Fans of a cappella music are sailing over to the Ocean City Music Pier on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ this Monday, June 29, 2026 evening for a Beach Bash ‘26 tour performance by the popular vocal group, Straight No Chaser.
Straight No Chaser is a nine-member a cappella ensemble which originated in 1996 at Indiana University in Bloomington and went on to sell three million albums, earn two gold records, and amass over 1 billion streams on Pandora.
Inside the Music Pier auditorium, the capacity crowd cheers as the members of Straight No Chaser — tenors Walter Chase, Jerome Collins, Michael Luginbill, Steve Morgan, and Tyler Tripp; baritones Seggie Isho and Jasper Smith; bass singer Luke Bob Robinson; and bass/vocal percussionist Freedom Young — take the stage.
Opening with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” Jerome and Michael share the lead as the group dances while singing, “Sweet dreams are made of this/Who am I to disagree?” on an upbeat a cappella arrangement of the chart-topping 1983 Eurythmics synth-pop hit.
Concertgoers applaud and Steve greets the crowd, joking, “We’re so happy to be back in a place that answers the question: How much ice cream, fudge, and salt water taffy can you fit in a one-mile boardwalk?”
After Steve announces, “At the end of the day, we want this to be a sweet escape,” Seggie and the group sing, “If you like piña coladas/And gettin’ caught in the rain,” on an a cappella arrangement of the Rupert Holmes pop tune, “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”
Jasper is featured on a rockin’ rendition of Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl.” After Tyler takes over and the ensemble slows things down chanting “I don’t want to lose your love tonight” on The Outfield’s “Your Love,” Jasper and the ensemble segue back into “Jessie’s Girl.”
Seggie asks the audience if they are “first-timers” or “returning friends” before asking everyone to sing and dance to a medley of Beach Boys classics including “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
Jerome sings with attitude and style on a joyful a cappella adaptation of Bruno Mars’ funky “I Just Might.”
Then, Luke Bob’s low bass voice is featured on the Barry White disco hit, “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Baby,” before the arrangement concludes with a mash-up where the guys perform “I Just Might” and “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Baby” simultaneously.
The crowd hoots and hollers and the singers get concertgoers waving their arms back and forth as Michael handles the lead on a breezy rendition of Christopher Cross’s 1980 hit, “Sailing.”
After telling a series of “dad jokes” — like, “Do I have an endless supply of beach puns? Dolphin-ately!” — Jasper is backed by the ensemble on a freewheeling performance of the Jimmy Buffett country-rocker, “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
Michael leads the group as they dance while singing, “Talk to me, baby/I’m going blind from this sweet, sweet craving,” on a rhythmic rendition of the DNCE pop hit, “Cake By the Ocean.”
Freedom talks about how, as a youngster, he wanted to learn to play the drums and “decided to build a drum set with my mouth.” Here, he teaches concertgoers how to mimic drum sounds including a “hi-hat,” “crash cymbal,” “tom-tom,” “snare,” and “bass ” before rapidly beatboxing all the sounds much to the amazement of the crowd.
Straight No Chaser concludes Act I of tonight’s Beach Bash with the audience clapping along while Tyler and the group sing and dance to a stellar a cappella arrangement of the upbeat Walk the Moon hit, “Shut Up and Dance with Me.”
Following a short intermission, Jerome leads the ensemble as they kick off Act II singing, “Clap along if you know what happiness is to you,” on a happy-go-lucky vocal arrangement of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.”
Steve exclaims, “We’re going to turn the party up to an 11!” as the guys sing and dance to the Miley Cyrus pop hit, “Party in the U.S.A.”
The group’s arrangement of Boz Scaggs’ “Lido Shuffle” has concertgoers singing along on the tune’s “Lido/Whoah oh oh oh” refrain before Freedom’s percussion solo brings hoots and hollers from the crowd.
After Luke Bob tells a story about going to the beach with the Straight No Chaser dads, Jasper and Steve follow up by singing lead on the 1985 Tears for Fears hit, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
Luke Bob and Tyler lay down the beat as Freedom sings lead on a hot rendition of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Heatwave” which has audience members happily echoing the Motown classic’s “Yeah yeah/yeah yeah” refrain.
Jasper exclaims, “Let’s hear it, Ocean City!” as the audience gets in on the fun tossing beach balls around on SNC’s version of the Rascal Flatts’ country-rocker, “Summer Nights,” which concludes with a harmonized coda of “Summer Nights” from Grease.
Several fans start their own conga line while others joyfully sing along on a bouncy vocal adaptation of the Lionel Richie hit, “All Night Long.” Then, Jerome and Michael soulfully take the lead on Blackstreet’s funky “No Diggity” as music lovers wave their arms in the air to the beat.
Seggie asks, “Ocean City, did you have a good time tonight?” and music lovers respond in the affirmative before, one at a time, each group member introduces himself to the audience.
Concluding tonight’s show with a buoyant rendition of the Justin Timberlake dance-pop hit, “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” the guys come down into the audience and encourage music fans to sing and dance to the song’s infectious “Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance” refrain.
The audience stands and cheers and the musicians bow and leave the stage. When they return, Walter explains how SNC always ends each show by singing their final number without microphones. Here, the vocalists perform an unamplified rendition of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” where they chant, “And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong/After the boys of summer have gone,” to whistles, cheers, and a standing ovation.
As concertgoers make their way out of the theater, several share their thoughts on tonight’s performance by Straight No Chaser. Declares Joanne from Warrington, PA, “Straight No Chaser was amazing! Their voices are incredible and they put on such a fun and entertaining show. I’d never seen them before and I’m so glad I came to see them here tonight!”
Judy from Glenolden, PA, asserts, “I’m a real fan — what they call a ‘Chaser.’ I’ve seen the group more than 20 times, and it’s so great seeing them do their Beach Bash show right on the beach. They’re extremely talented, funny, and so entertaining!” Bill from Glenolden agrees, asserting, “They were great!”
Terri from Aventura, FL declares, “Straight No Chaser was amazing! I’m a fan — I’ve seen them several times before — and it’s incredible what they can do with their voices. They’re super entertaining and Freedom, the beatboxer, was outstanding!”
Exclaims Pat from Hammonton, “We are ‘Chasers!’ and the guys were excellent tonight! When they did the a cappella ending, it was amazing — you could hear a pin drop!” Mike from Hammonton concurs, insisting, “Nine-part harmony is a lost art!”
Remarks Cathy from Moorestown, “We’ve seen Straight No Chaser before and they were great, but this was the best show we’ve seen yet!” Lee from Lewes, DE agrees, explaining, “They got everyone going — and the beach balls were so much fun!”
Lastly, Anna from Atlanta, GA suggests, “I’m at a loss for words! Straight No Chaser was so much fun, so energetic, and so electric — they’re insanely talented! They performed a great mix of songs with great energy, and they were great with the crowd, too — I loved it!” Adds Rich from Chattanooga, TN, “I sing with an a cappella chorus — we compete internationally and have even won international gold — and I can’t top what Anna just said. Straight No Chaser put on an excellent show tonight!”
To learn more about Straight No Chaser, please click on sncmusic.com. For information on great upcoming concerts at Ocean City Music Pier — including Judy Collins and Richard Thompson on July 20, Bruce Hornsby on July 27, The Happy Together Tour on August 3, The Outlaws plus Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel on August 10, Todd Rundgren on August 11, The Indigo Girls on August 17, The Temptations on August 18, and 10,000 Maniacs on August 24 — please go to ocnj.us.
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