CINCINNATI, OH – The Queen City’s favorite vocal jazz group will make three special debuts this March.
NO PROMISES Vocal Band is one of 25 ensembles in the region selected to debut new vocal music commissions as part of the May Festival’s “25 for 25: A New Time for Choral Music” program. The piece will be performed in three March concerts, including the group’s debut at Mt. Lookout’s The Redmoor. And all three programs will be the debut of former NO PROMISES guest artist Kaeden Kass in his role as the group’s first new permanent member added since 2018.
Music lovers can catch NO PROMISES in concert three times in March:
Northminster Church Concert Series
Sunday, March 12, 2:30pm
703 Compton Road | Finneytown
No Admission Fee | More Information
May Festival 25 for 25 Showcase
Sunday, March 19, 2:00pm (NO PROMISES performs at 6:00pm)
Christ Church Cathedral
418 E. 4th Street | Downtown
More Information
The Redmoor with Three Bald Guys
Thursday, March 23, 7:30pm (6:00pm Doors)
3187 Linwood Ave | Mt. Lookout
Tickets $25 | theredmoor.com
A Compositional Debut – NO PROMISES Sings a World Premiere
This March NO PROMISES is honored to offer the world premiere of “Aubade,” a new work by composer and Luna Composition Lab alumna Cecelia Olszewski. After studying the group’s roster and style, Olszewski sought to write a close-harmony ballad that sounded modern but also included aspects of Medieval composition. Olszweski’s composition “is about the transitional space between two distinct phases,” the composer writes. “Night becoming day, motion becoming stillness, closed eyes opening, a question becoming an answer.” Setting an original lyric by colleague Iman Pekdemir, Olsweski’s piece also nods to the Roman Catholic basis of much of Medieval music, employing 3/4 time in representation of the Holy Trinity.
Olsweski’s commission for NO PROMISES comes courtesy of the May Festival’s 150th anniversary celebration and their “25 for 25: A New Time for Choral Music” program, wherein composers from Luna Composition Lab will write 25 new choral works for local artist and choral ensembles across Greater Cincinnati. Luna Composition Lab provides mentorship, education, and resources for young female, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming composers, the only initiative of its kind in the United States. More information on the May Festival program can be found here, and information on the Luna Composition Lab here.
“Aubade” will receive its world premiere at NO PROMISES Sunday, March 12 performance at Northminster Church, and will also be performed on the group’s March 19 and 23 programs.
A Personnel Debut – Kaeden Kass
NO PROMISES is proud to welcome its first new permanent band member since 2018, Kaeden Kass. Delivering strong performances as a guest artist throughout the group’s 2022 concert sequences, Kass’ tenor voice and strong musicianship were an instant fit for the group.
“I think what excites me most about being a permanent member of NO PROMISES is having the opportunity to make music with a close-knit group of fantastic musicians and fantastic humans,” says Kass. “I love that the group continually pushes me as a musician and performer, and I’m excited to continue to grow in both capacities.”
Kass has been a favorite for several years with the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus and their elite small ensemble, the Queensmen. A multi-instrumentalist in addition to his singing, Kass plays viola, fiddle, ukelele, guitar, mandolin and others, and has appeared with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra. Kass is a social worker at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Transgender Health Clinic, and makes his home in Mt. Airy with his husband, Will. Read more about Kaeden Kass here.
A Venue Debut – The Redmoor
NO PROMISES continues its tradition of playing co-bills in the Queen City’s classic small music venues with its Thursday, March 23 debut at The Redmoor in Mt. Lookout. The two-time “Best of Cincinnati” winners join soft rock mavens The Three Bald Guys for an evening of sweet harmony at the fabulous Redmoor in Mt. Lookout Square. NO PROMISES’ unique arrangements of selections by Pentatonix, Dan Fogelberg and Gordon Lightfoot meet 3BG’s trademark three-part vocals on tunes by Silk Sonic, Chicago and Kenny Loggins.
Tickets $25. Doors open at 6:00pm to experience The Redmoor’s delicious dinner menu, along with full cash bar. Reserved table seating and general admission seating available. Complimentary on-site parking behind the venue.
The March 3 program at The Redmoor will be NO PROMISES second co-bill with The Three Bald Guys, following a sold-out program last summer at Memorial Hall. Featuring NO PROMISES leader Joshua Steele (vocals & melodica), his father, Tom Steele (vocals & guitar), and their friend, Rick Hagee (vocals, keyboard), 3BG performs soft rock favorites by your favorite (mostly) dead singers.
NO PROMISES has offered similar co-bill concerts at The Carnegie, Northside Tavern, The Warsaw Federal Incline Theater and York Street Café with collaborators including The Nancy James Trio, the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers and the Queen City Sisters.
About NO PROMISES
NO PROMISES is a Cincinnati-based professional a cappella ensemble bringing exhilarating vocals and breathtaking harmonizations to jazz and popular music favorites from 1940s classics to today’s jams. Citybeat “Best of Cincinnati” winners in 2017 and 2022, the group has entertained at festivals, concert series, conventions and performing arts centers throughout the state. Its members have graced the stages of Broadway, fronted major symphony orchestras, and backed the likes of Jim Messina, Steve Winwood, Kenny Loggins and POCO. In their day-to-day lives, the men of NO PROMISES are clinical psychologists, concert promoters, social workers, real estate moguls and hairdressers with a passion for fine a cappella singing.
In 2023, NO PROMISES will premiere a newly commissioned work by composer Cecelia Olszewski as part of Cincinnati May Festival’s program 25 for 25: A New Time for Choral Music. 2021 saw the ensemble’s debut of “The Boy Band Diaries,” a collaboration with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra featuring male vocal hits spanning the past century. The group has released three recording projects: A No Promises Christmas (2016), All Wet (2018) and The Nines (2019).
The members of NO PROMISES are Joshua Steele (resident of Kennedy Heights), Kaeden Kass (Mt. Airy), David Baum (Montgomery), Jeff Grooms (Cold Spring, KY), and Nat Comisar (Indian Hill). Individual bios available at http://www.nopromisesvocalband.com/lineup/.
For More Information
Contact Nat Comisar at 513.378.5801 or booking@nopromisesvocalband.com.
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