Photo credit Jimmy Fontaine Straight No Chaser brings nothing but voices to their humorous show during their Beach Bash tour at Struthers Library Theater on July 7.

An all-male professional a capella group, “Straight No Chaser” is known for their tight harmonies and a mix of humor and pop covers, bringing their summer tour, this year titled “Beach Bash,” to Struthers Library Theatre on Tuesday.

The nine-member group will perform songs of summer from the last six decades, including Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” and Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance.”

Emerging as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase and a long list of accomplishments, Straight No Chaser has earned two 2 RIAA Gold Certified albums, over 1.5 million concert tickets sold, over 1 billion streams on Pandora, more than 100 million YouTube views and over 3 million albums sold worldwide. Live show sales have surpassed 2 million tickets.

Alongside their successful headlining tours, the group has had dozens of major television performances and collaborated with artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder.

Initially formed at Indiana University, the group appeared at the forefront of the modern day a cappella movement and are now renowned for their captivating performances with nine unaltered human voices coming together to create extraordinary music.

Three of the nine members are from the original 1996 collegiate group: tenors Jerome Collins and Walter Chase, and baritone Steve Morgan. Everyone else (with the exception of Freedom Young, a University of Delaware graduate) was a part of Straight No Chaser during their time at Indiana University. The additional current members include two more tenors in Mike Luginbill and Tyler Trepp. Baritones include Seggie Isho, Jasper Smith, and Freedom Young. Trepp and Young also perform as vocal percussionists while the stand alone bass voice is by Luke Bob Robinson.

The group name, Straight No Chaser, was an idea that came from their college days. Steve Morgan commented, “We liked how it spoke to our music being just vocals, no ‘chasers’ as in instruments. And as college students, we might have also enjoyed the subtle reference to alcohol, particularly on a dry campus at Indiana University.” Morgan shared a fun and original song titled “Dry Campus” can be found online. When the group got back together in 2008, they decided to lean into it by giving their albums and tours names that at least give a wink to the double entendre of alcohol.

“We spend a non-trivial amount of time each year trying to come up with clever new titles, so I hope someone other than us is enjoying the joke,” said Morgan.

In November 2018, the group released “One Shot.” The album tells the group’s story from 1996 to 2018 through song. It includes interludes between tracks explaining and reminiscing about highlights in group history. That’s quite the timeline for the group story which prompts fans to ask if there will be another one coming out — perhaps in 2028, celebrating another decade?

Morgan replied, “Wow, you’re way ahead of us on this! That’s a great idea, as a third of the band is new since 2018 and we have a lot of stories to tell about this decade. “One Shot” was one of our most conceptualized albums, so it would be a fun brainstorm session to see what songs we could relate to the timeline of the last decade. The year 2020 would definitely be in a minor key!”

Morgan likes to provide fans with something he calls “escapist joy.” The goal of their show is to create an evening and an environment where troubles are forgotten while putting their signature twist on some of the best music of all time. The use of choreography, parody, humor, and lighting combine to make a show certain to entertain their audience and put a smile on their face.

A signature part of the show includes mashups, where Morgan describes it as a way they can arrange a song, flexing some creative muscle. “Generally, we are singing other people’s songs, so finding new and creative ways that two or more songs can weave in and out of one another is fun for us and for the audience.” Morgan continued by providing some examples. “The unexpected break when “Poison” interrupts “Billie Jean” is always a great moment; the mashup of “Thriller” and “Uptown Funk” is the bop you didn’t know you needed in your life until you are watching it at our show and boogeying with us in your seat; and our parody medleys that range from Hollywood to Broadway to Hip Hop have made people across the world laugh, sing, and dance along with us.”

The group has written several original songs over the years, especially Christmas tunes. Morgan remarked, “With a bunch of singers hanging around together, I assure you someone always has a song in their head and, once they start it, someone will join in.” While most of what they sing could be considered covers, Morgan said there is always room for original compositions and that their audience really appreciates and responds to them.

Although they are on the road together for nearly half the year, members actually live spread out from one another, in many different states. Thanks to technology, practices can still take place together. Prior to every tour, they share sheet music and demos electronically to learn the music. This allows them all to know their parts and then five days before the first show, they make sure their voices are tight and add in the choreography, lighting, and staging to create a cohesive show. When members are off the road for long stretches, they always arrange new music, working towards the next tour, album, video, or other project. Sometimes they will dedicate a weekend to rehearse in order to make sure they stay fresh and ready.

Many of the members are fathers and have managed to find fun ways to incorporate their children into their experiences, from putting them in videos to having all of their families come to a final show as well as joining them to sing on a track from their album “Holiday Road.” Listening to his children sing parts of an arrangement he has been working on at home is sweet, shared Morgan.

Describing themselves as serious about the music but not serious about themselves, the a capella group has their own takes on classics, and some really different takes on other songs, providing everything from the sixties up until today. With their fanbase including something for all generations, they have a lot of fun putting all of those puzzle pieces together.

“When we see little kids with their parents and grandparents, that means the world to us.”

Straight No Chaser: Beach Bash tickets range in price from $50 to $90, including fees and can be purchased at www.strutherslibrarytheatre.org Doors open at 6:30 with a 7:30 p.m. show on Tuesday. It is sponsored by Northwest Bank.