By Aaron Rubin, Standard Correspondent
2019 was the last time the nationally recognized a cappella group Hyannis Sound performed in the Upper Valley. Since then, the Cape Cod-based vocal ensemble’s scheduled performances here were thwarted by the pandemic and bad weather. But residents of our area will now finally have their opportunity when Hyannis Sound performs at the North Universalist Chapel Society this Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.
The performance is part of Hyannis Sound’s 2026 Spring Tour, which features a cross-generational outfit of both current and alumni singers. With a mix of singers performing songs they have not sung together, the biggest expectation is a fun session of improvisation where “we’re just as entertained by ourselves on stage as the audience is entertained by us,” said Woodstock’s Townsend Belisle, the founder of Hyannis Sound.
“Every single time there’s a spring tour, it’s a never-seen-before, never-performed-before group of guys,” said Belisle. “They’ve all been in the Hyannis Sound over the years, and they might know three to five songs in common, but they’ve got to put a show together of more like 15 to 20 songs. Watching them try to pull together those other songs…they are definitely entertaining each other, because they only rehearsed for an hour or two before the concert, and it was that much more entertaining.”
The audience can feel that thrill of the unexpected through the improvisations, said Belisle, making for a memorable afternoon of music with “lots of surprises.”
This performance in Woodstock will feature around 20 singers, including singers who may have been in the group in its early days as long as 30 years ago. Bringing together numerous members of Hyannis Sound also brings men who come from all walks of life, said Belisle. They may be men who are in more traditionally professional occupations, such as CEOs or private school deans, or those who work in high-profile entertainment spaces such as Broadway.
Additionally, “The guys who have been in Hyannis Sound are involved with the television show The Voice,” said Belisle. “They were producers or arrangers for Pitch Perfect. Others are actually in very professional vocal groups.”
One of the alumni singers who will be performing on the Spring Tour is Max Pinson. He was a member of Hyannis Sound from 2021 to 2023, and it is a gig he called a “really special” and “unforgettable experience.”
“You’re getting paid to sing on Cape Cod,” said Pinson. “For three months, you’re basically living with 10 people who grow to become your best friends and traveling up and down the Cape. There’s something about getting to be a part of people’s weddings and birthday parties and anniversaries and all of these different things, and see different venues and meet different people and really get integrated with the community.”
This will be the first Spring Tour for Pinson, a Kansas City native who currently works as an executive assistant for a filmmaker. But it won’t be the first time he’s toured North America with a musical ensemble. A week prior to the Woodstock performance, Pinson will have performed in Canada, and has performed both there and in the United States in a Simon & Garfunkel tribute band as Garfunkel.
One of the songs the Woodstock audience is likely to hear is “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours,” by Stevie Wonder, which is the group’s theme song. Others include songs like “Cecilia” by Simon & Garfunkel and “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley. Given an a capella arrangement, these classic songs take on new life through Hyannis Sound’s improvisation and humorous interactions, creating opportunities “to be the best entertainment that we can possibly be,” said Pinson.
Pinson said he is looking forward to performing with familiar faces with whom he sang in Hyannis Sound, as well as with current and past members, and to experiencing for himself the group’s improvisation, where anything goes, but it’s always entertaining. It’s one of the biggest reasons why the group has garnered a dedicated following that attends the numerous shows they perform during their primary performance season in the summer.
“For a guy who’s been in the group for three or four years, some of these songs you’ve probably sung like 100 times, and to be able to sing it with a different group of people — a much larger group of people — gives you so many more opportunities to find something new and different about that particular performance. The fact that no two performances are the same is one of the reasons that a lot of people keep coming back to see the group,” said Pinson.