In case you missed it, we took our third crack at the New York City regional round of Harmony Sweepstakes this past weekend at the Miller Theater on Columbia's Campus. After much deliberation about what songs would best exemplify the "Low Key sound," we settled on two contemporary barbershop numbers, "Blackbird" and "Go the Distance," which we feel extremely confident singing, and which hold some of our most exciting and resonant chords. For our third tune, we settled on a cover of a cover -- the Huey Lewis version of Curtis Mayfield's "It's Alright." The way we figured it, if we were comfortable and having fun on stage, those vibes would be communicated to our audience, and we'd put ourselves in a good position to compete.
We didn't imagine that when it was all said and done, we'd be awarded first place in the competition, much less that we'd be voted "audience favorite" and perform an encore for the acappella enthusiasts of the greatest city in the world. The encore came as a total shocker, and as we ran through the tunnel of the hugely talented six competing groups on the way back out to the stage, Mike blew the pitch for Boyz II Men's "Thank You," a song which many of us had internalized as 90's babies. It was a surreal night, and our excitement will carry into the month of May, when we get our shot at the national competition which will take place in San Francisco and will include the winning groups from all across America.
It was a good sign that the biggest turmoil we had pre-show was whether or not to force our bass, Mike, to go pick up a pair of suspenders. In the end, maybe it was the straps holding us back in the past -- or maybe the outcome had less to do with our outfit and more to do with the sheer amount of time we've spent rehearsing, performing, and harmonizing with each other over the past three years.
We're tremendously proud to take this step as a group, and we're looking forward to using this victory as a springboard to keep Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs imbued in great music and good cheer. Below is a video playlist of our entire set from the performance. Keep on the lookout for Low Key as the weather gets nicer and the vocal chords get warmer.