Here are some of my favorite photos from Julia Easterlin as she performed at SingStrong 2013. This was the second year that we were privileged to hear her perform. The reception to her music last year made her one of the most popular artists at this year’s festival. There were a few people at her workshop last year. She introduced students to her looping machine, and how she can construct her songs using her voice, and technology. This year, her class was packed to the capacity! So many wanted to listen to her process, and try their hand at looping sounds as a way to create a cappella music.
Students asked questions, and came away with a much better understanding of how she creates her music. Watching her performance live keeps audience engaged as she builds complete full sounds from percussive beats, simple harmonies, to soaring leads. Vocal music fans love it when groups of musicians come together to make these sounds, to see and hear it come from one person is something you have to experience to believe. Yet another reason to make it out to SingStrong if you can!
Another year of covering SingStrong has just ended for me. I congratulate the organizers, volunteers and performers for another successful music festival full for learning, networking, and performing. At this time the Saturday night concerts were amazing to say the least. There was a diverse groups of musicians singing different styles of a cappella on this occasion. The audience was excited during all of the shows. The first band that performed really kicked off the night right! They had a set that got people out of their seats, and right to the front of the stage! The Blue Jupiter band has such an especially energetic, and intense sound. It was impossible not to be amazed at what the human voice can do.
Following their performance, singer Jonathan, the executive producer for SingStrong, had a surprise for his girlfriend, Judy. He brought her up on stage to sing a song especially for her. In general it was the first time I have ever seen Jonathan have a hint of nerves in front of an audience!
Last night was a great start to the SingStrong A cappella Festival in Reston, VA! There were rehearsals for the Single Singers, and the first show, the Aca-Idol contest in the evening. The Single Singers was created so that if you do not have a group to sing with during the weekend, you can join others in the same boat. Join them, and you can add your voice to all the others and maybe meet other people to join up for next year. It is a big task to put this all together with a few rehearsals before a performance on Saturday afternoon! So many strong groups competed this year, and the judging by both a cappella-celebrity judges and the crowd was close! In the end, JMU’s Note-oriety took home both the audience favorite and the overall win. Congratulations!
