On Thursday, The Men of Last Call and Nothing But Treble, two of Cornell’s a cappella groups, collaborated for their annual Halloween performance. Both groups are single-gender, with Nothing But Treble being Cornell’s first all-women group, so the event showcased a larger vocal range than each of the groups’ usual gigs. In true holiday spirit, both groups arrived in costume, ready to put on a fun performance. The new members of Nothing But Treble dressed as Pitbull, while the older members performed as Dr. Seuss characters, Steve Harvey, Timothée Chalamet and Pete Davidson. Meanwhile, Last Call members coordinated their costumes by grade: freshmen as minions from Despicable Me, sophomores as hippies and seniors as smurfs (the group doesn’t have any juniors).
Before the performance, which took place at Baker Arch, both groups warmed up. One of Nothing But Treble’s warmup songs was Pitbull, Afrojack and Ne-Yo’s 2011 hit “Give Me Everything.” Listening to the warmup brought me back to watching Pitch Perfect for the first time and falling in love with a cappella.
The gig was structured into three parts: two introductory songs performed by Last Call, followed by two Nothing But Treble songs and a finishing act by Last Call. The first song of the night was a mashup of Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls,” soloed by Cole Garcia ’26, and Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” soloed by Justin Lee ’26. Although this is the first time the group has performed this arrangement, it sounded amazing. Especially on a rainy day, Garcia’s vocals felt like the perfect way to start the gig; they had a cozy, pure quality that left me wanting more. Before Last Call performed their second song, they interrupted the performance and asked the audience to join in for an impromptu birthday song for one of the members, senior Adi Arora, who then soloed the next song, George Michael’s “Careless Whisper.”
After this, Last Call gave the stage to Nothing But Treble, who opened with “Alone” by Heart. This was by far my favorite part; sophomore Riley Auman’s solo was breathtaking, her belts carrying throughout the archway. I, as well as the rest of the audience, was stunned while listening to her performance, which was beautifully accompanied by the other Nothing But Treble girls. Afterwards, Maggie Levine ’26 led the group’s second and final song, Maroon 5’s “This Love.” Because the song is sung in a minor chord, the vibe felt very different from the others and perfect for a Halloween performance.
Finally, Last Call concluded with “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” by The Georgia Satellites, which they perform at every gig. Matthew Merril, Last Call’s president, solos this song and always performs both with amazing vocal quality and stage presence. Midway through the song, he directed the audience’s attention to Arora, who performed one of the verses. The song was funny and upbeat — especially since the group ran around the archway, serenaded an audience member and had incredible overall dynamics — and a great way to end the gig.
I expected the arch sing to be a bit unserious, especially given the silly costumes, but both groups delivered beautiful performances. Merril remarked that performing arts are “one of the best organizations you can join at Cornell.” Specifically, he noted that collaborations with groups like Nothing But Treble allow the students to share their ideas and create something they love that expands beyond just the spaces they are in and reach as much of campus as possible. Though there was no joint song between the two groups, it was nice listening to a set with such a wide vocal range, and the soloists especially blew me away. If you’re looking for a chance to see these amazing groups, Check out Nothing But Treble’s upcoming concert on Nov. 14 and The Men of Last Call’s Fall 2025 Concert on Dec. 6!
Katherine Winton is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at kgw45@cornell.edu.
