Straight No Chaser to Play Portsmouth's Music Hall, 7/15

The Music Hall has announced that global sensations Straight No Chaser will be performing at the Historic Theater on Tuesday July 15, 2014. This 10-person a cappella group isn't your grandfather's glee club. Their newest album Under The Influence has a little a bit of something for everyone-from Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" to Jason Maraz's "I Won't Give Up," SNC will have audiences singing and dancing in their seats. This unique and entertaining experience isn't one to be missed. Tickets are on sale now.

Straight No Chaser's attention to detail and strict quality control has led to an enviable career as the group sets itself apart from other a cappella acts with its contemporary repertoire and dynamic approach. "We just wanted to do music that we liked," says one of the group's members, Charlie Mechling. "We didn't want to do the standards that eight other groups were doing with the same arrangement that was being passed around. We wanted to do stuff that we heard on the radio, our own way, and then throw in choreography to make it a really good show. We wanted to have broader appeal."

Their broad appeal was apparent to Atlantic Records Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman, who emailed Randy Stine after checking out a video he had posted of the group's humorous version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" on YouTube. Uploaded in celebration of SNC's 10th anniversary reunion show at Indiana University, the clip has been viewed more than 16 million times, while SNC's cumulative YouTube views clock in at nearly 50 million. The group, which currently includes Walter Chase, Jerome Collins, Seggie Isho, Michael Luginbill, Steve Morgan, Don Nottingham, David Roberts, and Tyler Trepp, in addition to Mechling and Stine, signed to Atlantic Records in 2008 and have released two Top 10 holiday albums (2008's Holiday Spirits and 2009's Christmas Cheers), two EP's (2009's Six Pack and 2011's Six Pack Volume 2), and 2010's full-length With A Twist. They have built a reputation as an unforgettable live act, earning the support of die-hard fans, who call themselves "Chasers" and turn up at every SNC show. From their successful residencies at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City to traveling non-stop around the globe, and from sold-out shows as one of Pollstar's Top 50 touring acts to television specials and performances; Straight No Chaser truly shines.

"I think we give people something they aren't expecting," Stine says. "Perhaps they had a preconceived notion, like, 'I don't want to see a glee club or a barbershop quartet.' But the guys who come up to us after the shows and admit that their girlfriend dragged them there are the same guys who have a stack of CDs in their hands and are asking what city we're going to be in next. That's what's most fulfilling-changing people's minds. We really want people to see a cappella in a different way than what they might have had preprogrammed in their head." Adds Mechling: "It's 10 guys, 10 voices up on stage. Part of the show is the singing and the music, and part of the show is us getting to share an evening and make people laugh, too. So it's the whole package. I think once people see us live, they truly get it.

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