Groups With Unique Identities
For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.
Reason #176: Groups With Unique Identities
I’ll always remember my first trip to ICCA Finals, back in 2007. It’s a show that Noteworthy rightfully won, making a statement for all-female a cappella. A show that featured a raucous classic-rock-rooted set from The Binghamton Crosbys. It was the first time I heard a Christopher Diaz solo.
But for all of these amazing performances, one of the pieces that sticks out most was the set from Rocktavo. Yes, it was a very good set. But all the more so, it was a theatrical, imaginative set that sound like nothing else in contemporary a cappella in the year 2007.
I’m not here today to make an argument that Rocktavo was or is necessarily better than any other group competing in ICCA, but I am writing to emphasize how distinctive a set needs to be to stand out in the mind of critic ten years and over fifty competitions later.
Whether it’s song selection, sound, look, or the combination of these and far less readily labeled factors, a group with its own, unique identity stands out and stands a chance of accomplishing the kind of set that becomes the stuff of legend.
I love it!