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My sister, Pam, wanted to provide a special and memorable Christmas gift to our family and purchased tickets for all of us to attend a Pentatonix Concert at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Honestly, I was not aware of the a cappella group from Arlington, Texas just as I was not aware of the a cappella group that originated in Bloomington, Indiana, Straight No Chaser, which my wife and I saw in concert at the Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre during Christmas time last year. I did an article about that wonderful experience and mentioned seeing the May sisters from Hope, Pam and Pat, and found out it was not their first time seeing this group perform.

Before the concert, we went to Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen and had a very enjoyable dinner filled with conversations about a variety of topics and much laughter. My family first found out about Cheddar's years ago while traveling to a volleyball tourney in Kentucky. If you have never been to one, the eight people in our party would encourage you to do so, great food at a reasonable price!

Next, we headed toward Gainbridge while noticing much traffic downtown. We then parked in a prepaid parking lot thoughtfully arranged by my sister. When seeing the price I was shocked, helping me to appreciate living in Hope once again. We were several blocks away with crosswalk guards standing in the cold kindly trying to make sure we safely made our way there. Once arriving at the doors, there was a line of people waiting outside, and it took a while to get through security and in a warmer area. Once seated in a prime viewing section, I was not comfortable because the seating is not made for someone 6' 3”; however, I somehow tolerated it with a standing intermission of tremendous help. I didn't dare try to make my way out of the section due to being toward the middle of many seats.

Pentatonix was derived by the Pentatonic Scale, a five note musical scale with five notes per octave and due to five members, four men and one woman. I soon realized why there was a wait to get in because there were multiple people in chairs on the floor and in all the seats throughout the fieldhouse, a sold-out crowd of around 19,000. The group shared a little about their history of winning “The Sing Off” television show in 2011 when quite young. By winning that show, they gained a recording deal and have enhanced their success through YouTube. In fact, you can easily find them there. “On My Way Home” was their first tour in 2013, and they are on the “Christmas In The City Tour” now.

“Hallelujah” and “Mary, Did You Know” as well as a cello and drum duet for “Carol of the Bells” were among the most favorite for us, but we very much enjoyed all the songs with the Pentatonix members being collectively and individually extremely talented. Their great voices resulted in a fullness of sound that resonated with all throughout the entire venue. Wonderful visuals enhanced the night. The crowd was encouraged to participate at times, once with their phone lights shining throughout the arena, and there was much enthusiasm displayed by all. Nobody seemed to want the night to end as the crowd encouraged an encore, and Pentatonix accepted and responded by doing several other songs.

Pam's expressions are a perfect way to end this article: “Due to our mom taking her last earthly breath in 2025, estate matters, and other reasons, I very much wanted to do something special for our family as a Christmas gift. We had never all been to a live music concert together. So, I secretly got the tickets for the Pentatonix Concert, and all made it a priority to attend. Experiencing a concert together was exhilarating and healing. We discovered new music, saw joy in each other’s faces, and created memories that felt distinctly different from our usual outings. The inspiring concert was a reminder that there is always room for new adventures, that doing something different together strengthens family and binds us in unexpected ways. Sometimes, the best memories come from simply doing something you have never done before together.”