Members of the Spartan Dischords sing their version of the song “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” at their practice on Feb. 22, 2011. The group is preparing for their belated valentines day show taking place this Friday at 7:30pm at the Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre. State News File Photo
Thursday evening, MSU’s Homecoming week took a musical turn. MSU’s University Activities Board, or UAB, sponsored Sounds of Homecoming, a showcase of the various a capella groups on campus featuring the Accafellas, Spartan Dischords, Capital Green, Ladies First and State of Fifths.
“It really highlights MSU’s student talent,” said Kaitlyn West, UAB’s spirit and traditions director. “It brings about a lot of student spirit.”
The event originally began in 2005. At the time, the audience only included 85 students. On Thursday, about 250 students made it out.
Applied engineering sciences freshman Alex Dunham, who is a member of Capital Green, said he felt at ease during his performance due to the song selection of the group.
“I feel confident about it,” he said. “It’s a bunch of songs we all know and we all sing well.”
Capital Green, which has about 14 members, performed “Some Nights” by Fun. and “Broken Strings” by Nelly Furtado and James Morrison.
Material science and engineering senior Stephanie Bergman, who is a member of Ladies First, said she has performed for Sounds of Homecoming annually since she was a freshman.
“It’s just a fun time where all of the a capella groups come together and sing for the students (and) get everybody hyped for Homecoming,” she said.
Though Sounds of Homecoming mostly is an individual display of talent, the groups also do sing together.
“All the groups just sing together for the ‘(MSU) Fight Song’ and ‘(MSU) Shadows,’ and then we have our separate sets,” Bergman said.
Ladies First, one of two all-female a capella groups on campus, sang “Unpretty” by TLC, “Paradise” by Coldplay, “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood and “Turn Up the Music” by Chris Brown.
Packaging freshman Brad Larsen, a member of Accafellas, said he reveled in his chance to perform in Sounds of Homecoming.
“I watched YouTube videos of Sounds of Homecoming last year,” Larsen said. “I auditioned for (various) a capella groups last year and didn’t get into any. I was really jealous, so I practiced over the summer and got into one this year, so I’m excited.”
Bergman said Sounds of Homecoming is one of the most entertaining events of MSU’s Homecoming week.
“It’s one of the more consistent (events) here,” she said. “The groups that are here have been here since I was a freshman. It’s an event that you can count on for being awesome.”
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