Karaoke Forums

I know this will vary from place to place but what night would you recommend a venue try karaoke? Which one night do you think would be most successful? I know that weekends can be hit or miss, especially now with it being summer and people going away for the weekend or vacation. So, what night would you recommend for the venue to try?

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

If you want a generalization, Fri and Sat. They are the nights that most people head out on, particularly in groups. Larger crowds make for more successful shows.

Also, if another night has some other activity earlier in the evening that butts up against karaoke time, you can hold them over (Trivia, community group meetings, social clubs, etc.).

I avoid Mondays because of Football. There will be a conflicts 6 months out of the year (depends on the venue).

Historically I have landed more Wednesday nights that Su, Mo, Tu, Th.

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-Chris

I think Wednesday Nights are the best night for Karaoke.
My reasoning:
Mondays seem to be the designated "Sports Night" (like there aren't any Sports events televised any other night of the week... Yeah! Riiiight!!!). Aside from that, people just finished their 1st day back at work (referring to your typical M-F 9-5ers). Their bodies are just getting back into cycle after having the weekend off.
Tuesdays are still the beginning of the week, and people don't like to hang out too late because they have to get up for work in the morning. It also puts a bit of a strain on them in making it to the end of the week.
Wednesdays are "HUMP DAY." It's the middle of the week, and people are now getting their second wind to make it to the end of their work-week.
Thursdays are too close to Fridays and Saturadys. Since most people usually make plans to go out on a Friday and Saturday night, going out on a Thursday puts a bit of a crimp in their budget.
Fridays and Saturdays are nights that everyone likes to go out. Karaoke shows are pretty well established on those nights, and as a result, usually over-crowded with people waiting to sing.
Sundays are the end of the weekend. It can be "Hit or Miss" as to whether people feel like going out after they have (more than likely) been out the prior 2 nights. Plus, they may not want to go out when they need to get up in the morning to begin their work-week and deal with the "Monday Morning Blahs.".

A retired KJ friend of mine used to host karaoke on Mondays and Thursdays in the same venue. Thursdays were often jam packed full, and he told me than when he first started there on a Monday night one would have to fight his way to the bar it was so busy (although this was mostly before the economic downturn). The landlady decided to cancel his Monday gigs to get her nephew to host karaoke - big mistake. Most of the crowd disappeared, and so eventually did the nephew. They then went through a string of KJs until they settled for the biggest pirate in town who still hosts it to this day, but Mondays are now a complete snoozer. Meanwhile, my friend continued with his successful Thursday gig until the end of 2013 when he had to give it up due to personal issues. That was the nail in the coffin for karaoke at that pub, as the landlady then got the Monday KJ to take over Thursdays as well. I didn't hang around long enough to find out truly how inferior it would be, but I'm reliably informed that the current guy has ruined it, playing more filler music than singers on stage, and has pissed off a sizeable chunk of the regular crowd so they no longer return. Karaoke in that place is now a circus. So I now go to a karaoke in the next town on Thursdays, one I knew about but wouldn't go while my friend was gigging, but has now become my favourite karaoke. Still nowhere near as good as the old Thursday nights though.

Of course weekends are going to be best, but finding the right weeknight is best. Doing a 7 night week show it's never the same week after week, tonight I had 25 singers, last Monday I had 5. It just varies. In a single night a week venue your results will vary.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Most the answers above have been from the perspective of what's best for the KJ, or what's going to be the most crowded. The most important thing for your venue is obviously net gain to justify the karaoke show.

In this respect, Fridays and Saturdays, though the busiest, are also the busiest for the venue without karaoke, so the possible net gain would typically be inferior to a weekday. Obviously Mondays and Tuesdays are traditionally the slowest nights for most bars, but sometimes even a great karaoke night can't influence a good net gain on those nights. I learned early on in my karaoke career that I didn't want to take Monday or Tuesday gigs, as more often than not the bar owners had an expectation that a dead night would turn into a busy night, which is often impossible on those nights no matter how good you are.

