Straight No Chaser formed in 1996, when the members met as students at Indiana University, which is in Bloomington, Indiana. There were ten original members, and despite lineup changes, some of them are still with the group. The ensemble took their name from the 1967 Thelonious Monk record.
A thirty-six-hour dance marathon was the occasion on which they made their debut. They then went on to perform at venues such as Carnegie Hall, and two Chicago landmarks, Wrigley Field and Navy Pier, garnering national attention. The members of the original lineup graduated from Indiana University in 1999 and replacements took over. The tradition continues, as new members join the group as older ones graduate; however, they have changed the name to Another Round.
This allows fans to differentiate between the school-based group and the older outfit, which is still touring, and has released 11 studio albums including “Holiday Spirits” (2008), which got them the Contemporary A cappella Recording Award for Best Holiday Album in 2009. A review says:
“The a capella genre has a lot of great performances in it but this was one of the best of any I have ever seen.”
Straight No Chaser will appear at the Taft Theatre on December 9, with doors opening at 7.30 pm. To help support events like this, organizers can work with poster printing to create advertising for them.