EJ JACOBS
Asst. Life & Arts Editor
With festival season right around the corner, why not kick it off by going to Acafest? Acafest is an event at Fredonia that entails performances by a cappella groups from campus and surrounding New York Colleges.
Acafest is hosted by the all-female-identifying a cappella group Some Like It Hot.
Claire Mariea, a senior psychology major and the president of Some Like It Hot said, “Acafest was first held to share all different types of a cappella and to spread the joy of a cappella as best as possible. Acafest leads to the sharing of ideas, exposure of other groups and helps people make memorable friendships along the way. It may also expose students to a cappella and inspire them to become a part of the spirited and talented community.”
Acafest is an event that has been going on for years. But since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has looked a little different, as it has only involved Fredonia a cappella groups. However, this year Some Like It Hot is ready to bring other schools’ a cappella groups back onto campus.
“While this is not the first ever Acafest hosted by Some Like It Hot, this will be the first Acafest since the pandemic that we are bringing a cappella groups from other campuses to come perform,” said Mariea.
When choosing who should be involved, it was important to find groups that would fit in with the already Fredonia-established groups.
“So I thought that it would be really interesting to kind of have like another group that has similar values to Some Like It Hot to come up,” said Alli Evans, senior music therapy major and vice president of Some Like It Hot.
One of the groups coming to Fredonia’s campus is University at Buffalo’s Buffalo Chips.
“We are the University at Buffalo’s first a cappella group, founded in 1995. … This group, primarily [composed] of non-music based majors, has turned into a strong brotherhood of long-lasting bonds and continuous support,” said John K. DellaContrada, a junior linguistics major at the college and the assistant music director of the Buffalo Chips.
“This is our first Acafest,” said DellaContrada, “but we’ve been performing at a cappella events across the state for years.”
Other groups that will be performing along with Some Like It Hot include the Buffalo Chips and RIT’s Vocal Accent are the Guerrillas and Dynamic Intonation.
Acafest will be taking place on April 22, in McEwen Hall 209 from 8 to 9:30 p.m.