Straight No Chaser is rolling into Colorado Springs this Sunday with its Making Spirits Bright holiday tour, bringing three decades of a cappella harmonies to Pikes Peak Center at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the show start at $30.
The group's roots trace back to 1996, when the original 10 singers got together as students at Indiana University, according to The Gazette. Three decades later, the act has sold more than 3 million albums, per the same report. Along the way, the group has recorded with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Dolly Parton and Stevie Wonder, collaborations that have helped cement its crossover appeal well beyond the a cappella niche.
Ticket sales figures vary depending on the source: The Gazette reports the group has sold more than 1.5 million concert tickets, while Nederlander Concerts puts the number at more than 2 million tickets to live shows. Either way, Sunday's stop continues a tradition for the group in Colorado Springs — the band's annual holiday tour also played Pikes Peak Center in 2024, the Gazette noted at the time.
A Setlist That Reinvents Itself Every Year
Fans expecting a greatest-hits rerun shouldn't get too comfortable. The group aims to make at least half of each year's show entirely new, the Gazette reported in its 2024 coverage of the act. The holiday program blends selections from the group's deep catalog of Christmas songs with nonholiday material, a formula the band has leaned on for years to keep the tour feeling fresh for repeat audiences.
That reinvention happens without a single person calling the shots. Baritone Seggie Isho told The Gazette that the band functions as a democracy, with every arrangement choice, setlist edit and touring decision hashed out together. “We don't have a singular leader, so every arrangement choice, setlist edit, and touring decision has to be hashed out together,” Isho said.
Life On The Road: Silence, Sleep Loss And Saving Your Voice
Isho also described the physical toll of a grueling tour schedule that runs the length of the holiday season. The group's official band page notes that the tour typically crosses the United States from October through December, and this year's run is no exception — Nederlander Concerts lists the 2026 tour as kicking off October 29 in Findlay, Ohio, and wrapping December 30 in Jacksonville, Florida, with a stop at Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks on November 15.
Keeping voices intact across that stretch takes discipline. Isho said touring means contending with sleep deprivation and dry air conditioning on the tour bus while trying to preserve his vocal cords. “You spend your days off completely silent to survive a four-show weekend,” he said, describing the quiet sacrifice that comes with back-to-back performances.
Getting Tickets For Sunday's Show
Tickets for Sunday's performance at Pikes Peak Center are available at pikespeakcenter.com and axs.com, with prices starting at $30, according to the Gazette's report. The venue's own event listing confirms the Making Spirits Bright Tour is set to take the stage in Colorado Springs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
