WITH KENTUCKY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
AT BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED 20TH CENTURY THEATER
CINCINNATI, OH – After a decade of tight harmony singing, three studio albums, countless concerts and nearly 25 singers who have graced the roster, NO PROMISES Vocal Band is celebrating their past and future with an unforgettable concert of old friends and new amid Art Deco splendor.
NO PROMISES proudly announces THE BOY BAND DIARIES – NO PROMISES Tenth Anniversary Spectacular on Saturday, September 13, 8:00pm at the 20th Century Theater in Oakley (3021 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH, 452090). The program will feature the 21-piece Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Boogie Band (studio orchestra) and more than a dozen former NO PROMISES singers in a revue of American tight harmony groups over the past 100 years. Reserved seating tickets are $36 – $46 (plus taxes and fees) and are available at nopromisesvocalband.com or Eventbrite.
The Concert
The Boy Band Diaries concert pairs NO PROMISES with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Boogie Band, featuring music from American tight harmony groups over the past century of music. Originating from a 2021 mini-tour collaboration between those two ensembles, Boy Band Diaries includes favorites by early recording groups The Ink Spots and the Hi Los, Motown groups including The Temptations and The Jackson Five, classic pop and rock groups like the Eagles and Crosby, Stills & Nash; and, of course, 90s boy bands including Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees and *NSYNC. The concert will include a mix of a cappella and full band selections, including numerous original charts by Kentucky Symphony Orchestra arranger and local music legend, Terry LaBolt.
The Talent
The Boy Band Diaries prominently features the seven singers of two-time “Best of Cincinnati” winners NO PROMISES Vocal Band. The group’s core lineup is anchored by two original NO PROMISES members: Broadway veteran (MARY POPPINS, A CHORUS LINE) and clinical psychologist Dr. David Baum, and Northern Kentucky University voice instructor and Director of Cincinnati’s Memorial Hall Joshua Steele. It also includes noted former restauranteur and international barbershop quartet champion Nat Comisar, Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School choral director Joey Pace, Xavier University Bellarmine Chapel associate music director Chancellor Waye, therapist and multi-instrumentalist Kaeden Kass and WLWT Executive Producer Buck Hinman. Full individual bios available here.
Joining the performance are twelve former NO PROMISES members and guest artists from the group’s decade of music making:
- Noah Berry (New York, NY) – Professional actor and multi-instrumentalist; national tours of SPAMALOT and BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY; noah-berry.com
- Matt Croy (Findlay, OH) – Property manager and longtime a cappella singer
- Jeff Grooms (Cold Spring, KY) – Longtime May Festival Chorus singer, founding member of NO PROMISES
- Charlie Harper (Cincinnati) – Screen and stage actor, IT professional, founding NO PROMISES member
- Ken Holdt (Cincinnati) – Director of Sycamore High School choirs, Director of Worship & Music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
- Kyle Karnes (New York, NY) – Web studio owner and longtime a cappella singer
- Deondra Means (Cincinnati) – Beloved actor and playwright, arts educator at Ensemble Theater Cincinnati
- Paul Phillips (Phoenix, AZ) – IT professional and avid vocalist
- Michael Robertson (Columbus, OH) – School district administrator, former choir director and multi-instrumentalist
- Ryan Strand (Cincinnati) – Broadway veteran, national tours of JERSEY BOYS and ALTAR BOYZ; Senior Director of Marketing for ArtsWave
- Corey Tucker (Cincinnati) – In-demand Greater Cincinnati singer-songwriter and worship leader, whose vocals have been described as “smooth, rich, classic and soulful;” iamcoreytucker.com
- Schyler Vargas (Chicago, IL) – Professional opera singer with credits at Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and The Glimmerglass Festival; dubbed “superb” by the New York Stage Review and a “powerful baritone” by the Washington Post; schylervargas.com
“I’ve often joked that we could make a ‘supergroup’ out of the former singers of NO PROMISES,” says co-founder and group leader Joshua Steele. “We’ve been musing about this concert for several years; the opportunity to bring back so many of our old friends, fronting the region’s best large pop music band, at the marvelously restored 20th Century Theater, is a dream come true.”
