The Event

Male House Rock is a half-day musical festival celebrating boys and men of all ages and backgrounds singing together. Male House Rock will consist of three sessions: Workshops, World Class Performances, and Feature Concert.

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WORKSHOPS (12 - 3)

Back by popular demand, Larry Bean, former member of the acclaimed Barbershop quartet “The Management,” will lead “An Introduction to the Barbershop Style,” Sidecar Heroe’s own Ben Toppi and Lee Hunter and former Maine Steiners Kevin Child will offer a panel style workshop called “Vocal Percussion and Beat boxing for the Beginner,” and the world renowned “Groovebarbers” will offer two sessions on “Song Writing” and “Stage Presence.”

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AFTERNOON CONCERTS (3 - 6)

Starting at three there will be 20 minute performances by boys and men’s groups offered twice an hour throughout the day. Performing groups include the Barbershop quartet, “$1800 Shoes,” the contemporary group “Sidecar Heroes,” the award winning Barbershop Chorus “The DownEasters,” Falmouth high school’s “Vocal Adrenalin,” Poland Regional high school’s “Acafellas” and “Sopraltos,” The Boy Singers of Maine’s “Lower Octave,” and many more.

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DINNER BREAK (6 - 7)

A catered dinner from a local restaurant is available on site for around $10 a plate.

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CONCERT w/ THE GROOVEBARBERS (7 - 8:30)
Industrial Strength Acappella

"A cappella rock and soul royalty" - Village Voice

An Acappella Supergroup? Sounds paradoxical, absurd, perhaps even dangerous; but The GrooveBarbers is all these things: the acappella equivalent of Cream, Blind Faith, The Traveling Wilburys or even Asia . Hand-ladled from the cream of the acappella crop, each member of this all-vocal powerhouse quartet is a bona fide star in his own right. Sean Altman, Charlie Evett and Steve Keyes are all former, founding members of the pioneering, modern acappella group Rockapella. With the addition of renowned vocal guru Kevin Weist, The GrooveBarbers have established themselves as the “go to” vocal group for doo-wop, rock, jazz, barbershop and a new hybrid genre they call “doowopera.” The GrooveBarbers are featured in not one but two national TV commercials as The Astelins, the deliriously suave vocal group that offers Astelin Nasal Spray to seasonal allergy sufferers. Yes; that gig was lucrative.

In concert, The GrooveBarbers serve up a sparkling blend of original songs and their own arrangements of vocal group classics made famous by Sam Cooke, The Coasters, The Drifters, The Kingston Trio, The Beach Boys and more, all in a vocal style that is reminiscent of The Mills Brothers, The Beatles and The GrooveBarbers’ friends and idols The Persuasions.

SEAN ALTMAN is widely regarded as “the Father of Modern Acappella”. This “absurdly talented performer” (Village Voice) is “wickedly humorous” (L.A. Times), with “killer hooks” (Time Out NY), “a cynical edge” (Philadelphia Daily News), “catchy melodies, clever arrangements and lyrics that yield satiric gems” (Washington Post), and a “silky tenor voice that produced chills” (NY Times). As a former lead singer and founder of Rockapella, Sean released nine albums and appeared in all 295 episodes of the Emmy Award winning PBS-TV series "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?", for which Sean wrote the famous theme song. Sean’s appearances with Rockapella include “The Tonight Show” (NBC), "Spike Lee & Company — Do It A Capella” (PBS Great Performances) and concert appearances with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. Sean is the only three-time winner of the Contemporary A Cappella Society’s “Original Song of the Year” award, and has also been a "Best Male Vocalist" award recipient. He currently records and performs acappella with The GrooveBarbers and with Kol Zimra (with whom he has performed at The White House twice), original pop songs on guitar as a solo artist, and original comedy songs as JEWMONGOUS.

CHARLIE EVETT is a giant in the field of acapella bass singing. A founding, former member of Rockapella, his thumping lines and Richter scale solos powered that group to national prominence, and now he is the sturdy foundation beneath The GrooveBarbers. His signature solos include "North To Alaska" and the smoothest "Sixty-Minute Man" in the business. Charlie is also an accomplished classical singer and a longtime member of the acclaimed Boston Cecilia.

STEVE KEYES, a founding, former lead singer of Rockapella, is the premier high tenor and rock/blues soloist of the acapella scene. Since his landmark performance of "Flat Tire" on the groundbreaking TV documentary "Spike Lee & Company — Do It A Capella," Keyes' awesome vocal stylings and and winning persona have earned him legions of fans and imitators. His signature solos on "Keep On Smilin’” and "Crazy 'bout An Automobile" have cemented his reputation as both a smooth falsetto crooner and a power rock wailer. Since leaving Rockapella, Keyes has been a featured soloist with the New Choral Society of Central Westchester, and now enjoys acclaim as a cofounder of The GrooveBarbers.

KEVIN WEIST...is the other guy. Although he resembles former Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin, he has long enjoyed the democratic practice of acappella singing — most notably as the director of The Williams Octet and his NYC-based group, the Lemmings. He has written and arranged acappella songs for television (MTV's "Just Say Julie," Nickelodeon, TNT) and composed the infamous cockroach songs for the MTV feature film musical "Joe's Apartment." (The New York Times wrote "The film's highlights are its musical numbers...Some viewers will still want to reach for the Raid.) Kevin co-founded The GrooveBarbers in 1997.