(Radio Iowa) – A popular nine-man singing group that performs to sold-out audiences all around the world is making two stops in Iowa next week, and it’s a homecoming for one of the members. Urbandale native Tyler Trepp is one-ninth of Straight No Chaser. “We’re an a capella group so we have no instruments. It’s just the nine of us on stage, nine singers, from the lowest of the low base guy to the highest of the high tenors,” Trepp says. “We have a guy that does all of the percussion sounds, so it’ll sound like there’s drums or something being played on stage, but nope, it’s all made by our voices.” The group was formed in 1996 and Trepp’s been singing tenor with them since 2009, performing on the road about six months out of the year. This show, called “Holiday Road,” is designed to get Iowans in the mood for the yuletide season ahead.

Straight No Chaser with Tyler Trepp (far right)

“We do a wide variety of songs, from older stuff, the stuff that’s on the radio now, as well as on this tour, we’re doing stuff from our brand new holiday album, ‘Holiday Road’,” Trepp says. “So there’s a lot of stuff in there and a mix of different songs that I’m sure people will enjoy.” Straight No Chaser has sold more than one-and a half million concert tickets, over two million albums worldwide, and has more than one BILLION streams on Pandora. Still, Trepp’s one of nine guys and says they all manage to maintain a level of anonymity when they’re off stage. “That’s kind of the nice part about it is, we can kind of — once we get off tour, we can live pretty normal lives and just go home and be Dad,” Trepp says. “So that’s kind of kind of the nice part about it, which is good. We can just get to go home and be with our kids and our families.”

Trepp, who’s 40, grew up in a musical family, as his parents and grandparents sang and played instruments. He started piano lessons at age five, sang in children’s choirs, started his own a cappella group in high school, and later performed on cruise ships with a cappella group Oceans Four. Straight No Chaser is performing next Wednesday (November 5th) at the Civic Center of Des Moines, which Trepp says is very special as his parents, his sister and other family members and friends will be in the audience. “I love being back there,” Trepp says. “The people are great and the Civic Center, obviously, is a great venue. I grew up going to shows there, all my life, watching Broadway shows and concerts, whatever, so it’s cool to come back and perform on that stage.”

The group will also perform in Davenport on November 8th.