Sweating and Crying with our Pals Pentatonix

Pentatonix visited the Queen City on a sweltering summer night

Written by: Dianna Augustine
Photography by: Kris Engelhart

The thing you can be positive of, is two things, Summer days and nights in August around Charlotte are going to be hotter and the air soupier than you can fathom, and Pentatonix is always going to bring their A-game to the masses. The World Tour 2023 rolled into town, at PNC Music Pavilion and brought with them an insane light rig, stellar notes, and a lasting experience until we can see them again.

If you are unfamiliar with the brilliance that is Pentatonix (PTX), let me catch you up a tiny bit. PTX is an American acapella group from Arlington, Texas. The quintet consists of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. If I had to describe their sound it would be eclectic. They pull their sound from influences of classical music, country, hip-hop, reggae, electronica, dubstep, and pop. With a variation of alternatives in there when they are joined by other artists.

They party with the likes of Dolly Parton and are on most major channels, especially around the holidays. PTX have won an umpteen amount of awards (most notably 3 Grammys), put out a discography to make their mamas proud (12 full-length and 2 compilation albums), and captured the hearts of many. Their indulgent velvety acapella sounds are masterful.

Fun Fact: On February 21, 2023, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tonight we were treated to some of the hits that just crash into your chest, you sing, you dance, you weep. Though it was hard to lose that last ounce of hydration it happened over and over. Lead singer Scott Hoying spoke about his new marriage (of a month!)

We saw the band dance, almost twerk. At one point there was a cello solo for about 3 minutes that turned into a jam box beat boxing session. Looking around to the crowd who all had their phones up not to record the show but shine light to the heavens that went to the beat of the music. A beautiful tapestry of twinkling lights amongst beautifully vibratic tones. You were immersed in the PTX vibe and it left you satiated from seeing a true performance.

There was no auto-tune, yes larger than life lighting but it added to the beauty. No backing vocals, no troop of a thousand friends having to hit the stage. It was raw, stripped down, unapologetic talent. We are always up for another set and we hope you get a chance to experience the genius that is PTX at least once.

Stand out songs; Jolene, Shallow, and closing with Hallelujah.

You can catch them on the rest of this tour, and please prepare to add them to your holiday calendar!

Fun fact: (via wikipedia) A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizationsand are still used in various musical styles to this day. There are two types of pentatonic scales: those with semitones (hemitonic) and those without (anhemitonic).

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If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.