Blessid Union of Souls at UPB

Pop rock band Blessid Union of Souls, known for Billboard chart hits “I Believe” and “Hey, Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me),” will perform Feb. 7 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

The unplugged acoustic concert, sponsored by the Student Activities Council, will be held at 8 p.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall. Tickets are free for students, $5 for faculty and staff, and $10 for the general public.

The band, composed of lead singer/songwriter Eliot Sloan, bassist Tony Clark, guitarist Bryan Billhimer and drummer Shaun Schaefer, will perform pop, R&B and folk music.

“It is exciting to have a band with so many hits close out the Winter Week festivities,” said Christina Graham, director of student activities. “When contracting the band, the SAC students decided to go with their ‘unplugged’ concert. They felt that it would showcase the band as well as the acoustics in the intimate setting of the Bromeley Family Theater better than a full show.”

Taking its name from a line on the television show “M*A*S*H,” the Blessid Union of Souls formed in 1990. The band released “Close to the Edge” in September and the single “Could’ve Been With You” in July, which was ranked as No. 39 on the Hot AC Indicator Radio Chart.

Blessid Union of Souls’ 1995 hit, “I Believe,” landed on the No. 1 spot on Radio and Records’ Hot 100 Singles Chart for two weeks; No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseeker Chart for two weeks; No. 5 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart; No. 6 on VH1; and eight consecutive weeks as Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles Chart. It was named the fourth most played song of the year, and more than half a million copies of Home, the album on which the song appeared, were sold.

Meanwhile, “Hey, Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me),” released in 1999 on the album “Walking Off the Buzz,” earned a No. 7 spot in the Billboard National Radio Monitor and a No. 15 spot on the Top 40 monitor.

Other recordings by the band include “Perception” and “Blessid Union of Souls.” The band also released “Blessid Union Almost Acoustic” on iTunes in 2007.

The Ohio-based group has also appeared on national television shows, including “Donny and Marie,” “Regis and Kathie Lee,” “CNN Entertainment News,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “CBS This Morning” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

Songs have been played on “Cold Case,” “All My Children,” “Dancing With The Stars” and “American Idol.”

The band also produced a song for the sound track, “Ace Ventura II: When Nature Calls,” starring actor Jim Carrey in 1996; recorded a song on the “Pokemon Soundtrack” in 1999; and had a song featured in the film “Contact” starring actress Jodie Foster.

Blessid Union of Souls has also toured with The Goo Goo Dolls, Bon Jovi, Third Eye Blind and Shania Twain. Members also performed for U.S. military personnel stationed in Germany in 2005.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disability Resources and Services at 814-362-7609 or arj4@pitt.edu.

Additional information is available by calling (814) 362-7593.