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
Sickweather forecasts flu trouble ahead, urges handwashing and vaccinations
Sickweather’s illness forecasting technology points to a seasonal uptick in influenza rates for Kansas City, said Laurel Edelman, noting a particularly rough patch expected at the end of year. “We actually see more of a dome here in Kansas City,” said Edelman, the chief revenue officer for Sickweather, referring to a chart that plots expected…
Techstars hacks into expert minds for visions of a future dominated by robotics
A Fourth Industrial Revolution is unfolding as consumers and the tech industry alike watch with bated breath, Karen Kerr told a crowd of Techstars Kansas City attendees. “Two things are happening,” Kerr, senior managing director with GE Ventures explained during a panel Thursday that explored the future of the robotics and manufacturing industries. “We’re able…
LaunchKC earns honors of its own, must still keep hustling, KC eco devo leader says
Receiving the Bronze Excellence in Economic Development Award proves the real market value for programs like LaunchKC, said Drew Solomon. The win has been energizing, said Solomon, senior vice president of business and job development at the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, which partners with the Downtown Council of Kansas City to make the program…
Meet the 2018 LaunchKC winners: $500,000 in grants awarded at Techweek finale
LaunchKC, the hotly anticipated annual pitch contest, capped Techweek Kansas City Friday by awarding a half-million dollars in non-dilutive grant funds to nine winning startups from among 20 finalists. An Atlanta company earned the day’s top prize. The finalist competitors — who beat out more than 586 applicants for a spot on this year’s stage —…