Karsh’s mention of Song of Atlanta reminded me, pleasantly, of the time a friend and I got to watch the annual SPEBQSA competition, which was being held that year (2000) at the Georgia Dome.

SPEBQSA stands for Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, for those of you squinting at the monitor. And apparently barbershop quartet singing thrives in the area: FRED, of Marietta, won the whole competition in 1999 (and believe me, these competitions are hard-fought-out); Riptide, which took fourth in this year’s competition; and the oh-so-snazzily dressed State Line Grocery, which took 11th despite only having been in existence since summer 2003.

Seriously, the list of barbershop quartets in Georgia is pretty impressive. As for quality, I’m not good at judging at all, as I’ll award massive points to any quartet that will sing “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee” for me.