Shore Acappella, as seen on NBC's The Sing-Off.

Now in its tenth year, Spookapella X is ready to deliver scary-good vocals and eerily perfect harmonies at The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) on October 26. Always set around Halloween, Spookapella brings together the best a cappella groups for a night of festive song and costumed fun. The annual festival of all-vocal contemporary music was born in 2003, when a local a cappella convention drew the best vocal groups from around the world to Boston. The groups were free on Friday night, and producer Deborah Marion brought a collection of them together for short sets, culminating in an impromptu “In the Still of the Night.”

“A cappella music, when done well, is completely electrifying,” says Marion. “When the voices harmonize, the immediacy of the experience can be addictive. Without instruments, there’s nowhere to hide and no safety net for the singers.” The best groups present new and exciting ways to use their voices, bringing humor and panache to the effortless vocals. As Marion points out, these shows, though well-rehearsed, are always full of surprises and “lots of treats and a few tricks too.” The intimacy of the TCAN venue boosts the experience by making the audience feel like they’re in the center of the action.

A loyal following has attended Spookapella in the last ten years, which Marion calls the go-to event for vocal thrill-seekers. Each year, the staff, performers, and audience appear in their best Halloween costumes to get into the spirit of the event. In the past, featured performers have included Duwende (seen on The Voice), Tufts’ Beelzebubs (as seen on The Sing-Off and heard on Glee), Berklee’s PitchSlapped (as seen on The Sing-Off), and other nationally recognized a cappella groups.

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This year, Spookapella is proud to present North Shore Acappella, recently seen on The Sing-Off. With a frightfully good blend of harmony, humor, and heart, the group’s return to TCAN is sure to be a toe-tapping good time. Openers include last year’s International College A Cappella (ICCA) champions the Nor’easters, and Natick High School’s student-run vocal band, Seven’s Not Enough.

Spookapella has become a place where amateur groups can perform with veteran groups and learn from the pros. The event provides a platform for the groups to debut new songs and try new ideas on a full audience. The results are always the same year after year: moving, heartwarming, and often funny performances from singers that collaborate and bring out the best in each other.

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“The best groups experiment with creating sounds and blends,” says Marion, “charting new frontiers for the human voice. It’s a phenomenal experience.”

Spookapella X takes place at The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) on Saturday, October 26. Tickets are available on the TCAN website. Be sure to wear your favorite costume!





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