An informal concert at an Oakville Tim Hortons is attracting attention worldwide, after video of the vocal performance was posted online.
A video of the singing posted on YouTube has racked up more than 206,000 views since it debuted on Jan. 7.
In it, 11 toe-tapping crooners can be seen sitting around tables at the Tim Hortons, coffees in hand, singing a barbershop quartet arrangement of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," from Disney's Lion King soundtrack.
As they wrap up the song, the enthusiastic videographer Danfi Parker can be heard cheering against a backdrop of applause from other store patrons.
The men are actually part of the vocal group known as The Entertainers, which claims a 44-year history singing "a capella" throughout Halton and Peel regions.
And according to the group's website, the Tim Hortons sing-along isn't their only public performance.
In fact, the Oakville branch of the worldwide, males-only Barbershop Harmony Society says they perform selections from their 30-song catalogue in a wide variety of venues and "for any occasion ... wedding or funeral, civic or corporate, private celebration or fund-raising activity."
Anyone who wants to watch the group rehearse is invited to attend their weekly practice session held Monday evenings at the Syl Apps Youth Centre in Oakville.
"You are welcome to visit as often as it takes to see if we can satisfy your musical interests and appetite," the group says on their website, extending an invitation for aspiring entertainers to step out of the audience and onto the stage too.
"Credentials and expertise? Not important! If you can carry a tune and love singing enough to commit to weekly rehearsals and 15+ presentations a year, we'd love to meet you!"
Members of the group retire to the neighbourhood Tim Hortons on Iroquois Shore Road afterwards, where they've been known to regale customers with impromptu performances every week.
So-called barbershop harmony typically involves at least 4 unaccompanied performers singing vocal arrangements featuring tight harmonies.
