A return visit by this young male group on Dec. 18 might be perfect timing to put a warm glow on the last week before Christmas.
The a cappella group “Marcoux Corner” will return to Backus to perform a holiday concert including selections from the vocalists’ newest CD, “Tinsel.” Marcoux has performed in the region about six times, group vocalist and spokesman Kevin Taylor told The Daily Journal Wednesday.
The community is invited to get in the spirit of the show which begins at 7 p.m. It is sponsored by the Backus Community Center and all proceeds will benefit the historic complex.
Marcoux Corner was one of the first high-energy a cappella groups on the scene in 2000. After its first performances at a small neighborhood coffee shop in Crookston near Moorhead, Minn., things have never really been the same for the quartet. Crowds got too big too fast in the humble cafe, a sign of the success that Marcoux would soon see as they set out to perform sold-out shows all over the region.
Although the core of the group grew up in Crookston and took the name of an area landmark, they got their start at Moorhead’s Concordia College. At Concordia, they were trained to develop what became an acclaimed style and sound that has
Original members Brent Thorson, lead tenor, Taylor, tenor II, and Josh Baesler, baritone, all age 31, are 1999 Concordia alumni. Twenty-five-year-old David Phelps, bass singer, replaces former member Eric Patenaude and is a 2006 Concordia alumnus who joined the group in 2007.
Marcoux Corner has been billed as four voices that blend together so seamlessly they sound like one. Covering songs from every genre of popular music, almost every venue results in an invitation to return. The singers are also known as “nice guys,” unaffected by their success.
With credits that include three coast-to-coast tours, opening for the Beach Boys as well as performing the National Anthem for the president of the United States, they have traveled from Florida to Alaska, but they say they always enjoy returning home to northern Minnesota.
Taylor told The Journal that the guys are excited to return to Backus, hoping to feel the same warmth and excitement the group has experienced previously. He remembered the struggle to save the aging Backus/AB buildings and offers: “It’s so easy just to let things go — so to see that kind of attendance and the enthusiasm for the building is really neat.”
Taylor said the group has continued touring for the last year, opening fairs and performing for corporate events. They’ve also spent a lot of time in their own recording studio in Richfield, a suburb of Minneapolis, the central home-base from which they operate. He said he is proud of the quality and arrangements achieved on their second Christmas CD, which is available locally at Expresso Lane in Super One of the Falls.
Songs on the “Tinsel” CD include “The Christmas Song,” “Oh Come Emmanuel,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” “What are You Doing New Year’s Eve” and others, some of which Taylor said the coming Backus show will include. The quartet’s first holiday CD is entitled “Tidings.”
Marcoux also intends to perform other favorites such as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” at Backus. “It will be about a 60-40 holiday/pop mixture,” he said.
Advance tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for students age 12 and under; $30 for a family and are available at City Drug and the Backus Office in the Falls; and Betty’s in Fort Frances.
Tickets at the door will be $12 for adults; $6 for students; and $35 for a family. Call 285-7225 for more information.
