There remains something special about sharing a live musical experience with strangers, be it in a pub, an arena or stadium, or an outdoor venue. For the duration, a rarity of sorts occurs in that all there are on the same page, with differences put on hold and social standing neither here nor there.
Imagine, however, if that shared music experience was wholly reliant on the audience’s participation, transcending the passive with emphasis on the interactive.
In February 2011, Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman (aka Dabu) — the latter a multi-credited Canadian television actor and writer — imagined just that, bringing people together twice weekly at Toronto’s Clinton Tavern to sing popular songs as a group. Since that humble beginning, Choir! Choir! Choir! has headlined at venues, large and small, around the world.
On Wednesday (August 14) at 8 p.m., Goldman and Adilman will bring Choir! Choir! Choir! to Del Crary Park for a free-admission concert, leading the Peterborough Musicfest audience in what’s billed as an Epic ’80s Sing-Along.
There is no such thing as a bad singing voice at a Choir! Choir! Choir! session, as there’s a part for everyone. Those who want in on the choral fun receive lyric sheets, with Goldman and Adilman leading a rehearsal of the various harmonies and then, with Goldman on guitar and Adilman conducting, the rehearsed song is performed en masse. The effect is nothing short of uplifting, and the sense of achievement overpowering.
As Goldman and Adilman put it a February 2023 interview with Greg Stewart of Theatre Weekly, “Choir! Choir! Choir! is a party where singing is the excuse to hang out in a room full of strangers and connect.”
“You’re going to laugh, you’re going to dance, you’re going to find yourself sharing intimate details of your life, you’re going to meet people you would never have (met) before, and yes, you’re also going to sing harmonies to some of the greatest songs of all time,” Goldman and Adilman said.
VIDEO: “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey – Choir! Choir! Choir!
For the Musicfest gathering, the pair have handpicked some of the most popular hits of the 1980s, pledging to have Del Crary Park harmonizing in no time with songs like Toto’s “Africa,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel the Noize,” Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon,” and more.
“Though it’s all about singing, you don’t need a perfect voice,” they told Theatre Weekly. “We’ll teach you everything you need to know at the show. You can be super young, super old, an extrovert, an introvert, a complete cynic … whoever you are, by the end of this you’ll be buzzing. Honestly, it’s almost embarrassing how joyful you’ll feel. But you’ll take that vibe with you into your week and you won’t be able to stop singing.”
“Every single person there is the show. The biggest hurdle for us is to light that match and everyone on board so they’ll naturally give all their energy: sing at full volume, yell at us, share, lose their minds.”
The seeds of what became Choir! Choir! Choir! were planted in 2008 when Goldman and Adilman, with their friend Amanda Burt, got a small choir together to sing at a birthday party for a mutual friend, Canadian music and actor Matt Murphy.
In a March 2019 interview with Bailey Richardson of People & Company, Adilman said that, two years later, they asked via Facebook if anyone wanted to sing as a choir. Based on the response, they prepared some simple arrangements for The Beatles’ “Nowhere Man” and Pilot’s “Just A Smile.”
“We thought maybe some friends would show up and we’d just have a couple of beers. It was kind of extraordinary what happened. People we didn’t even know showed up.”
VIDEO: “Shout” by Tears for Fears – Choir! Choir! Choir!
That gathering was at a friend’s real estate office in February 2011.
“I got a phone call from Eye Weekly saying ‘We want to take a photo of what you guys are doing.’ I told that to Daveed and he’s like ‘We don’t even know what we’re doing. What are they coming for?’ But it was indicative of what was to follow because, at the end of the night, people were so happy. They were so into what we did, which was very little, but they loved it and they wanted us to do it again the next day.”
By 2016, Choir! Choir! Choir! was centre stage at bigger venues. A performance of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” drew close to 2,000 participants to Massey Hall. Another at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square saw Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” performed at a memorial vigil following the Orlando nightclub shooting. And, in 2017, again outside Toronto City Hall, a tribute to the late Gord Downie saw several Tragically Hip songs performed.
There is also a philanthropic side to Choir! Choir! Choir! In 2016, the Choir! Choir! Choir! Foundation was founded. That same year, its 25 Days of Charity! Charity! Charity! Campaign raised $50,000 for various local, national, and international causes.
Travelling the globe since to create harmony with strangers and friends alike, Choir! Choir Choir! has been joined by some very big pop music names, including Patti Smith, David Byrne, Brandi Carlile, Rick Astley, Rufus Wainwright, Sarah Harmer and, at New York City’s Lincoln Centre, Kermit the Frog.
“The thing about singing is it happens naturally, just like dancing happens naturally,” Adilman told Richardson. “You just start dancing with people and you feel a certain rhythm at different points. It kind of locks in step and the whole room is dancing to literally the same beat. You lock into it and it feels really, really good.”
VIDEO: “Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club – Choir! Choir! Choir!
“It’s great when you can have those moments without having to explain anything to anybody,” Adilman added. “The over-intellectualization of feelings is the death of that feeling, so it’s nice when everyone feels it, but you don’t have to say it.”
“It doesn’t matter how tired we are, when we get on stage and we have such an incredible venue to perform with people who are so supportive and amazing and appreciate us so much, we appreciate them back just as fiercely. It’s a positive loop that just keeps on giving. It’s total euphoria.”
Asked by Theatre Weekly what the highlight of the Choir! Choir! Choir! experience is for them, Goldman and Adilman noted there are several, but narrowed it down to one.
“It’s the greatest when everyone has their parts down; huge smiles on their faces, dancing around and filling the room with harmonies. That’s when we know they’ve caught the Choir! Choir! Choir! bug that bit us.”
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 16 free-admission concerts during its 37th season, each staged on Wednesday and Saturday nights until August 17th.
Overseen by executive director Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert or the 2024 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2024 season.
