On Friday May 13 I had the great pleasure of attending the A Cappella Fellas’ annual concert and the University of Calgary’s MacEwan Ballroom, supporting the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta. For those of you who don’t know, “a capella” is literally a genre of music which involves
singing without instruments, meaning the singers have to produce all the instrument effects with their own voices! Although I had heard of the Fellas previously, I had never really experienced their music before and I waited for this night with much anticipation – I was not disappointed.
This concert was hosted by Candice from the X92.9 fm radio station. It started off with Samantha, a 17-year-old cancer survivor, sharing her experiences with the disease. She told us how she has always been determined to live her life to the fullest and also told us of some of her incredible experiences including climbing a mountain with her prosthetic leg and how the Kids Cancer Care Foundation has helped her reach many of her goals. Samantha was a true inspiration!
On a side note, all the money raised through this concert was donated to this amazing foundation. This included all the money raised through the silent auction which took place throughout the concert’s entirety – it featured cool items such as a music themed gift basket, a spa gift certificate and a professional photography portrait session among other things.
Next, the concert opened with three local artists. First up was Melissa Papp, followed by Sidney York (performing on her adorable Ukulele) and finally Noel Johnson. All these artists were each featured in a different song with the Fellas later on in the concert. I encourage you to check all of them out on Facebook! The audience was even paid a visit by the King of Spain – seriously, this classy and eloquent royal graced the audience with his presence.
Finally, the audience reached the highlight of the evening – The A Cappella Fellas themselves, and I was truly blown away by their music. The Fellas are some of the most versatile musicians I have ever heard where their genre of music is concerned and I don’t think there is a style out there that they cannot perform. As well as performing a few of their originals, they covered artists from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra to Simon & Garfunkel and they also performed popular classics such as “Stayin’ Alive and “Lean on Me.” These oldies but goodies won over the hearts of the older audience members. Remember that the Fellas perform all these pieces without the help of any instruments and each member of this five-man-band has a specific part to play in each song, taking different role from the back beat to the high soprano melody line. Not only can the Fellas sing, they sure can dance! Each of their songs was choreographed with fun and unique moves, really completing their style. In the A Capella Fella’s words, the concert ended with “eruption of applause, standing ovation and fainting audience members from excitement” and was finished with an outstanding cover of “Don’t Stop Believing.”
Since I doubt my article has done enough justice to the A Cappella Fellas, check out their website: http://www.theacappellafellas.com/Home.html