Weekend Pick: Sing Strong a Cappella Festival at SLHS

SingStrong — the three-day a cappella festival that raises money for the Alzheimer’s Association and local music programs — returns to South Lakes High School this weekend.

The event features some of the best-known a cappella singers, including gospel-pop group Ten, runners up on this season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off”; Blake Lewis, runner up on Season 6 of American Idol;  The Funx with Nate Tao, a Reston native and a contestant on last season’s American Idol; Grace McLean, NYC live looper; Kaila Mullady, top-ranked female beatboxer at the this year’s American Beatbox Championships; Classic Sounds, an award winning doo-wop group, among many others.

There will be five concerts at SLHS’ Little Theatre, including shows throughout the day on Saturday, Feb. 22. Visit the SingStrong site for the exact schedule as each show will have a different lineup. Friday’s 7 p.m. show is “ACA-Idol,” an “American Idol”-style competition for pro and college groups.

Saturday’s 7 p.m. Main Event show features several  multiple professional a cappella groups, including  Blake Lewis, Blue Jupiter, Stiletta, The Funx with Nate Tao and Amy “Bob”  Engelhardt.  The 9:30 p.m. Saturday show  features  Ten, Classic Sounds, Grace McLean, Kaila Mullady, and others.

Matinee concerts include Saturday’s finals of the High School Competition, with awards for performance, arranging and composition and Sunday’s show featuring Ten, The Capital Hearings, The Alexandria Harmonizers, The Funx, Kaila Mullady, Grace McLean and more.

Also at SLHS: A wide variety of classes and coachings for singers. The workshops are part of weekend pass or class pass admission.

Need more? There will be open mic sessions at the Westin Reston Heights each night.

Tickets range from $15 to $35. Discounted passes are available for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more. Parking is free.  For more information, visit www.SingStrong.org.