"If you like a capella, see this show. If you like dubstep, rap, pop or rock music, see this show. Essentially, if you have ever listened to a piece of music and had any response other than wanting to tear your own ears off, you will probably find something to please you in Semi-Toned’s set list." Charlotte Ivers, www.broadwaybaby.com
Semi-Toned were formed in 2010 as a five-man barbershop harmony group at a university which doesn’t teach academic music. Six years on and the group is now at the forefront of a cappella in the UK.
The group, based at Exeter University in the South West of England is now fourteen men strong and in April 2015 earned the title of national champions, having won the Voice Festival UK. Praised for their creativity, uniqueness and vocal acrobatics the group embraces music of a variety of genres to ensure there really is something for everyone in any of their shows. Recent audiences have been wowed by klezmer versions of Gwen Stefani, unlikely mash-ups of Jay-Z and Game of Thrones and the Macarena acted out in the form of an encounter in an Ibiza club in 1996, all, of course, performed in the group’s trademark witty and engaging style.
The group have been the subject of some high profile attention in recent years: having supported Beverley Knight and being featured on pop sensation Olly Murs’ UK-wide tour in 2015, all alongside the release of their highly acclaimed and delightfully charming music video, ‘Rich Man’ which quickly became a viral hit.
In their downtime Semi-Toned tour extensively, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe every year and have received excellent critical reception for their shows including The ‘Exe-Men’, ‘Game of Tones’ and ‘Toned Up’. The latter winning the highly coveted Bobby Award, which is reserved for the highest-rated shows of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The group toured the East Coast of the United States in 2015 with shows in New York City, Boston, Washington D.C, New Haven (CT), performing at Yale, Princeton, Columbia and North Eastern Universities. Semi-Toned returned in Spring 2016 to the East Coast, selling out shows from Florida up to New York.