I travel a lot, and I have moved a lot. I am really into karaoke, so I have become kind of an expert on how to find karaoke when I travel or move to a new place. It's not easy because the bars don't advertise karaoke very well, and neither do most kj's. I guess because advertising is expensive or because they figure it's not worth it. Also, karaoke comes and goes a lot. A bar may try it as a way to bring in more customers, or because they feel it's popular, and then for whatever reason, they stop having it. That happens a lot. Sometimes the karaoke is booted out for sporting events, bands, or special occasion celebrations. So even if you read about karaoke somewhere, you should always call the bar first to make sure they are still having it on the night you want to go to it.
Here are the steps I usually take to find karaoke in a place where I am traveling to. Start a month before your trip. Just for example, let's say I am traveling to Fargo, North Dakota.
- Go to Google and type in "Karaoke in
Fargo" or "Fargo karaoke", making sure to use the quotation marks to limit
your search.
- Do some research on Fargo and see if there are other nearby towns that you
can search in. Fargo is right next to Morehead, MN, so you should also
search "Karaoke in Morehead".
- Go to karaoke websites that have "where to sing" sections, such as
localkaraoke.com or
http://www.karaokeacrossamerica.com/ You can see if anyone has
posted information about karaoke in that area. Look for pages like
mine, where singers have listed places they like to
sing at, with reviews so you can know what type of place it is.
- Post on Karaoke Scene ,
alt.music.karaoke,
karaokeuniverse, and other karaoke forums to find out about it. "Say,
I am going to be traveling to Fargo in August and was wondering if anyone
knows of any karaoke places there?" Check back before your trip to see if
anyone posted; you might have to ask some follow-up questions, such as asking
for clarification or asking about the general area's safety.
- You can find many resources on the net for researching an area to find out
where it is safe to travel by yourself, not just for karaoke but for any
traveling you do. You can also go to a bookstore to look at travel
books; they often can tell you what are the areas that are not safe for
tourists. You can also ask on travel message boards. I tend to
think that generally a karaoke bar is pretty safe; it's not a place where
tough people hang out. (This may be different if you go to an Asian
karaoke bar in a big city because they are sometimes frequented by Asian
gangs.) If you are going by yourself, then you can always
call a cab and have them drop you off and pick you up right at the door, so
you don't have to walk to a car in a dark parking lot or alley. You can
always ask someone who works at the bar to walk you to your car, too.
- When you arrive, there are other ways you can search. If you are
staying at a hotel, ask the concierge if he/she knows of a karaoke place.
Sometimes they know or can find out.
- Look in the local paper, especially if you can get a copy of the weekend
entertainment guide. They often list karaoke in that section of the
newspaper. Also look for local free papers and underground press.
Most cities have something like that, geared toward the college crowd, and
they list karaoke along with other nightlife.
- Look in the phone book. You might find a place advertising under karaoke bars. More likely you will find a store that sells karaoke disks, or a KJ. For both businesses, you can phone them to ask where there are karaoke places they can recommend, and on what nights.
Those are the simple steps I follow when traveling.
When you move to a new place, you will have even more time to investigate these options. When you do find a karaoke place, get to know the other singers and ask them what other karaoke places they like to go to. Often you find that karaoke singers go out often, to different places, and know where all the karaoke venues are.
Check out my karaoke links page, it has links to many karaoke places, reviews, KJ's, etc. that you might find usual.
Good luck and happy singing!
This page updated 7/28/10
