By Stephanie Terry
The walls will ring in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium tonight as eleven different A Cappella groups harmonize at A Cappella Jam.
'We sell it out pretty much every time,' said Neil Harrington, head adviser for the A Cappella Club. 'People come from Southern Utah just to come to the Jam.'
The A Cappella Jam concert highlights a mixture of voices from oldies and pop to bluegrass, barbershop and even some comedy.
Vocal Point, Milk, Moosebutter, BYU Jazz Voices, Blue Cheese, Neon Green, Avenue, Volume 2, Noteworthy, The Skirts, and Shine will perform in tonight''s show.
'I''ve seen groups at other schools and they all seem to be singing around pop, for the most part,' said Brittany Heiner, the A Cappella Club secretary. 'I think it''s really cool that we have this huge spectrum of different styles of music instead of just focusing on pop.'
One detail that makes this season''s Jam different is the debut of three all-girl groups performing: Noteworthy, Avenue and The Skirts.
'Not only are there three of them, there''s three of them at a competitive level -- they''re good!' said Suzanne Hanson, the A Cappella Club president.
Included in the lineup for the concert is Vocal Point, who placed second in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella earlier this month.
BYUSA President Dave Johnson, a former member of Vocal Point, will emcee the jam.
'And if you know anything about Dave Johnson, you know it''s going to be entertaining to see,' Hanson said.
Most of the experienced groups are singing a couple original songs or original arrangements, she added.
To include more performing groups, the A Cappella Club decided to cut back on how much time groups are given and to have one large concert instead of two small ones in one evening, Hanson said.
For the past twelve years, the A Cappella Club sponsored the semi-annual A Cappella Jam every fall and spring.
'The spring jam is generally bigger, since some groups have been working for six months,' Hanson said.
Harrington said the club provides the Jam to give performers experience.
'Our overall goal in the club is to provide a venue for these groups that wouldn''t be able to carry an hour and a half show by themselves,' he said. 'This provides a venue for kids that have good voices and ideas and want to perform in front of people.'
Harrington said he anticipates the Jam and the different groups'' twists on familiar songs.
'It''s really because it''s such a fun variety of music,' he said. 'Everybody goes out just feeling good. It''s wonderful music. It''s homemade.'
Tickets are $5 at the Wilkinson Center Information Desk or $6 at the door. The A Cappella Jam is tonight at 7 p.m. in the JSB auditorium.