The youth of barbershop take the big stage at Internationals on Wednesday, July 3 with twenty quartets, all members 25 years old or younger, competing in the Next Generation Varsity Quartet Contest.

The mission of the Barbershop Harmony Society is "to enrich lives through singing" and with that, they have created a safe and nurturing space for youth to sing, learn, compete, and most importantly, make lifelong friends. The Varsity Quartets are judged using the same standards as the general contests, giving young members a chance to note their growth as they age out of the youth programs.

The evening's emcee will be none other than Tony DeRosa, appropriately the youngest man to ever win gold with Keepsake at age 19. He's gone on to win gold twice more with Max Q and Main Street.

The top five qualifiers for this year's contest are:

Wildfire (DIX)
Qualifying Score: 77.69

Officially based in Nashville, with members in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, Wildfire took third place in the 2018 NextGen Varsity Quartet Contest in Orlando with a score of 78.7.

Backline (DIX)
Qualifying Score: 76.92

Some of these singers have grown up around barbershop, but Backline is brand new and Salt Lake City will mark their first International contest together. With a high qualifying score, this quartet is definitely swinging for the fences.

Eclectones (FWD)
Qualifying Score: 76.19

Coming from Arizona, this quartet last competed on the International stage in Las Vegas, where they earned fourth place in the NextGen predecessor, the BHS Harmony Foundation Youth Barbershop Quartet Contest.

City Limits (CSD)
Qualifying Score: 75.82

Coming from Missouri, Indiana, and Oklahoma, this quartet will be making their first appearance at International. Earlier this year, they opened for DCappella in St. Louis.

On The Rocks (SWD)
Qualifying Score: 74.63

 Another first time International competitor, On The Rocks hails from Texas and represents the SouthWestern District.

See these groups and more on Wednesday, July 3 starting at 5 pm MDT LIVE only on FloVoice.