LISA DENTON: Barry, I have to admit I had never heard of the singers coming Friday to the Tivoli Theatre, but maybe that’s because they’re brand new. They’re called DCappella, which is a mash-up of “Disney,” who put them together after a nationwide search, and “a cappella,” which is how they sing, without musical accompaniment. They do Disney songs like “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana,” and “When Somebody Loved Me” from “Toy Story 2.”
BARRY COURTER: Isn’t it amazing how giving an Italian name to what people do in the shower makes it sound legit? I believe the Southern term is caterwauling.
LISA: A cappella music seems to be having a moment. The three “Pitch Perfect” movies have all been huge hits, and Voices of Lee, the a cappella ensemble at Lee University, got some national exposure when they appeared on the first season of NBC’s “The Sing Off.”
BARRY: Seriously, it’s really impressive when people sing well enough to not need accompaniment. It’s also fun to hear the arrangements.
LISA: Exactly. One review I read raved about Dcappella’s rendition of a “Three Little Pigs” cartoon, so it sounds like they’re plenty talented.
And I like how a lot of a cappella groups give themselves punny names, like Clef Hangers and Treble Threat and AcousChicks and Chord of the Rings and The Tone Commandments. I could go on, but you get the idea.
BARRY: Another show this week that is a little bit different will be Muriel Anderson at Songbirds on Friday. She plays a harp-guitar, which is exactly what the name says it is. It looks like a cartoonist came up with the idea, but it is beautiful when played well, and she is very good.
LISA: It looks like a guitar with a cowlick to me.
BARRY: She plays everything from Beatles to country to jazz and to classical to bluegrass, but what makes it even more interesting is that photo-artist/cinematographer Bryan Allen created a visual component that will be shown on a screen behind her while she performs.
LISA: And Riverbend got a lot of press last week, but it’s worth noting that tickets for Jfest, J103’s big Christian music festival on May 18, go on sale Thursday at www.jfest.com. Their big news this year is that they’re moving from Camp Jordan to bigger digs at the Tennessee Riverpark. Lecrae and Matthew West are co-headlining.
BARRY: Funny you mention that. I was just telling someone who was disappointed that Riverbend’s “sweet tea night,” as I dubbed Faith & Family Night, was going away that they could go to Jfest. It will be interesting to see how both festivals do with their changes.
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Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.