Watch: Choir Bar debuts ‘One Day’ video from its first reverse karaoke singalong event
June 20, 2018 | Tommy Felts
The excitement was palpable Saturday as Choir Bar launched into song for the first time in River Market, said Matt Baysinger. Now organizers are ready to share the singalong experience with the world.
“People are so dang impressive,” said Baysinger, co-founder of Swell Spark, which debuted the Choir Bar concept in hopes of it becoming a semi-regular event series. “We thought it would be fun to get a bunch of people together and learn how to sing a song as a three-part harmony. … [It was] absolutely one of the coolest things I have ever been involved with.”
About 90 people — family, friends and strangers — gathered Saturday at the River Market Event Place for a professionally choreographed, “reverse-karaoke”-style singalong. The crowd learned and then sang “One Day” by Matisyahu, an alternative artist who fuses reggae, rap and rock.
The result?
With the crowd of singers led by vocalist Jazz Rucker and musician Jared Scholz, Saturday’s event spurred enough interest to warrant another Choir Bar singalong — likely coming in July, though organizers still are working out venue details, Baysinger said.
Watch for news about coming event dates here.
Choir Bar is the latest concept from Swell Spark, a Kansas City-based innovator of interactive, experience-based entertainment. It’s suite of offerings includes popular brands Blade & Timber and Breakout KC.
Swell Spark was named one of Startland’s Top Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2018, in part because of the rapid growth of its Blade & Timber axe-throwing concept, as well as the ongoing development of new business verticals.
The company opened a second Kansas City-area Blade & Timber location in May with 12 lanes at Leawood’s Town Center Plaza. Another location in Wichita is expected to open in July, with Blade & Timber soon expanding to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, as well as to sites in Portland, Seattle, Springfield and St. Louis, Missouri, Oakland, Honolulu, and Miami.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC Tech Council launches initiative for young women in tech, backed by Meta, Panasonic
A new strategic program from the KC Tech Council is designed to empower and equip female-identifying students entering their junior (class of 2026) and senior (class of 2025) years of high school with tech exposure, career guidance, leadership opportunities, and invaluable mentorship. The LEGiT KC program (Leadership and Empowerment for Girls in Tech), sponsored by…
Charlie Hustle popup coming to Power & Light in time for Big 12 (and 300,000 visitors)
A highly visible storefront along the KC Streetcar line is expected to give homegrown apparel brand Charlie Hustle a prime spot to showcase KC Heart for hundreds of thousands of potential shoppers during the coming Big 12 basketball tournament. The game day merch shop and experiential retail concept is expected to open Thursday, March 7…
DivvyHQ exits: They built this KC startup brick-by-brick, now it fits within a bigger story
A Kansas City marketing tech startup’s acquisition by Lytho, a leading creative project management platform, is built upon the two brands’ complementary company ideologies and tech, said Brock Stechman. “We’re seeing a lot of consolidation in our market, and this was an opportunity where we could collaborate and come together seamlessly with a single, specialized,…
Chiefs tease 16 Arrowhead upgrades coming to KC stadium if voters pass April 2 sales tax
With early voting already under way in Jackson County, the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday released a trove of renderings and new details on plans to upgrade Arrowhead Stadium if the April 2 ballot question passes. “(Arrowhead) is among the most iconic stadiums in professional sports, and it has become a bucket list destination for…