In 2011, five masterful vocal artists came together to form the internet’s most popular acapella group: the Pentatonix. 11 years later, the band, made up of baritone Scott Hoying, mezzo-soprano Kristin Maldonado, tenor Mitch Grassi, beatboxer Kevin Olusola, and bass Matt Sallee, launched their 2022 national/world tour at the Hollywood Bowl, following massive international success, a pandemic, and many life milestones. And I was there opening night.
On September 18, 2022, a representative from MOXIE, a program that promotes arts and entertainment reviews in student run news outlets, reached out to the Wolfpacket with tickets in exchange for a review of the concert. Let it be known that I am not a concert person, nor would I consider myself a big fan of the Pentatonix. Yes, I have been to concerts before this, but the free kind in the park. And yes I know who the Pentatonix are, but I had only ever really listened to their music around the winter holidays. However, my mother loves their music, so when I was given the opportunity, I jumped on it.
The night began with opener Darren Criss, TV and musical theater talent extraordinaire. Criss is well known for his role on the TV show Glee as well as his starring role in the musical, A Very Potter Musical – both of which were featured in his performance. His act tantalized the crowd of young millennials and older gen-Zers as they broke into song with him; swept up in the music of their teenage years. My mother and I, not his target demographic, patiently waited for the main show to begin.
And we were not disappointed. Their blend, their sound, their stage presence. There was simply too much to write about in one article, so here are some highlights:
The Pentatonix Hollywood Bowl performance marked the 11-year anniversary for the group, as well as the many life changes that came with that longevity. To celebrate, the band gave us, the audience, a little history lesson. Scott took us back in time to the group’s formation out of high school, through finding Kevin – their beatboxer – online via his viral cello beatboxing video, coming together to audition for Sing-off, winning and moving to LA making youtube videos at the dawn of the internet. Throughout the show, the quintet interwove snippets of the remixes that had jump-started their careers.
After the brief history lesson and more singing, the group handed the stage over to Kevin to showcase his unique skill set. For his set, Kevin led the audience through his cello/beatboxing process, starting by laying down a simple beat and then working his way up into a complex frenzy of vocal and string music. His performance left the audience spellbound and even led the conductor, of nine supporting cellists, to break into a spontaneous robotic dance routine.
Following Kevin’s set, the band performed their iconic arrangement of Hallelujah and gave us a sneak peek of one of their unreleased songs. Both of these were masterful arrangements that emphasized the blend of their individual voices.
Despite all the above highlights, the most exciting part of the night was the group’s encore. Cheered on by the crowd, Pentatonix returned to the stage after their ‘final’ bow to test the true acoustic powers of the Hollywood bowl. All five set down their mics allowing their raw, unamplified voices to be carried up the rows of audience members and float to the amphitheater’s nosebleed section. This single chorale drew an unparalleled silence from the audience of 17,000, as the group’s voices lifted unaided to enthralled ears. Needless to say, it was magical.
The Pentatonix showcased their incredible blend of voices carefully tailored to create the angelic sounds that filled the Hollywood bowl that night. However, I would rate the concert an 8.3 out of 10. If your vision of a concert (like mine) is getting wrapped up in the energy of the crowd screaming every song on the set at the top of their lungs, you may want to consider another artist or group. But the Pentatonix are totally worth seeing if you want to watch an incredible showcase of vocal skill by true masters of the craft.