Lock City Sound bringing 20th century pop stylings to annual 'Spring Sing' concert

From barbershop, to pop, to classical choral arrangements, Lock City Sound has lent its voices to audiences throughout Lockport for more than 50 years.

Earlier this week, the men’s choral group was hammering out arrangements of 20th-century popular songs such as The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” and Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting” in preparation for its 35th annual springtime concert, dubbed the ‘Lock City Sound Spring Sing.’

Lock City Sound rehearsal

Members of Lock City Sound work out an acapella arrangement of the 1989 Richard Marx song, "Right Here Waiting" at a rehearsal for their annual Spring Sing concert on Sunday afternoon.

“The main takeaway is that we make sure each year’s concert is new and fresh in terms of what we’re offering,” group vice president Brian Wilson said.

“Pop doesn’t just mean the song as you know it,” musical director Drew Burke added. “So I still want to make sure that even if pop is the theme, that we are doing a broad array of styles.”

With each annual concert being a different theme, Burke said they landed on performing a series of popular music favorites largely spanning from the 1960s-1990s that was primarily compiled from group input.

“They sent in a bunch of suggestions and I whittled that down into a 14-song concert,” Burke said.

“A lot of it just does come from the zany brain of Drew Burke, too,” Wilson added.

Currently, the group boasts about 30 male singers from Lockport and the surrounding areas from ages 16 to some in their late 80s.

Wilson contends that their collective performance of their vast repertoire transcends any age barriers.

“No one really feels left out. We all really get along and just have a lot of fun with each other,” Wilson said.

He believes that will be reflected in Sunday’s performance and hopes that is reflected in the audience.

“It’s going to be a toe-tapping, high-energy performance. The audience might hear some songs they want to sing along to and they are encouraged to do so,” Wilson said.

“My desire is for (the audience) is from the very first note from the very last note to be like, ‘Wow, I enjoyed that,’ ” Burke added.

Looking forward, Burke hopes the group can continue to reincorporate their glee club roots into their performances.

“We’ve infused a little bit more comedy back in and even in terms of the way that we’re doing some of the performances. That was really a standard of men’s glee clubs for years and years… we’re hoping this style opens up the guys more to engaging the audience,” he said.

The choir will take the stage at Lockport Alliance Church, 555 Davison Road at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and are priced as a “pay-as-you-wish” donation to support the group’s operating costs.