Pentatonix, one of the most Christmas loving musical groups of all time, will bring their “Most Wonderful Tour of the Year” to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Showtime is 7 p.m.
In tandem with the tour, Pentatonix, the supergroup of a cappella, has unveiled their 12th overall full-length and seventh holiday album, “The Greatest Christmas Hits.” The album features 23 of the band’s top holiday songs and eight new, never-before-heard tracks – including one holiday original.
Last year, the three-time Grammy Award-winning and Daytime Emmy Award-nominated vocal quintet completed their biggest and most successful Christmas arena tour, selling out multiple dates across the country.
Since emerging in 2011, the group — composed of Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee — have reached unprecedented heights, toppling charts, selling 10 million albums worldwide, generating billions of streams, and performing everywhere from the White House and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to the Hollywood Bowl. Their catalog boasts back-to-back No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including the gold-certified “Pentatonix” from 2015 and platinum-certified “A Pentatonix Christmas” from 2016. They made history as the first a cappella act to win Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella at the Grammys in 2015 and 2016. A year later, they earned another Grammy in the category Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their duet with Dolly Parton on her song “Jolene.” Along the way, the collective also graced the stage of The Kennedy Center Honors for Tom Hanks, covering “That Thing You Do” as President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama watched from the crowd. They have also collaborated with Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, and Lindsey Stirling, among many others. In addition to their appearances on late-night television talk shows, Pentatonix leapt onto the big screen with a cameo in the blockbuster “Pitch Perfect 2.”
In an interview with The Republican, member Mitch Grassi talked about the tour, Christmas and more.
Pentatonix will bring its “Most Wonderful Tour of the Year” to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Q. What can you say about “The Most Wonderful Tour of the Year”?
A. This has been my favorite show that we have done so far. It is promoting the new record which is “The Greatest Christmas Hits.” We are giving audiences what they want in terms of crowd favorites which, in turn, happen to be our favorites, as well as new tracks from the album. We feature Kevin’s amazing, incredible, showstopping beat box thing and it is just an amazing show and I’m really proud of it. We do something very fun near the top of the show called the Wheel of Christmas. We have eight songs that we have arranged in the past years and spin the wheel and whatever the pointer lands on we have to do by singing a short version of the arrangement. It is the definition of live music, and sometimes we mess up, but I feel that a lot of the songs on the wheel are also crowd favorites.
Q. How did you come to record seven Christmas albums?
A. Well, fan reaction was a big part of it. Our first-ever Christmas project was called “PTXmas” in 2013. It was a little Christmas EP. We had a version of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Carol of the Bells” that we posted on YouTube and they went crazy viral. We were inspired to record Christmas music because Christmas music and a cappella go so well together. It’s about harmony and bringing people together in celebration, happiness, unity and family. We feel like those values are intrinsic to what we do as an a cappella group. When our “That’s Christmas To Me” album came out people really, really enjoyed it and it was our first record to go platinum. After that we were “wowed” and felt that people really loved our Christmas music. So, we figured let’s keep doing this and trying to make it bigger and better every year. We love Christmas and we all grew up absolutely adoring Christmas.
Q. Did you ever think you would record so many Christmas albums and tours around them?
A. No, I never thought that would be the case, but I’m very happy about it. I say this all the time to band members and people who are curious about it, that our Christmas tours are by far my favorite leg of the tour that we do every year. It is just so joyful and everybody in the crowd is happy and we are enjoying ourselves. We just really have a big love for Christmastime. And, I think now more than ever, especially with everything that has happened in the past few years and now in the world, that it is more important than ever to provide a safe space to smile and laugh and enjoy ourselves while escaping from the modern troubles we are all experiencing.
Q. What does Christmas mean to you personally?
A. Christmas was always a big deal to the Grassi family. We would go all out decorating together and I would frost cookies with my mom. I just remember it being a really magical, beautiful time of togetherness and happiness along with the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning and finding all those presents under the tree. Now, it is very different and has become part of what I do for work, but it doesn’t make Christmas any less sentimental. Every year after the tour is over, we all go home to spend time with our families for Christmas.
Q. The Pentatonix sound is so unique, so full, that instead of just a cappella it feels as if there is instrumentation, too. How do you achieve that with no instrumental backup?
A. We began cultivating the sound at a very young age, but it was really during 2011 that we started to perfect it. I don’t want to brag, but I think we have a collective of some of the best vocalists in the group. We are constantly thinking about how we can fill out our sound and make it as full as possible to make it listenable and enjoyable for our fans. We also have some amazing producers that we work with. Ed Voyer is one of the biggest producers and mixers and he has ingeniously cultivated our sound since the beginning, making it sound so huge.
Q. What is your favorite Christmas song?
A. My favorite Pentatonix Christmas song is “Mary, Did You Know?” We have done it for so long and the more we sing it, the more locked in we become. It is just a spiritual experience singing that song. As for my personal favorite, I really love both “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” They immediately put me in the Christmas spirit.
Q. You mentioned that you believed that your St. Paul concert at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota on Nov. 25 was probably your largest audience ever. So many of your concerts sell out, why is that?
A. I think the biggest reason for that is what we talked about earlier – people wanting to enjoy themselves and the season by immersing themselves in a beautiful, happy experience. Also, I think a big part of it is that we are really enjoying ourselves on stage and audiences can see it on our faces. Christmas music is just so deeply imbedded in American culture. It is so sentimental and means so much to people young and old. It’s just a beautiful, symbiotic experience of love and joy.
Q. What is your favorite Pentatonix Christmas album?
A. I’m going to say last year’s “Holidays Around the World.” It was our most unique to date. It was influenced by so many sounds from around the world and we got to work with some amazing artists from all over the world. It just blew my mind and I think it is our most experimental Christmas album ever.
Q. Is there someone’s Christmas music you love to listen to?
A. What is so sentimental to me is Amy Grant. She had a Christmas album when I was a child and I just remember being so emotional when I listened to it. That’s the record my family puts on during the holiday and it immediately brings me back to that place.
