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We received a Christmas gift from our daughter and husband to attend a Straight No Chaser Concert at the Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre in Indianapolis. It has much history and has been completely restored with a seating capacity of 2,675. This concert was sold out, evident by the two long lines at two different entry areas of the building. Fortunately, it was not too cold. We gradually made our way to our seats.

It wasn't long before we were entertained by an a cappella group that originated at Indiana University, still with a few original members. We enjoyed every moment of the show, a mixture of songs and humorous comments with wonderful background visuals. As my wife stated, there was a “fullness” to each song due to their great voices. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire show, but my favorite came at the very end where they returned to their roots with no microphones and did “O Holy Night” which was even more cause for a very deserved standing ovation at the end of a magnificent performance.

Among all the people attending, we happened to see some friends from Hope walking down the aisle, Pam and Pat May, and my wife chatted with them during the intermission. Later, I found out they had been to several concerts by Straight No Chaser. I asked them to make some comments which follow: “This was our fourth concert after being introduced to Straight No Chaser by our Indy friends, Pam and Dave Burkhart. For this concert, we enjoyed the variety of songs from Johnny Cash and Adele as well as Christmas favorites. The concert was a nice way to celebrate the holidays for us.”

The May sisters got in contact with the Burkharts, knowing they were avid followers, and the Burkharts were kind enough to share some of their experiences: “Like most fans we were first made aware of the group's rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas that became so popular on YouTube in 2007. However, we had heard the collegiate group from which they were spawned while our daughter attended IU in 1998. Subsequently, we saw their TV concert on PBS in 2008, or so, and attended our first concert at the Murat sometime thereafter. We have probably now attended more than 15 concerts, nearly an every year occurrence. Their sound is remarkable for an a cappella group; the group is large enough to double up on the parts and recreate the background for a very smooth blend. The real appeal to us is the entertainment value, including the good-natured barbs between songs. They always seem to be having so much fun while singing. We even went on The Chasers at Sea cruise in October 2012. There were three concerts on board, and we had opportunities to interact now and then with their members. This year's concert was fresh and performed well. We enjoyed the deep bass and the beatbox percussionist. Although we are always sad to see long term members retire, the group maintains a high standard of professionalism and musical quality.”

Afterward, Lisa and I decided to stop in the historic Pixy Theatre in Edinburgh for the Night Owl Country Band Christmas Concert. Unlike Indianapolis, we did not have to pay for parking which is one of the things I really appreciate about attending events there as well as in Hope. And we only had to pay $10/ticket while the owner, Mike Harding, even gave us a free box of fresh popcorn. It should have been at full capacity too due to the wonderful entertainment once again; however, there was an Edinburgh Christmas Festival. There was a major celebration on the floor above us with lots of people that did not interfere with the show whatsoever. After all, the Pixy Theatre is within a 12,000-square-foot building that provides several different options at the same time.

We were greeted by Santa Claus, Shane Spears, before entering. Pastor Ed Boston got things started before Matt Lee, Tim Dooley, Casey Johnson, and Brandon Fields, each with a touch of Christmas attire, did one enjoyable tune after the other with their voices and words crystal clear mixed in with other instruments that they have obviously mastered. John Barr added to the Christmas atmosphere on the stage with his blue and shining bright outfit. Like Straight No Chaser, it is obvious this group has performed before many audiences over the years and will soon be celebrating their tenth year together in 2025 as “HSJ Online” recently celebrated our tenth year. Matt Lee, who established the group in 2016, indicated there would be a new member joining the group soon but did not name the individual other than, apparently, he is well known locally. He promised to share the announcement with “HSJ Online” soon.

We had a very enjoyable day, one that we will always cherish and be thankful for because of attending two inspiring concerts in one day!

Note: You can find much information about each group by browsing the internet.