St. Pete chorus takes top honors at statewide barbershop competition

St. Pete chorus honored at competition

Mark Wilson reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg's Sunshine City Chorus is singing the tune of victory.

"When I sing, there's nothing else in the world," explained Lance Lubin with the Sunshine City Chorus. "Everything else disappears. Cares, troubles all go away. I mean, you just cannot be unhappy when you're ringing chords."

Under Lubin’s direction, the ten-man group was named the 2025 Barbershop Harmony Champions for Florida at the Sunshine District competition.

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"Astonishing, unbelievable. We didn't expect it," Lubin stated.

"It has been the most fun I've had in forever," said Bill Levengood, a chorus member. "And I tell people how much I love doing this."

By the numbers:

Despite being the smallest chorus in the competition and only in their second year, Sunshine City beat out ten larger groups from cities like Orlando, Jacksonville, Sarasota, and Tampa.

"We had 11 on stage. There were other choruses that had 20 and 30 and many more. And we came in first and are the state champions," Lubin explained.

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Their winning set included emotional renditions of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King and "I Will Go Sailing No More" from Toy Story.

What they're saying:

"You're in that moment and you're that feeling," said Jonathan Dacres, a chorus member. "And so, for me, it takes every care of life away, and I'm just stuck in that very moment for whatever it is."

"It's a feeling unlike any other," Lubin explained. "It's, I've never tried crack, but I'm pretty sure it's very much the same. Because once you experience it, you want it again right now."

Now, crowned state champions, the Sunshine City Chorus is turning heads and proving that when it comes to harmony, size doesn’t matter.