The University of Connecticut’s A Cappella groups showed out at its annual Spookapella performance at the Storrs Congregational Church Friday night. The church was filled as the performance included all 10 of UConn’s A cappella groups and featured creative costumes and complex performances.
This concert was the first of the semester to feature the groups’ “newbs” (new members) and was an exciting time for them to preview the rest of the year.
Husky Hungama, UConn’s South Asian fusion a cappella group, is co-ed and performs in five-part harmony with vocal percussion. This semester, the group welcomed four new members: three freshmen and one senior. The additions filled a specific need, since two are sopranos, one is a tenor and one is a bass, a part the group was short on.
“We’re so happy to have them, and they’re all so talented,” said Musical Director Ilakiya Prabhu, a third-semester molecular and biology student. “We really needed basses, so that was great. They added to our sound in such a positive way, making it more resonant and more full. They have such good chemistry with the group, and we’re such a good family.”
The group showed off both its range and its sense of community in a two-part set. Its first number blended “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber with “Sooraj Dooba Hai,” a popular Hindi song by Arijit Singh. The performance closed with “Emperor’s New Clothes” by Panic! at the Disco.
The group was also dressed to the nines in spooky attire, and the audience loved trying to guess what each person’s costume was.
The Rolling Tones also brought a fun set of costumes as every member was dressed as a character from “Minecraft.” “We are singing ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ by Tenacious D, so not the Britney Spears version, but the Jack Black version, so I tried to bring that energy. And then we are singing ‘I Know the End’ by Phoebe Bridgers. We are all dressed up as Minecraft characters, so for ‘I Know the End,’ there might be a funny little bit in there. I’ll tease that for the audience,” said Rolling Tones President Emily Goodman, a seventh-semester allied health sciences major.
From the “Minecraft” theme to the energy of their set, the performance showed just how bonded the group is, and Goodman said this bond is a big part of what is coming for the rest of the semester.
“We’re going to be doing some gigs here and there, especially when it comes to the holiday season,” Goodman said. “We’re going to go to some nursing homes and sing some holiday songs, and also songs that are requests for them. I’m really excited to give back to the community.”
Looking ahead to next semester, the group plans to record an album, which Goodman hopes to release sometime next year. “We’re very excited to be recording and releasing that,” she said. The group also has plenty of bonding planned, including a 24-hour stay at McDonald’s together, a retreat next semester and a group trip.
Another standout in the costume lineup was A Completely Different Note, whose members took the stage as “SpongeBob” characters, adding even more color to an already imaginative night.
By the end of the evening, it was clear that Spookapella was more than Halloween fun. Between the packed audience, the new members stepping into the spotlight for the first time, and costumes ranging from Minecraft to Bikini Bottom, the night showed the creativity, humor and community that define UConn’s A cappella groups. If this concert was any preview, the rest of the year is going to sound amazing.