Adam Rupp woke up the other day to some very, very good news.
The last remaining Mankato member of the a capella group Home Free checked his phone to find out the group’s latest album — which was just released Monday — was already No. 1 on the U.S. country music charts.
“That was awesome,” Rupp said. And that was about as far as he went with any sort of patting himself on the back. “I mean, honestly, it’s all about the timing. Because if Carrie Underwood drops an album at the same time? Well, you know … It’s all about who you’re going up against at any given point in time.”
Home Free returns to Mankato next month for what is sure to be another full house at the Mankato civic center. And they’ll do so on the heels of a hot-selling album. “So Long Dixie” is another full-length release of mostly original tunes.
And if you’re unfamiliar with Rupp’s contribution, he’s the “beat boxer,” the man whose mouth can create sounds you’d swear came from a snare drum or the whammy bar on a Fender Stratocaster. Anything you hear on a Home Free song that sounds like an instrumental is really just Adam Rupp.
You’ll likely hear many of the new songs at the Mankato show, but the main event will be the Christmas music. The show is called, after all, “Home Free Family Christmas.” And while Rupp usually provides most of the nonlinguistic sounds, there will be instruments on stage, courtesy of a few guests they’ve invited on tour.
Texas Hill is a New Hampshire-based band made up of three reality show stars. Casey James was a third-place finisher on season nine of “American Idol.” Craig Wayne Boyd was the winner on season seven of “The Voice.” And Adam Wakefield was runner up on season 10 of “The Voice.”
They’ll also be joined by Abby Anderson, whose catchy and empowering song “Make Him Wait” has more than 25 million streams on Spotify.
The guest appearances will not be limited to the a cappella tradition of Home Free, a fact Rupp said speaks to the group’s evolution.
Having guests, Rupp said, means they can bring a fresh look to fans who may have seen them multiple times. It’s sort of a broadening of the Home Free experience, while still maintaining the integrity and spirit of the style that made them famous.
“It’s been a lot of fun to feed off the energy that the guests bring,” he said. “And we are going to keep trucking along as we have been doing. We’re always trying to take the next step with our music, keep trying to push the boundaries into something that people haven’t heard yet.”
Eric Jones, co-director of the civic center, said being able to count on Home Free performing in Mankato every year is good for the civic center, and for the fans who grew up with their music. Rupp’s brother Chris used to be a part of the group before going solo. And Mankato native Matt Atwood also used to be in the group. Even though the Mankato connection at the moment is down to just Adam Rupp, Jones said the local fan base still thinks of Home Free as “one of ours.”
“It’s a guaranteed big crowd for us every year,” Jones said.
One fact that doesn’t always come across in the music is how genuine and kind the members of Home Free are. Jones said the sincerity and authenticity of their personalities definitely connect with the audience. That, combined with the uniqueness of their performance, keeps fans coming back.
“They’re a very genuine, very down to earth, very kind group of men and I think that translates through the show, absolutely,” he said. “They’re also completely unique. We don’t do a lot of acapella types, period. Then then to throw in an a capella act that sells as well as it does — it’s just such a unique thing for us and it’s a blessing to get to host it every year at Christmastime.”
One might imagine that, being Christmastime, Rupp might convince booking agents to schedule in an extra day or so when the group hits Mankato. But that’s not the case. After Home Free’s Mankato concert Dec. 18, they’re due in Milwaukee Dec. 20.
Despite the limited time in his hometown — where he sang with his church choir under the direction of his mom, Cindy — Rupp says he’ll probably make an effort to meet up with friends, most of whom will likely attend the performance as well.
“Mom will be at the show and she brings, like, 20 people along with her. And Matt Atwood I’m assuming will be there because he’s one of the founders of the group. So we always get together every time we come down there,” he said. “It’s always great to reconnect. And I’ll spend the day the day of the show just kind of going around Mankato and seeing things. Every time I come back, things look different.”