A cappella group Tuckermans at 9 returns to Hackmatack Playhouse, 538 School Street, (Route 9) Berwick, Maine, on Saturday, June 20. The group performs many long-time audience favorites as well as recently added tunes. Tuckermans at 9's original, high-octane arrangement of The Temptations' classic Motown anthem, "I Can't Get Next to You", received praise from judges at the recent 2009 Harmony Sweeps a cappella competition at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Based in the Seacoast, the seven-voice vocal band, dubbed "T9" by fans, has entertained audiences of all ages from Boston and Massachusetts' South Shore to Lewiston, Maine, and in New Hampshire from Portsmouth to Nashua and into the Lakes Region. "We call ourselves a band," says founder and baritone
Mark Miller, "because our voices make all the music. No instruments or pre-recorded instrumental tracks are ever used. Everything you hear, from the vocals to what sounds maybe a bit like electric guitars or trumpets, is just us. Even the drums - a technique called vocal percussion - come from our throats and lips. If you've heard groups such as Rockapella, Ball in the House, or
Toxic Audio, that's the style - and it's a real blast!"
Tuckermans at 9 performs well-known pop, rock, blues, and light jazz favorites from as far back as the 1920s, but mostly music of the 1960s to today. "Audiences of all ages enjoy our shows because there's literally something familiar there for everyone," explains Miller. "But because we choose songs that are just plain good, well-written songs, people really get into things they might not necessarily know, at least at first. We also have a lot of fun on stage, and it's contagious for the audience! It's really a show, not just a concert."
The "band's" roster includes soprano Ashley Gove, altos Kam Raiselis and Frances Lipe, tenors Walt Porter and Daryl Robertson, bass Bill Hersman, and baratone
Mark Miller.
Tony Berke is sound tech. Miller said, "If you've never heard T9 or contemporary a cappella before, come check us out. You're going to have a great time!"
Tuckermans at 9 performs at Hackmatack Playhouse, 538 School Street, Berwick, Maine, Saturday, June 20, at 8pm. Tickets range from $10 to $22. Visit www.hackmatack.org or call (207) 698-1807. More about Tuckermans at 9 can be found at www.tuckermansat9.com.
The entertainment continues at Hackmatack Playhouse this season with
Thornton Wilder's classic story of a New England town, Our Town, runs June 24 through July 4. Music, dance, and hijinks on the original Love Boat, Anything Goes, runs July 8 - 25. The audience decides the ending in the musical mystery The Mystery of Edwin Drood running July 29 through August 8. August 12 through 29 will feature
Mel Brooks' madcap musical, The Producers. The season wraps at The Hackmatack on September 4th and 5th as Richard Conrad and
The Bostonians present: Masters of American Operetta.
Photo: Tuckermans at 9 (Daryl Robertson, Walt Porter, Ashley Gove, Bill Hersman, Kam Raiselis, Francis Lipe, and Mark Miller).
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