Roaring 20, a co-ed a cappella group on campus, performed their first of a normally biennial “Jam” in four years on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium. The show, called “Resonance,” marked the group’s 40th anniversary and featured guest performances from the Mixtapes NYU — visiting from New York University (NYU) — Fuzzy Dice Improv Comedy Group, and BodyHype Dance Company.
For nearly two and a half hours, Roaring 20 stunningly performed three full sets, starting in their iconic formal red and black attire and changing to casual black before finishing off in white. The show featured 20 covers from a wide range of musical decades, including songs from Cyndi Lauper, Coldplay, and Lady Gaga.
Throughout the performance, Roaring 20 demonstrated their impeccable harmony and group balance. At the start of each song, music director Ben Kim ’25 hummed a starting note before the group launched seamlessly into well-practiced backup vocals. Arrangement variety kept the audience entertained with echoes of the melody, snapping, clapping, and sound textures.
The Saturday evening crowd was ready to have fun, greeting every new soloist with enthusiastic hollers and giving shout-outs after exceptionally well-executed runs. Many members of Roaring 20 had their chance to shine, with repeat solos from nearly half of the singers. The second act introduced an unexpected new star — beatboxer Tommy Kim ’23, who stepped out of the shadows for a solo of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” Fellow bass Peter Ng ’24 and alto Anna Solzhenitsyn ’25 later joined him to harmonize on the melody.
Later in the act, Jeb Carter ’23 sailed through an impressive solo of Augustana’s “Boston.” The crowd was riveted as he flipped between mid-register and technically challenging high notes at the chorus. As his solo ended, the audience was left in hushed silence punctuated by murmurs of admiration.
Guest performances added variety between each act. The Mixtapes NYU were the first to take the stage, presenting fresh faces and a new sound. The visiting a cappella group counterbalanced Roaring 20’s musical taste with three post-2010 hits. NYU student Olivia Hellman rocked her way through two solos, including a heart-wrenching cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “traitor.”
Between the second and third acts, Princeton’s Fuzzy Dice Comedy Group provided a change of pace with wacky live improv skits where the audience watched the performers swallow invisible bananas, order French fries, and deliver soliloquies to donkeys.
The start of the final act brought a show of inter-collegiate harmony as the Mixtapes NYU returned to the stage to join Roaring 20 for an upbeat rendition of The Beatles’ “Please Please Me,” arranged by Carter. The two groups made a striking picture in alternating black and white as they bopped through the piece. At the song’s finish, the audience cheered for both groups as Roaring 20 president Sean Park ’24 gave the visiting group a note of appreciation. “Give it up for the Mixtapes, who learned that song in less than a month,” he said, to renewed applause.
The third and final guest performance came in the form of six dancers clad in red from BodyHype Dance Company. In a unique pairing of live a cappella and lyrical dance, the six dancers twirled through Roaring 20’s rendition of The Animals’ “The House of the Rising Sun.” Their youthful energy and elegance added innocence and nostalgia to the song’s wistful lyrics.
As the show came to an end, Park gave an onstage welcome to two new members of the group, sopranos Rachel Edelstein ’26 and Gabriela Cejas ’25. In an inspiring show of unity, Park then invited the Mixtapes and visiting Roaring 20 alumni to join Roaring 20 for their final piece, advertised as a mystery in the program. In a surprising turn of events, Kim then took center stage and turned to the audience to teach four vocal parts of a simple arrangement of “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. The auditorium filled with “na-na-na-na’s” as the performance ended with smiles all around.
Ultimately, “Resonance” was a show of harmony. From their own group balance to their guest collaborations to their inclusion of the audience, Roaring 20 brought community and connection to the auditorium. Watching Roaring 20 and the Mixtapes NYU’s beatboxers share a microphone, grinning, trading off, and high-fiving afterward, it was evident that the stage had transformed from a place of performance to a place of friendship. Then extending the stage to the audience to allow alumni, family, and friends to join in singing made the event a memorable and worthwhile experience.
Jessica Wang is a contributing writer for the Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at jessica.wang[at]princeton.edu.
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