UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Less than a month after concluding “The New Old Fashioned Tour,” a cappella group Straight No Chaser returns to the stage — and to Penn State — with its “I’ll Have Another … 20th Anniversary World Tour.” The group will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
The 10-member vocal ensemble will perform mashups of songs by popular artists as well as songs from its upcoming release “I’ll Have Another … Christmas Album.”
Straight No Chaser formed in 1996 at Indiana University and was comprised of members of The Singing Hoosiers. Ten years later, a 1998 video of the 10 vocalists’ mashup version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” — also featuring touches of “I Have a Little Dreidel” and “Africa” by Toto — found its way to YouTube and now boasts more than 19 million views.
The singers have built on their reputation as an extraordinary live act and blend tongue-in-cheek humor with serious vocal chops. A critic for Michigan newspaper company MLive.com wrote of a sold-out 2013 concert at which the singers “struck a comfortable balance of sincerity with winking-at-the-crowd goofiness. … No one would be demanding a second encore of Straight No Chaser if their musical/comedic talents did not warrant such affections.”
“I’ll Have Another … Christmas Album” is the ensemble’s sixth full-length release and first since 2009’s “Christmas Cheers.” The new collection features a variety of new and old holiday classics (including “Joy to the World” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?”); new versions of holiday hits by popular performers (Bing Crosby’s “Mele Kalikimaka” and, appearing on the exclusive Target release, “Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me”); as well as new songs by the group (such as “Feels Like Christmas” featuring country singer and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Jana Kramer). The album is scheduled for release Oct. 28.
For more information about the ensemble and the concert, and for ticketing information, visit the Center for the Performing Arts online or call 814-863-0255.