Smoke Ring is a queer, mixed voice barbershop and contemporary a cappella quartet based in New York, NY. The four met as active members of NYC’s Gotham chorus.

Their humble beginnings began in Charlotte, NC, where they were competing in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Chorus Contest. They tucked away behind a curtain in a crowded ballroom for privacy to ring some chords, and loved the way they sounded together! They made things official in January 2023, in preparation for Voices of Gotham’s Tin Pan Alley novice quartet contest, which they went on to win in their first year as an active quartet. The group later earned the title of Mid-Atlantic Northern Division quartet champs that same year, and became the first-ever mixed voice quartet to win the Mid-Atlantic District quartet competition. 

More recently, Smoke Ring earned the title of Harmony Sweepstakes National Champions, and placed 10th in the world at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2025 International quartet contest. They’ve wowed audiences at venues such as the US Open and NYC’s Terminal 5, where they opened for international touring act Sammy Rae and the Friends. No matter the venue or the size of the audience, Smoke Ring always aims to inspire singers and othered voices in the community by pushing the limits of what’s possible in barbershop with a lot of sass and sparkle.