I would suggest that the best nights for the venue when they can realize the most net gain will be Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and as a KJ, I'd recommend Thursday if at all possible, as it is the day that people kinda teeter on the edge of whether they want to go out or not, and it's the good karaoke night that makes their mind up to patron the venue. For a new show, especially, recommend Thursday to your venue!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I didn't take part in the above survey because with us, it's a tie between Thursday and Saturday evenings... On Saturdays, our singer roster often exceeds 50, but is usually in the low 40s... On Thursdays, in a much smaller town, we average in the mid 30s (although three weeks ago, we had 64)

In both cases, my shows are in service clubs... not typical bars or pubs, and although we have a smattering of 20-somethings, the average ages seem to be in the 40s & 50s.

I have a friend who does his show on Friday evenings in a well-known bar, and his rotation seldom exceeds 20.

My shows start at 7:30 (officially 8:00 pm) and end at midnight... perfectly fine for our age group... but the bar karaoke doesn't start till 9:30 and runs till 2:00 am... Apparently their reasoning is that their typical (read young) customers tend to party with friends at home, where the booze is a lot cheaper, and then go out on the town later to sip at one or two drinks.

To get back to the original question regarding "best" night for karaoke... My answer would be "It depends". What kind of venue is it? Who are your target audience? An alternate answer would be June 19th 2018.

For me, I'm happy with both Thursday and Saturday nights...

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Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

Here in Hollywierd, it's split between Tuesday night at Sardos, when the porn stars sing their little hearts out, and Saturday anywhere else.

They can still sing? Impressive feat!

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

You want impressive, watch the movie "Chatterbox" (extremely corny, but cute).

Had a great Thursday tonight - 32 singers, was a fluke, usually half that normally.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I'm surprised that you've seen that movie cue. Two movies titled “Chatterbox”. One was released in 1977, rated R, the other, rated pg in 2009. I believe you’re referring to the former than the latter. Very funny movie. It’s an amazing feat indeed to be able make it talk & sing.

Reminds me of the song by the Notorious Cherry Bomb “It’s hard to kiss the lips at night that chew your a** out all day long”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2icTd46vcs

My apologies to Alan for slightly diverting this thread a little way down south.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

I like to think the best night is anytime a have a gig!

Best for who?! The bar? Or for Karaoke singers & hosts?

Friday & Saturday night are ALWAYS going to be the best for the sport/craft/addiction of Karaoke!

But not everyone likes Karaoke, so the bar will usually have a Band/DJ instead on those nights.

Work backwards from Friday for the other nights.

How about this one: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xwxr ... face_music

I love it!!! I'm so going to use this as filler music at my next show.

In my experience, weekend karaoke can be difficult to sustain. You can do it to great success, and the numbers look good because bars are packed on weekend nights anyhow, but longevity tends to be an issue. Jam-packed rotations tend to scare off singers, and owners are, I think, likely to explore other options when demand for karaoke inevitably cools down. I'll echo the sentiments of many and say that Thursday is, I think, the best karaoke night. I run the hottest karaoke in town on Thursday nights -- it does precisely what karaoke is supposed to do in the mind of bar owners, takes a dead night and makes it busy.

This poll was posted in the summer (June), and the last response was in August.

For those that stated Thursday night as being the best night for karaoke, how does Thursday Night Football factor into how well a Thursday night show does during football season? Does the Thursday Night Football game potentially delay the start of your show? Do you see carry over from those that came to the bar for TNF, and then stay for karaoke? Or does the bar clear out after the game making way for those that want to sing karaoke? Are there any issues with singers arriving for karaoke before the game is over?

I like playing on Thursday nights. I find that people seem to go out more on Thursday nights more. Also it leaves Friday and Saturday nights open for private parties and weddings. More $$$$$. Football doesn't effect karaoke too much. The venue puts on the game with no volume.

Sunday because that is when my boss's show is.