The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra (KSO) is led by founder and music director J.R. Cassidy, whose long musical association and friendship with Steele was the foundation for the Boy Band Diaries collaboration. Steele has been a featured performer with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra for the past 15 years, appearing on programs including STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF, Who Spiked the Symphony and dozens of Boogie Band concerts across the region. The two also collaborated while Steele was the theater producer at The Carnegie (Covington, KY), where they staged productions of OLIVER! and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Cassidy has also featured former NO PROMISES singers Adam Wheeler, Ryan Strand, Corey Tucker, Deondra Means, Paul Phillips and Schyler Vargas in various KSO programs over the past decade.
“Josh and the No Promises members are amazing singers and consummate professionals in addition to being fun and engaging collaborators.” — J.R. Cassidy, KSO Music/Executive Director & Founder
About The Bands
NO PROMISES Vocal Band 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, stadiums 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, television producers, concert promoters, therapists, choir directors and real estate moguls with a passion for fine a cappella singing.
In 2024, NO PROMISES was honored to make their debut at Great American Ballpark, performing the national anthem for two Cincinnati Reds games, including a nationally televised tilt with the Boston Red Sox. During the year prior, the group premiered a newly commissioned work as part of Cincinnati May Festival’s 150th anniversary season and joined Broadway veteran Sally Wilfert in concert at historic Memorial Hall in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. 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. Their annual co-bill “Sweet Harmony” with soft rock group Three Bald Guys perennially sells out The Redmoor in Mt. Lookout. The group’s numerous other collaborators and guest artist appearances have included the Gem City Chorus, the Southern Gateway Chorus, the Sycamore Community Singers, the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers, the Queen City Sisters and the Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project. NO PROMISES has released three recording projects: A No Promises Christmas (2016), All Wet (2018) and The Nines (2019), as well as the pandemic-era virtual concert, NO PROMISES Saves Christmas. The group has also released three singles with music vídeos: “Just My Imagination” (the Temptations, 2024), “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Andy Williams, 2024), and their 2023 release of “Kol Nidre,” a rich vocal arrangement of one of the most sacred texts in the Jewish tradition.
The members of NO PROMISES are Joshua Steele (resident of Kennedy Heights), Buck Hinman (Walnut Hills), Kaeden Kass (Mt. Airy), Joey Pace (Clifton), David Baum (Montgomery), Chancellor Waye (Mason) and Nat Comisar (Symmes Township). Individual bios available here.
“Their harmony is tight, their arrangements are delightfully eclectic… they sound like a cross between the Four Freshmen and Pentatonix.” – David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer
“For my money, the best a cappella group in the region” – Thom Mariner, Movers & Makers
The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1992 (as the Northern Kentucky Symphony) with a mission to make symphonic music and the concert experience attractive, accessible and affordable for Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati residents. Since its inception, the KSO has demonstrated a unique ability to make the concert experience relevant and entertaining to its audiences while maintaining high performance standards and integrity.
The KSO has collaborated with local arts organizations such as the Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Playhouse in the Park, the Taft Museum as well as local and international acts like Over the Rhine, Blessid Union of Souls, 2Cellos, Igudesman and Joo, Hasbro Toys and NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
For 33 years The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra has taken the “phony” out of symphony through live thematic concerts which culturally enrich, educate and entertain the residents of the entire region. Nostalgia-focused KSO subsidiary groups like The Newport Ragtime Band, The Devou-Doo Daddies, The Flood Wall Jazz Quintet, The K-so Combo, and the KSO Boogie Band take a variety of musical genres to neighborhoods and municipalities throughout the Tristate.
About The 20th Century Theater
One of Cincinnati’s most recognizable venues, the 20th Century Theater has been hosting films, concerts and special events since 1941. Recent renovations have lovingly enhanced the historic Art Deco architecture while seamlessly integrating modern amenities. More information: https://www.the20thcenturytheater.com/about-us/
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Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 