A cappella harmonies have been a part of the music scene for generations, stemming as far back as the 1870s, when men would gather on street corners to sing melodies with their barbershop quartets. A cappella music has existed for even longer than that — when medieval monks would sing prayers — but barbershop quartets took the a cappella style to another level, allowing popular music to be heard strictly through vocal techniques and the harmonies of various men’s voices. This form of music has grown into a popular art form that has its own unique sound and style.
Luckily, the University has a men’s a cappella group to call its own. Originally formed to sing the National Anthem at basketball games, On the Rocks has been a part of the University since 1999. Singing a mix of popular music and original songs written by its members, On the Rocks appeals to a wide audience.
“One of the songs we’ve sung since the very beginning is ‘For the Longest Time.’ It was one of the first songs (On the Rocks) ever learned and we’ve kept it around,” senior music major Cody Curry said. “We usually open our shows with that because people recognize it. I think the songs that people tend to like the most are the ones that we add some choreography to and basically just make fun of ourselves. People like to watch us do that.”

“We’re essentially a boy band and our hard-core demographic are
16- to 25-year-old women, but our audience is much more varied than that,” junior vocal performance major Moses Barrett said. “First and foremost, we arrange popular music and so the people who are into the pop scene, mainly people our age, will be our widest audience. But we get people from all over that love a cappella and love what we do. That’s my favorite part — the ability to reach so many audiences at once.”
And they definitely have a secure fan base: On the Rocks does a weekly performance every Friday in the
EMU Amphitheater.
With two CDs already under its belt, On the Rocks is currently working on a third album.
“We have two CDs out, ‘On the Rocks’ and ‘The Backgammon Sessions,’” Curry said. “We’re working on a third CD that we’re going to try to release at the end of the year, but it will probably come out early next fall.”
Fans will be able to hear On the Rocks much sooner than that,
however. The group will be performing at Beall Concert Hall on Friday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m.
“We’re going to sing the same songs that people always come out to hear throughout the course of the year, but we’re also unveiling three or four new songs that we haven’t sung yet, so people will have something new to listen to,” Curry said. “We might also have a guest group as well. Divisi (the University women’s a cappella group) will be singing a little bit and we’re trying to get (Out of Focus), the men’s a cappella group from Oregon State to come down.”

Fans aren’t the only ones looking forward to this performance.
“The Beall Hall is such an incredible space. Acoustically, it is phenomenal. It is one of the premier small venues on the west coast, as far as acoustic sound,” Barrett said. “To have the opportunity to sing in a venue like that, just in and of itself is really fun. And (we’re eager to) really reach out and interact with a large group of our fans. We’ve never not sold out a Beall Hall show. So to be singing to 540 people who really came out to see us, it really means a lot to us. We’re looking forward to putting on a really good show.”