It all started in October of 2001. Having recently moved to Madison from the hustle and bustle of Boston, Eric Pantano had decided to form a contemporary a cappella group in his new home town. A few online posts to various newsgroups attracted the attention of Jon Baxter, who was also looking for something to do with his time. A few emails and phone calls later, and Baxter had assembled some friends from high school: three of his classmates and one of their younger sisters. Together, the six made their way to the east side of Madison and into a cappella history.

From the first 'audition', it was clear that these six individuals had stumbled onto something special. The harmonies just seemed to make sense, and they each brought something different to the group. From Baxter's uncanny ability to imitate virtually any instrument; to Eric's driving vocal percussion lines; to the amazing, haunting harmonies of Kristin Burns, Lauren Burns, and Emily Petersen; to Chad Zeigler's deep bass, the six musicians began to develop a sound that was unheard in the Madison area. The arrangements came, slowly at first, but then with more confidence and more musical variety - a repertoire was beginning to grow.

With the group formed, all they needed was a name. This proved to be a more difficult task than first anticipated. Nothing seemed to fit - the names were either cheesy...or taken. But with songs like "Weird" Al Yankovick's Since You've Been Gone in their repertoire, it seemed natural to call this motley crew offBeat. And so they did.

Since then, this vocal group has seen a few changes. In early 2003, Kristin Burns left the group to move to Atlanta. As the five remaining singers debated about how best to replace her (if at all), bass Chad Zeigler too decided to move on. Undaunted, the group turned to Baxter, who knew of a legendary bass in the area who just happened to have Thursday nights available. With only a few scheduling difficulties, Colin Gagnon joined the group in late 2004, filling out the bass-ment of their signature sound. offBeat quickly decided to stick with a five-voice band. John Baxter, Colin Gagnon, Lauren Burns, Eric Pantano, and Emily Petersen now set about re-establishing themselves as a force in a cappella.

Finally, in September of 2007, offBeat Acappella said 'farewell' to founding member Lauren Burns as she set out for Colorado to attend graduate school. With Lauren gone, the group scrambled to find a replacement, and after an exhaustive search found Sarah O'Hara - a former rock band front-woman with an impressive set of pipes. Sarah joined offBeat in September and complements the group perfectly with her amazing vocals and off-beat sense of humor.

These days, you can still find the five singers rehearsing at Eric's east-side house once each week. Their repertoire has grown to nearly thirty songs, with an additional cadre of holiday favorites that they trot out when the weather gets cold. In the summer of 2006, the group released their debut CD, No Instruments to the delight of their fans. They still perform whenever their busy schedules allow, and they're still making history.