Members of The Remnants Barbershop Chorus harmonize during a recent performance. The group's big fall concert is Saturday. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

ESCANABA — The local barbershop chorus will have its traditional fall concert, Harvest of Harmony 2025, on Saturday alongside three other groups who perform in similar styles.

Beginning at 7 p.m., The Remnants Barbershop Chorus, The Menominee River Chorus, Vintage Blend and The Newfangled Four will all take turns on stage at the William Oliver Auditorium in Escanaba Upper Elementary School, formerly the junior high, 1500 Ludington St. An “afterglow” will follow at Holy Name Catholic School, 409 S. 22nd St. Tickets are $20 for the concert and $5 for the afterglow — both may be purchased at the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, Elmer’s County Market, theremnantsbarbershopchorus.com or at the door if still available.

With the exception of a few years in the 1980s, the Escanaba area has had a barbershop chorus for about 80 years. Initially called simply the Escanaba chorus, the group adopted the moniker Bay de Noc Chorus in 1951. After falling apart for a few years, another group formed in the 1980s under the name The Remnants because the members were stragglers who had been involved with the previous barbershop chorus.

Barbershop singing groups, in general, perform with a particular style of arrangement. The genre is a cappella — meaning comprised of only vocals without instrumental accompaniment — and is characterized by the close harmony of four parts: lead, bass, tenor and baritone. What is now considered barbershop style is thought to have originated in African-American culture in the late 1800s, according to the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Many groups have only four individuals, hence the “barbershop quartet” readers are likely familiar with, but many others will have several voices in each range and are considered a “chorus,” like The Remnants.

The Remnants belong to the Delta County Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, which is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and has about 700 chapters around the U.S. and Canada. That organization’s common title — Barbershop Harmony Society — is to save people the mouthful that is their official name as of 1938: the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America Inc., or SPEBSQSA.

Many barbershop groups hold an autumn concert called “Harvest of Harmony,” said Marc Tall, president of the Delta County chapter. The Remnants have followed suit since the 1980s revival.

Along with The Remnants, the concert will feature the Menominee River Chorus, a women’s barbershop group out of the Menominee-Marinette, Wis. area. One thing Menominee River has in common with The Remnants is they share a director, Ed Boehm.

The other two, Vintage Blend from lower Michigan and The Newfangled Four from California, both are award-winning quartets.

Local businesses have helped raise funds to support the local chorus and to bring the invited groups to Escanaba. The concert is also supported in part by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

“We get a great joy out of entertaining,” Tall of The Remnants said of barbershop singing in general. He is particularly looking forward to seeing The Newfangled Four live — they put a comedic spin on their singing, “and I’m sure that the audience will eat them up,” Tall said.

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R. R. Branstrom can be reached at 906-786-2021 or rbranstrom@dailypress.net.