Chasing Holiday Cheer

Straight No Chaserโ€™s Steve Morgan preps for hometown show

Steve Morgan is coming home for the holidays.

The Evansville nativeโ€™s acclaimed a cappella group Straight No Chaser is set to perform its annual Christmas show Dec. 17 at the Old National Events Plaza. The nine-man groupโ€™s Sleighin’ It Tour features seasonal classics combined with original songs from the new album โ€œStocking Stufferโ€ that put audiences into the holiday spirit.

The East Siderโ€™s musical journey began at Hebron Elementary School and expanded at William Henry Harrison High School. Morganโ€™s early involvement in city and state choirs, city musicals, and church choir laid the foundation for his career, which kicked into gear at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. With eight other vocalists, Morgan founded Straight No Chaser in 1996, and the group performed until 1999, when a new set of students took over. Morgan graduated to Broadway productions and musical guest performances.

In Straight No Chaser, Morgan is a baritone and serves as the groupโ€™s dance captain. One of his favorite parts of the Sleighinโ€™ It Tour is diving into diverse musical styles.

“One of my favorite songs is the โ€˜Little Drummer Boyโ€™ arrangement by Freedom Young. He puts different styles into the song โ€” it goes from jazz to disco and classic rock,โ€ Morgan says. โ€œI’m having fun doing the different styles, and the audience is in on the joke and the joy of it all.”

Beyond the groupโ€™s live shows, the Cincinnati, Ohio, resident enjoys creating social media content for Straight No Chaser and already is teasing fans with previews of new songs and arrangements while the group brainstorms for an upcoming summer tour.

Out of all the places the a cappella group tours, Straight No Chaser plays the most shows in Indiana. Members have come and gone โ€” including Morgan, who departed in 2009 and rejoined in 2016, working as a banking analyst in the years between โ€” since the group reformed in 2008. This incarnation reunites Morgan with original members Randy Stine and Jerome Collins.

Morgan would play โ€œanywhere that would let me near a microphone,โ€ he says, but he holds a special appreciation for the Old National Events Plaza, calling it โ€œan impressive place.โ€

โ€œWe take โ€˜back home again in Indianaโ€™ and being home for the holidays to heart,โ€ Morgan says. โ€œHopefully with this show, we can offer two hours of escapist joy to the audience.โ€

When You Go
Straight No Chaser: Sleighinโ€™ It Tour
7 p.m. Dec. 17, 2023
Old National Events Plaza, 715 Locust St.
Canโ€™t make it to the Evansville show? Catch Straight No Chaser on Dec. 19 in Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dec. 21-23 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Jodi Keen
Jodi Keen
Jodi Keen is the managing editor of Evansville Living and Evansville Business magazines.

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