Then, they snapped to focus. They began to sing and became a unified group, a brotherhood.
Another Round, an IU all-male a capella group, will perform its 19th annual holiday concert 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Tickets are $12 for IU students and $15 for non-students.
This year, Another Round will be singing songs such as “White Christmas,” “Prayer of the Children,” “Lean on Me” and new to the group’s repertoire, “You’ll be in my Heart,” senior Jonny Trubshaw said.
Sophomore Jake Forrestal said the holiday concert is special to him because the men get to perform the Christmas songs they grew up singing.
Forrestal said the Christmas spirit at the holiday concert is almost palpable.
“It’s a really good mix of students, family and real people (other patrons),” Trubshaw said.
Bloomington shows tend to have a solid mix of family, friends and a lot of women in sororities, he said, smiling.
“This is the show we get to have the most fun at,” he said.
Forrestal said the audience is generally older, but when Another Round performs at the Buskirk-Chumley, most of the audience consists of college students.
Trubshaw said the group thinks about this show all semester long because IU is its home.
The holiday concert is different because Another Round gets to self-promote the show across campus, instead of having a venue do promotions for it, he said.
Feste said seeing Another Round on the marquee of the Buskisk-Chumley last year was amazing for him.
The group spends all semester preparing for this concert. They look at old songs and prepare new songs, Trubshaw said.
Before the show, Another Round sits in the same dressing room it uses every year, and each member takes a turn talking about what the group has done for them, ?he said.
Feste said seniors can really take this kind of opportunity to reflect on their performances and pass information on to younger members.
Trubshaw said each member of the group comes in with a varying level of ?experience.
Most members of the group sang in their high school choirs, but some have been singing for several years more than that.
Forrestal said it can be difficult to be close-knit and still focus on getting work done.
“Every year is special because every person matters so much,” he said.
Conducting business and still balancing the rest of their lives is hard at times, he said.
Despite this, Trubshaw said the group still has plenty of fun, laughing and joking with each other and not taking themselves too seriously.
“We’re all just best friends,” he said.
The interactions people see onstage are about the same as what happens behind the scenes, he said.
“It is truly a brotherhood,” Trubshaw said.
Forrestal said the time the group spends together helps them to put on a better show.
“You’re not going to find something more entertaining,” he said.
