It may be the dead of winter, but at Georgetown, before the famed cherry blossoms bloom, the real first sign of spring is here.

For students willing to brave the cold wind and slippery streets to head to Gaston Hall, the 35th annual Cherry Tree Massacre, hosted by the Georgetown Chimes, is certainly worth it. Running three consecutive weekends, the first performance was part of the Senior Parents Weekend celebration. Seniors and families filed into Gaston Hall to experience a Georgetown tradition at its best — a performance featuring all five campus a cappella groups.

The next two shows will give other a cappella groups from up and down the East Coast a chance to strut their stuff, with singing groups from UPenn, William and Mary, NYU and Tufts performing along the Georgetown favorites.

“Cherry Tree is a special tradition for Georgetown because it has provided a large-scale and enjoyable venue for keeping music alive on our campus for many years,” said Phantoms Public Relations Director Sarah Holzschuh (COL ’10). “It is a really unique opportunity to bring many of the a cappella groups together.”

The members of the a cappella groups look forward to working together, especially because they don’t get the chance to show off for each other that often. “Believe it or not,” said Holzschuh, “we don’t really get to see each other perform as much as you might think!.”

The show began with the Chimes’ traditional melodious welcome, followed by the Eagles ballad Seven Bridges Road, featuring soloist Tommy Wiederhold (COL ’09). The harmonies of the opening numbers were just a teaser however, as the Chimes left the stage to make room for the rest of the Hilltop’s singing talent.

The Phantoms, Georgetown’s oldest and first co-ed a cappella group, were the next, wowing the crowd with their renditions of ’80s classics from Ace of Base like “Don’t Turn Around” and “I Saw the Sign.” They followed with “Car Crash” by pop sensation Matt Nathanson and “Lullaby” by Billy Joel, sung by Patrick Lenihan (COL ’10).

Cherry Tree Massacre got a little girl power with a set from the GraceNotes. Their closing rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” was especially powerful, and somewhat unexpected after their usual collection of pop hits.

The more recently formed co-ed group SuperFood also performed an engaging medly, including Gavin Degraw’s “Chariot,” sung by Andres Fuentes (MSB ’09).

The stars of the show, however, were the Saxatones, in their Cherry Tree Massacre debut. Their theatrical renditions of hits such as the Michael Jackson classic “Billie Jean,” with Jim Cordes (COL ’08) taking the lead and causing the whole of Gaston to clap along with his impressive falsetto singing. They capped off their set with “The Way I Are,” featuring Chase Miller (MSB ’08) and Katharine Thompson (COL ’10) in the dance hit of the fall semester. The Saxatones’ energy was contagious and they were the perfect precursor to the evening’s host, the Chimes.

“The weeks leading up to the concert were full of serious work, but once we actually got to the show, I think we all took an attitude of, ‘You know what? We’ve worked really hard for this, let’s go out there and just have fun and rock the house!’” said President Lynsey Weston (COL ’08). “And I think the audience felt that fun, energized attitude.”

The Chimes began their second set with a medley of everyone’s favorite boy band songs, which transitioned to the crooner classic “Up on the Roof” by James Taylor, featuring the smooth voice of soloist Jonathan Ossoff (SFS ’09). The show of course, closed with the classic “If I Was Not A Georgetown Chime…” bit, that had the audience and group members laughing.

“Cherry Tree Massacre is special because it’s one of the big Georgetown a capella concerts done each year. The Chimes have invited us for several years now and every time we have a great time performing for the audience,” said Fuentes. “It’s always special when we perform Senior Parents Weekend because every year we lose awesome seniors and it’s just a great way for them to perform for their parents one last time.”

The Chimes Ephus, Jeff Carlson (COL ’08) echoed the sentiments regarding Parents Weekend, saying, “…it was great having my family and friends there to see the shows.”

But in the end, it’s all about the music. Cherry Tree is a great experience because “the groups get to share their love of music with an entire Gaston Hall audience of music-lovers,” said Weston.