By Taylor Roar
Complete with lights, singing and choreography, the real-live Pitch Perfect movie unfolded as campus a cappella group DaCadence held their annual Fall Show Dec. 7 in Hoff Theatre.
Including a wide range of music genres, DaCadence performed a cappella covers of songs from Daniel Caesar to Demi Lovato. The group highlighted both music from their 2016 competition season and two songs that will be included in their 2017 run for the win at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA).
A guest group, Catholic University’s Redline A Cappella, made appearances during the beginning and middle of the show. They performed a set of songs that paid their respects to the past, including artists such as Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.
Though DaCadence is gearing up for a tough season of competition, they made plenty of time for fun during the show. The second half of their performance included a medley of songs from the 2000s. Almost all of the group members took turns soloing the top hits from the early years of the decade.
Freshman psychology major Alex Alberta said the medley was her favorite part of the show. The music reminded her of the old days, she said.
They also included a brief all girls song. The girl group members personalized the lyrics to “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys and poked fun at their male groupmates. Sophomore journalism major Kira Barrett said the girls had problems writing the lyrics, until a senior groupmate stepped in to create the clever rhymes. “Apparently Zoe is a great rapper,” said Barrett.
During intermission, DaCadence debuted their new single, a cover of River by Bishop Briggs. A part of their ICCA set last year, the song has proven to be a staple for the group. Alberta said she was surprised to hear it recorded after having heard it performed live moments before. “It was really good both live and recorded,” she said.
Now, with the show out of the way, the group will be looking toward the future. The first round of the ICCAs are in February, but preparation for the competition will begin now, said junior marketing and supply chain management major Aron Kaufman. “We’ve been competing for a few years now, so we know what to expect,” Kaufman said.
ICCA quarterfinals will be held at the University of Maryland Feb. 3.
Coinciding with the same time of year, DaCadence should be releasing their newest album around late January or early February, said junior hearing and speech sciences major Jonathon O’Neal. “I’m pumped. It’s definitely a new sound. It’s edgy and exciting,” he said.
The group has not yet posted an announcement about the official release of the album.
Featured Photo Credit: Courtesy of DaCadence’s Facebook page.
Taylor Roar is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at troar@terpmail.umd.edu.
