ReVoiced – Here’s What You Missed!

This weekend, I got the pleasure to see ReVoiced live in the ARMAH. They joined us for Family Weekend and definitely kicked it off with a bang! Before I get into the performance, I want to give you a little background on ReVoiced and its members. ReVoiced was founded by Christopher Rossi in 2012 as a group to sing classics from yesterday and today with a twist. Since then, this group has performed from the east to west coast in the United States and had gotten the chance to go international in Southeast Asia before the pandemic. They also run a Music in Schools program where they go to different schools to raise money for music education. As of their most recent performance, they have raised $70,000 for schools and music education programs.

To give you a little insight on each performer, I’m going to build from the bottom up, just like a capella groups do. Beginning with their resident drumset beatboxer, Justin Crisfield, who is from Boston, MA. He has been with ReVoiced for two to three years now and, according to Rossi, he is the “Mozart of spit” and I could not agree more. During the performance, just like at a concert with drums, I could feel the beat in my chest. He is extremely talented and his solo performance at the end was fascinating to watch. Next, Roland Alexis, the bass. Originally, Roland is from Tallahassee, FL, and has been with ReVoiced since 2014.  His voice is so smooth and sultry. He hit notes I didn’t know were possible with vocals and Rossi called it a “man’s voice,” again, I’d have to agree. Next comes Mark Warren, who comes off as tenor to my ear, so for those who aren’t sure about different parts, he has a mid-range that hits some low and some high in the men’s pitches. He is from Rochester, NY, and has been with ReVoiced since 2014 as well. He has an extremely smooth voice that fills you up with warmth. Up at the top are Chris and Connor, both alto voices with wide ranges. Starting with Connor Smith, the newest member of ReVoiced, from Los Angels, CA. He hasn’t gotten to perform with the group much because he joined them just before the pandemic started, but for not having performed with them much, he did an amazing job blending and dancing with the group. Finally, the founder, arranger, and “resident Adam Levine stunt double” according to Warren, Chris Rossi. He is from Long Island, NY, and has been with ReVoiced since the beginning. He founded this group to twist up old classics and new music as well as bring music to communities and from what I have read and seen, he and his amazing group have succeeded!

Alright, now that I have introduced you to the group, let me give you some insight into their show. They are amazing performers with some of the best showmanship I’ve seen, each one of them. The stage performance was engaging and fun, their voices left you with chills and wanting more from them. They began with building from the drums up, letting you hear that they are true a capella, and produced an amazing pitch that combined sounded like they got to have a thousand retries in a recording studio. A capella blending is hard, and they have gotten pretty close to perfect. If there were any pitch mistakes, they were hardly noticeable and fixed as soon as they were heard. They performed classics with a twist like “Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “Rolling on the River”, and “My Girl” as well as newer songs like “Shut up and Dance with Me” and “Just Dance.” There were so many songs and mash-ups, but those were some of the ones that stuck with me to the end. They engaged the audience, encouraging singing, clapping, and any other engagement they felt would improve the show. I personally appreciated this, and I’m sure other audience members did too because, at most a capella shows, people tend to worry about ruining the pitch of the performers. These guys didn’t want people to worry, they wanted the audience to have fun and enjoy every minute of the show. They also brought up a participant, Deb, and danced with her, giving her the experience to be surrounded with dance and music. It was both extremely funny and also very endearing and sweet. I would go to another show in a heartbeat and I truly hope to see them again. With any luck, they’ll be back at Frostburg State soon! This is definitely a performance to go to next time you have the opportunity because it is truly a “you had to be there” moment, but I hope I did justice to the experience.