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‘Come Sing With Us’: Jamestown Harmony Express to hold 40th annual barbershop performance

 The Jamestown Harmony Express, a local acapella barbershop quartet singing group of men ranging from 18 years old to men in their 90s has been performing for 40 years, and in celebration the group will be performing their 40th annual Barbershop Show this Saturday night.

The 40th Annual Barbershop Show, "Juke Box Saturday Night" will be held this Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. at the Robert H. Jackson Theater, 305 E. Fourth St. "Juke Box Saturday Night" will feature the Jamestown Harmony Express chorus, along with special musical performances designed to celebrate the sounds and spirit of the jukebox era. Audiences can expect the signature close harmonies, upbeat performances and good humor that have become part of the Harmony Express tradition. The 40th annual show is not only a celebration of music, but also a celebration of the many singers, families, friends, volunteers and audience members who have helped make the Harmony Express a part of the local community for 40 years.

Ned Langham with Jamestown Harmony Express said that the group has traveled all over to perform, including a trip to London a few years ago and back in July they were scheduled to sing the National Anthem for the 250th birthday celebration and parade in Washington. While the parade was canceled due to the high heat, the group sang at other venues in the D.C. area, including Fort McHenry, churches and a retirement home that was also the home of the first female pilot in the Air Force.

Langham said the group has been doing this for 40 years at the same place, First Presbyterian Church on Prendergast Avenue and Sixth Street. Langham said the church has been very good to them, and that is where the group practices every Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Langham added that the group is pretty proud to have made it to their 40th anniversary.

"The barbershop harmony society is many different groups throughout the United States and overseas," Langham said. "Over the years a lot of those groups have gotten smaller and smaller until they disappeared. People age out and you have to work to get more younger people involved in it. We're proud because we still are in existence, and also growing now."

He added that the hope is to build the group back up again now. At one point there were over 100 members of the group, and right now there are about 25 or 26 members, though Langham said there were a little less than that recently. Some members have been in the group for all 40 years.

For Saturday's show, Langham said people should expect to have fun.

"It's not just going to be a bunch of people standing on a stage and singing," Langham said. "It's going to be audience interactive. It's going to be a lot more relaxed, performance wise. We'll have a little karaoke, a little audience participation in the songs that we sing."

The audience will be able to help choose the songs that are sung. The group will not be in a usual choral arrangement, and Langham said the songs will be mostly from the 60s and 70s. He added the group has a lot of fun singing these songs, and when they are having fun the audience has fun and gets more into it, which then feeds back to the group and makes it more enjoyable.

"It feels so good to have the audience be a part of the show rather than just an observer," Langham said. "This show is meant to be keyed into having the audience be a part of the show."

People should be interested in coming out, Langham said, for good music, to see "a great bunch of guys" and a lot of fun. Additionally, Langham said most of the members of the group are either from that era of music or enjoy listening to that era, and the songs are easy for people to sing along with. There will also be an ice cream social after.

People are welcome to come and enjoy the show, but Langham said people are welcome to come join the group as well if they like to sing. The group sings gospel, old barbershop, and more, including singing to people on Valentines Day.

"We would really love to have more voices and more people involved in our group," Langham said. "Anybody that might be interested can also just come and visit our practices on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Come visit, come enjoy the music, come sing with us."

Besides Saturday's show, the Jamestown Harmony Express will be having a gospel concert in the spring at First Presbyterian Church.

For tickets and additional information on Saturday's "Juke Box Saturday Night", call 716-789-5248 or email info@Harmonyexpress.com.