The Greysounds welcomed alumni back to McManus Theatre on Dec. 1 to celebrate 10 years of Loyola’s co-ed a cappella group.
The Greysounds’ fall concert opened with a ten-minute video featuring group antics throughout the semester. Each member answered amusing questions, with topics like pet dinosaurs and third ears, which brought the audience to rousing laughter and applause. After the video ended the Greysounds emerged onstage, decked out in various shades of green with microphones in hand.
Two pups—the nickname for new members— Taylor Pitts ’27 and Aliyah Allones ’27 led the group in their opening rendition of “Love Never Felt So Good.” President Sophia Fischbach ’24 introduced each member of the Greysounds before diving into the rest of the setlist, which consisted of songs and mashups originally performed by artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Post Malone. The setlist concluded with Ellie Rutledge ’25 leading an energetic rendition of “Runaway Baby.”
After a standing ovation, Fischbach welcomed all the alumni in the audience onstage to join the group in singing “Home for the Holidays.” Vice President Christina Franciosa ’25 greeted each alum with a rose as they walked onstage. Becky Scullin, who founded the Greysounds in 2013, made a short speech. She spoke about how many people did not think the group would last when it was first formed.
“This is proof that it’s not only survived, but thrived,” Scullin said. “It really does mean so much to me and I’m just so proud.”
Fischbach said, “It was really special to be able to show them how far our club has come since its humble beginnings back in the fall of 2013 and across the years that the alumni ranged from. It felt very transformational and surreal being able to sing with them, especially with our founder.”
Franciosa agreed, saying that seeing the familiar faces of alumni and having the founder present was emotional for her. She also reflected on Scullin’s words.
“Her speech about how she never anticipated the club becoming this big and having such productions was really inspiring, and I love the Greysounds anyway, but it was just a reminder of why I love the club and cool to think about how much we’ve evolved in just ten years,” Franciosa said.
Several alumni who graduated over the past few years were in the audience to support the group. It is common for recent alumni to attend concerts, but this one had more than usual. Last year’s president of the Greysounds, Bobby Dykeman, was excited to return and see the group perform from the audience’s perspective.
“It was great getting to come back to watch the group perform! I only graduated last year so it was really great to be able to come back and feel the energy of the group that I spent four years performing with radiate through the crowd,” he said.
One of the changes in this performance that less recent alumni witnessed was choreography, which the group began implementing two years ago. Dykeman remarked on this testament to the work of co-choreographers Lauren Donovan ’25 and Kate Fleming ’25.
“The choreography is the best I have seen since the group introduced choreography into their sets. That paired with the amazing soloists made this one of the greatest Greysounds concerts to date,” Dykeman said.
Fischbach shared that the Greysounds plan to record their second EP, a collection of a few recorded songs, on Spotify by the end of the academic year. In March, they will be participating in the Red Shoe Shuffle, an annual 5K held to fundraise for the Ronald McDonald House.
Pleased with the performance, Franciosa said, “The relationships and connections I’ve formed are so fulfilling, enriching, and long lasting. It’s like my family on campus, so very dear to my heart.”
Stay updated on more Greysounds events like their spring concert by following their Instagram.
