The spotlights lit up the Varsity Theater, but not an instrument was seen on stage – no drums, no guitar, not even a piano. The music at Acappellooza Wednesday night was made entirely of vocals.

Four a cappella groups were featured at the free event – Brigham Buetler Presents…, InAchord, Familiar Ring and Vocal Point.

The show began with a group of eight friends from Provo, Brigham Beutler Presents… They performed crowd-pleasers including “Uptown Girl,” “For the Longest Time” and “Good Night Sweetheart.”

Alex Avery, a member of the a cappella group, enjoyed performing with his friends.

“It’s fun to be able to sing with your friends and to be able to share with people a talent that you’ve been able to develop, and it’s just fun to go sing to people we know,” Avery said.

The group had only performed at small venues before Wednesday.

“We haven’t sung in this type of setting before, so it was a really good opportunity,” Avery said. “I’m really glad that they allowed us to do it.”

The second group, InAchord, performed songs ranging from gospel to pop.

They sang “Shadrach,” an account of the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They also performed “MLK” by U2, an inspiring account of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Familiar Ring performed popular songs as well, including “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay and “Eye to Eye” from “A Goofy Movie.”

The main performing group at Acappellooza was BYU’s Vocal Point.

They performed such hits as “Remember When it Rained” by Josh Groban, “Grace Kelly” by Mika and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.

Paul Bodily, a member of Vocal Point from Eugene, Ore., said he enjoys the camaraderie of the group.

“The best part is associating with these guys,” Bodily said. “They are my best friends, so whenever we get together we have fun, we make each other laugh, and the fun you see us having on stage is really the kind of relationship that we have.”

Bodily also liked performing a set of songs that ranged from light-hearted to spiritual.

“We know people come out to our shows because they like to be entertained, they like to laugh and like to hear pop, but at the same time they have to sit through a sacred hymn,” he said.

Ben Henry, another member of the group, believes sharing his faith with the audience is important.

“A show isn’t a show without the spirit,” he said.

Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Mar 2009