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
Voting with cash: Meet the 8 Kansas City tech startups competing in the Pure Pitch Rally
The landsharks are circling and eight hungry tech founders are ready to sell their ideas at the fourth annual, invite-only Pure Pitch Rally, the early-stage funding platform announced Wednesday. “In Kansas City, we have the business soul and hunger to help others — through both community crowdsourced giving and offering others a stepping stone to…
Tea-Biotics opens ‘world’s-largest kombucha taproom’ with 32 flavors, Royals flare
The strength of Tea-Biotics’ new, world’s-largest kombucha taproom lies in its bold flavors — and a lot of them, said Lisa Bledsoe. “How good is fresh-pressed, organic blueberry? It’s great for you! It’s full of antioxidants,” said Bledsoe, founder of Tea-Biotics Kombucha, referencing just one of 32 variations on tap at the Olathe taproom. “How…
Global, KC investors charge Grandview-based battery innovator with 8-figure funding round
A Grandview-based leader in battery technology is building a charge for expansion as Spear Power Systems announced this week an eight-figure funding round with world-spanning reach and headline-grabbing international investors. “We are pleased with the quality and synergy of the syndicate,” said Jeff Kostos, president and CEO of Spear. “This investment enables Spear to scale…
Play It Forward reunites South Kansas City-inspired brands, startup leaders
A bright and sunny pre-autumn day silhouetted the shadows of basketball fans lining up last weekend to enter Smith-Hale Middle School. As the smells from a food truck and sounds of laughter filled the parking lot, players inside readied themselves for a South Kansas City showcase. “We wanted to involve many entities that are directly…