ASU TEMPEtations share their voices from home at this year’s CultureFest

At this year’s CultureFest, the ASU TEMPEtations a cappella group performed “A Million Dreams” from “The Greatest Showman.” While they weren’t able to perform in person this year, Lucas Selby, a member of the TEMPEtations and a creative writing major in his fourth year at ASU, says that performing at CultureFest was surprisingly easy. 

ASU TEMPEtations a capella group

“I enjoyed how we were still able to participate as a performing group without showing up in person and endangering anyone,” he said.

Selby’s mom is a cellist and his dad is a singer. Selby has been involved with choir and musical theater since he was 6 years old and he began beatboxing when he was 15. 

“There was no way I was going to leave music behind when I came to ASU, so I scouted out a cappella right away. ASU a cappella is a place for people like me — people who don't want to give up on one passion just because they're pursuing a degree in another.”

Because of the current pandemic, the TEMPEtations haven’t been able to sing together in person for a long time. Despite this, these artists have still managed to keep busy and creative. 

“Music and art are always an important part of our lives. They help us relax, give us a community of people who share our interests and show people ideas and concepts in new, exciting ways,” he said. “The importance of music and art does not change because we're in a pandemic. It may be harder for artists to function and produce in quarantine, but it is still important that we all keep the arts in our lives.”

For Selby, quarantine has been spent arranging popular songs for a cappella and working with other members of the TEMPEtations to record them and post them on YouTube. 

You can check out their first arrangement now, “Taste” by Betty Who. 

The TEMPEtations update their social media frequently with new concerts, fundraisers and videos. You can find them on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.