Quick Stop in the (Very) Windy City: Chicago Harmony Sweeps
In the past year, Fermata Town has traveled (literally!) all over the world. From Memphis to Toronto to London (and of course all over the greater Boston area), we’ve taken our music (and our sweet dance moves) to audiences near and far. And now we can add a new city to the list: Chicago! This past weekend, Fermata Town shipped out west to perform at Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes. We arrived early Saturday morning and immediately determined that brunch was a first priority. Yelp informed us that Bongo Room was currently featuring a “chocolate tower French toast” on their specials menu, so it wasn’t tough to pick a spot. Once our sugar cravings had been satiated, we went out to explore the city. Undeterred by the growing snowstorm, we stopped by to get a view of the beach…then quickly scurried to our hotel to warm up and refuel.
On Saturday night we were lucky enough to meet up with FTown alum, Dave Carr, whose a cappella group, Deep Dish A Cappella, hosted us for a joint concert at Town Hall Pub. The pub was jam-packed with friends , and we were able to test out our new music before the competition the next day. Of course, we ended the evening with Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza. A few of us, triggered by early morning travel and a full day of exploring, singing, and eating, may or may not have fallen asleep right in our plates.
Sunday was competition day! We were joined by seven other fantastic groups (80’s A Cappella Prom, The Double Agents, Double Date, The Innocent Men, The Northsiders, ShadowVox, and The Vocal Liberation Front) for a full day of meetings, sound checks, and rehearsals. Because we had twelve singers performing (and only eight are allowed on stage at one time), we created a complex microphone-swap-navigation system where singers would come on and off stage in between songs. We even broke out some new arrangements and choreography! We opened our set with Alessia Cara’s Here (arranged by Alex Margarite), whipped out some sweet upbeat dance moves with Steve Miller’s Fly Like an Eagle (arranged by Alex Margarite and Philipp Walzer), and closed with Paolo Nutini’s haunting Iron Sky (arranged by…guess who? The incredible Alex Margarite, of course!)
We’re proud to announce that among all the talented groups performing, we came in second! A huge congratulations to Double Date for winning first place and moving on to San Francisco for finals. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to bring our music to audiences around the world…
Can’t wait to see where it takes us next!
Post written by Anna Miller