★★★★☆ TION gives their clean style of ballad singing to elegant arrangements.

St. Peter’s Cathedral
February 13, 2016

For six consecutive years, the a capella group, The Idea of North, has performed Ballads by Candlelight at the Adelaide Fringe in St. Peter’s Cathedral and while it’s not an institution to the extent that it rivals the cricket at neighbouring Adelaide Oval, the capacity crowd and the throng of people at the door at 7.30pm to get the best seats confirm that it’s here to stay. TION has undergone some renovation since I saw this show last year. Founding member and musical director Naomi Crellin has returned from maternity leave and the quartet is currently a quintet with Victorian tenor Ed Fairlie joining the group for its recent Christmas tour. Going by the group’s website, Ed isn’t rusted on to the group yet, but given the beefed-up sound and variety he adds to the performance, they would be unwise to cut him loose.

TION straddle the pop and jazz categories and the set they performed highlights the variety within their repertoire noting that this is about to be expanded by a new album, simply entitled Ballads. Beginning without Fairlie – who didn’t...