Teens explain why they love being in a barbershop quartet
In Cadillac, Michigan, young singers find that barbershop = challenge + fun.
This great story from the Cadillac News hits all the highlights—the evolving culture of barbershop, its accessibility for all singers, and the breadth of the barbershop repertoire:
The range of music performed by modern groups runs the gamut, from Doo Wop and jazz to pop and hip hop. “The repertoire is definitely modernizing,” said Caleb, who added that movies like “Pitch Perfect,” and groups like the Pentatonix and Home Free are changing the perception people, especially young people, have about barbershop singing and a cappella singing, in general. “It’s just fantastic!,” said one member of the Cadillac Area Youth Chorus, which is a group of singers from around the state that rehearse at the First Presbyterian Church in Cadillac; Cole is the director of the group. When asked if they felt barbershop singing and a cappella performance was becoming more popular among young people, the consensus was that it definitely was, largely as a result of how much attention the art form has received in recent years.