Project Description

Who are we?

Founded in 2001, the Undertones are a co-ed a cappella group that loves to travel, compete, and be goofy together. We pride ourselves on maintaining a very high level of musicianship, resulting in the group placing second at the 2018 ICCA Great Lakes Quarterfinals and receiving the Outstanding Soloist award. The Undertones have studied in every major school Northwestern University has to offer and hail from all over, creating opportunities for the group to tour nationally (The White House, NYC, Denver, San Francisco) and internationally (Edinburgh, Scotland and Barcelona, Spain). Although much of our time together is spent rehearsing, performing, and recording, the Undertones are also a close group of friends who love spending time with one another and keeping the fun and silliness alive in the work we do! 

Our mission as a Northwestern organization is to aim to create beautiful a cappella music that can be enjoyed by Northwestern University students, as well as national and international audiences. Our objectives are: to arrange original compositions of pop, jazz, country, R&B, alternative, and all genres of music; to put on three main stage concerts every year that feature our original music and will be shared with Northwestern University students and the Evanston community at large; to record our compositions for the purpose of CD and/or EP distribution online; to compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, subject to a group vote; and to go on tour in a different region of the country, performing our arrangements and promoting our group to a wider audience.

Project overview: Over the course of four years, the Undertones record around nine or ten of their original arrangements, accumulating in a professionally produced album. Keeping with this tradition, we just recorded three new songs to wrap up the next Undertones album (which will be released in 2022, on target for the upcoming four year rotation). Ben Lieberman, an alumni of the Undertones, recorded the album and will edit and mix it this upcoming spring. He has been a primary source of musical, a cappella, and business wisdom for the past few recording sessions. The purpose of recording and producing an Undertones album is to produce music of a professional level that will be available on streaming services for friends, family, and fans to listen to forever; create an existing work that carries the legacy and spirit of generations upon generations of Northwestern Undertones; provide the technological means necessary to reach a heightened level of professionalism as a musical ensemble; and make music that will reach beyond the Northwestern community at the Evanston campus. 

Our goal: The Northwestern Undertones aim to raise $5,000 to cover production costs for their fifth album. These costs will be distributed amongst recording (which we completed in November 2021), mixing and mastering, which Ben Lieberman, the producer of our album, will be working on in the coming months. If funded fully, the Undertones will be able to release their album just in time for their 20th anniversary concert in May 2022, which will be a big event on campus to celebrate generations of Undertones’ success. 

How you can help: 

Make a gift! Even $10 goes a long way!

Spread the news! Share this link with your friends on social media. 

Support the album! Stream the Undertones’ album when it’s released this upcoming spring.