By Grace Kendrick, MA Law
'An opportunity to bring together South West A capella groups and provide a platform to showcase their talent', Grace Kendrick reviews the South West A Cappella Showcase
Audiences are certainly entertained at the Best of the South West a cappella showcase, held at the Anson rooms this weekend. The University of Bristol a cappella Society hosts a night of a cappella featuring 14 groups from the south-west, including eight of their own auditioned and non-auditioned groups.
A cappella Society won best society in the Students Union society awards last year; and it is no surprise after watching the great number of Bristol students braving their first performance of the year in front of a lively audience at the Anson rooms this weekend. Hosted by the humorous Stanford, the Union affairs officer at the Student’s Union, audiences were treated to an informative yet amusing introduction to each of the performers; which varied from barbershop to modern American styles of a cappella. The talent of the south-west can hardly be underestimated with a penultimate performance from the Bath Aquapella’s who won the national championships in 2017; featured on Broadway; and completed their first UK tour last year. Lydia Kendrick, one of the visiting performers from the group comments ‘it is a real pleasure to perform in Bristol and I cannot wait for the first reveal of fresh choreography for each of the the groups this year.’
This showcase is not intended as a music competition, but an opportunity to bring together South West groups and provide an encouraging platform to showcase their talent. Still, notable performances include Brizzlebox who surprise audiences with an all beatboxing group and an all boys group Semi-Toned from Exeter, leaving the audience swooning for more. Other highlights of the evening include the Bristol Suspensions who performed for their first time, without a founding member of the group. Their performance was incredibly lively and a great watch. Special thanks should be given to the STA team who support the excellent technical and lighting arrangements for the performance.
What makes a cappella such an exciting society is it’s all inclusivity, featuring the talent of both auditioned and non-auditioned choirs across the showcase. This couldn’t be more important for students at University, who need an outlet from spending hours in the library. Abi Towle, a member of Bristol all girl’s auditioned group, Pitch Fight, said ‘I am very excited to perform for the first time this year in the a cappella Society! I cannot wait to see all the other acts. Rehearsals in the lead up to the event have been rigorous, but it will be worth it, so that we feel confident in our performance and it has given us the time to really gel as a group!’
Overall, the best of the south-west showcase doesn’t fail to impress audiences and offers the chance for the society to maintain its dedication to providing opportunities for all members to perform and share their love of singing with other University students. An entertaining show fuelled by the passion and enthusiasm of students, from across the University of Bristol.
Featured Image: Bethany Marris/Epigram
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