Do you have a song in your heart that you just need to get out? There are plenty of places around metro Atlanta to belt out tunes to your heart’s content, whether you want to perform for a crowd of hundreds or keep it small in a private room. Here, a handful of places to live out your karaoke dreams around town.
ITP
Fam-Fam Karaoke. This private room-only karaoke spot got its start in Grant Park and moved over to a new venue in Castleberry Hill in 2021. Rooms, which vary in size and cost $10 per hour per person, usually book out several weeks in advance and can be reserved online or via text. From 7 p.m.-midnight Thursdays, 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays and 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturdays, bring your own booze and snacks, and choose your tunes from a catalog of 50,000 songs (including the Spanish language versions).
Owner Christopher Wood estimates he’s served more than 25,000 karaoke performers since launching Fam Fam in 2017. Those numbers are sure to rise quickly when he opens a second Fam-Fam location (along with a space for sound therapy, lounge and music venue) as part of the reopening of the Goat Farm Arts Center in West Midtown.
361 Nelson St. SW, Atlanta. 404-328-7070, famfam.family.
Credit: Anitra Isler
Credit: Anitra Isler
Our Bar. Karaoke at Old Fourth Ward’s Our Bar started out as a way to “provide feel-good vibes” during the height of the pandemic soon after the bar’s opening, said co-owner Sarah Oak Kim. Held every Sunday night starting at 8 p.m., Our Bar karaoke “has become a bit more ratchet,” she said, with everything from trap karaoke to gospel karaoke, complete with a church band.
The bar brought in the drumline from Morehouse College on karaoke night over homecoming weekend, played breakup songs on Valentine’s Day, “baby daddy” songs on Father’s Day and autotune karaoke.
When there isn’t a specific theme, expect to find “good ‘90s vibes,” with highlights including old Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Toni Braxton songs, playing to a crowd mostly in their late 20s and early 30s who “have that nostalgia,” Oak Kim said. “The range is crazy.”
Participants choose their jam from more than 40,000 songs using the QR code for online karaoke service KaraFun, while DJ Whit It and Bishop Don keep things rolling along as hosts. A live band, usually featuring a sax, drums, guitar and piano, is on hand about once a month to play along with the pre-recorded tracks.
“You can bring your grandma and there’ll be songs playing that she knows,” Oak Kim said. “Even if you don’t have a mic in your hand, everyone’s screaming at the top of their lungs to every song.”
339 Edgewood Ave. SE, Atlanta. 678-929-8380, ourbaratl.com.
Credit: Sister Louisa's
Credit: Sister Louisa's
Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium. For the past decade, T.T. Mahony has helped the karaoke faithful get spiritual at Church Organ Karaoke 9and Preach-It). Mahony, who developed the idea with Sister Louisa owner Grant Henry initially “as just a silly thing to try,” takes his seat behind an old-school Baldwin Encore organ starting at 10 p.m. every Wednesday.
Participants, who sing from behind a pulpit while wearing choir robes, can choose from a catalog of about 300 songs (Mahony says Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” is a top pick). Unlike most karaoke, “there’s no bouncing ball on a screen,” Mahony said, so singers have to know a song well enough to follow along with a lyric sheet.
Still, anything goes, and Mahony encourages people to “have it their way” and “abandon the lyrics entirely and freestyle. Basically, my goal is for this thing to get as weird as it can possibly get.” If your pipes are a bit rusty, lean in to the “preach it” portion of the evening, by railing against, well, anything. “It’s the most ignorant karaoke anywhere,” Henry said.
466 Edgewood Ave. SE, Atlanta. 404-522-8275, sisterlouisaschurch.com.
Trap Karaoke. This touring karaoke experience, which will hit Atlanta Aug. 12 at the Buckhead Theater, dubs itself a space for “personal empowerment, cultural participation, cherished moments, community and creating a safe space for human connection.” Snag a coveted song slot as soon as they become available online to have the chance to hop up on stage to sing in front of hundreds of people, or just sing along from your seat.
Keep an eye out for special guests; hip-hop artists including 2 Chainz, T.I., Pastor Troy and Wale have made surprise appearances in the past.
8 p.m. Aug. 12. $25-$45. Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Rd NE, Atlanta. trapkaraoke.com.
More ITP spots for karaoke:
10 High. 816 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. facebook.com/metalsomeatlanta
656 Sports Bar. 656 Proyr St. SW, Atlanta. 678-732-3659, 656sports.com
Bob and Harriet’s Homebar. 1992 Hosea L. Williams Drive NE, Atlanta. 404-371-1115, homebaratl.com
Friends on Ponce. 736 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-817-3820, friendsonponce.com
Joystick Gamebar. 427 Edgewood Ave. SE, Atlanta. 404-525-3002, joystickgamebar.com
Mary’s. 1287 Glenwood Ave. SE, Atlanta. 404-624-4411, marysatlanta.com
The Whelan. 1133 Huff Road NW, Atlanta. 404-228-5164, thewhelan.com
Moondogs. 3179 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-231-4201, moondogsbar.com
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
OTP
Chaplins Restaurant and Karaoke Bar. At more than 30 years old, Chaplins is one of the longest-running karaoke games in town, offering live DJ karaoke Wednesdays-Sundays.
If you work up an appetite while singing your heart out, the kitchen offers a full menu of sandwiches, salads, sides, hamburgers, quesadillas and other bar foods.
555 S. Atlanta St., Roswell. 770-552-1147, chaplinsroswell.com.
Happy Karaoke. One of the first private room karaoke spots in metro Atlanta, Happy Karaoke offers rooms equipped with flashing lights, thousands of song choices and a menu of Korean dishes including pork kimchi stew, spicy rice cakes with ramen noodles and dried cuttlefish, plus a selection of cocktails.
5425 Buford Highway NE, Doraville. 505-514-3054.
Karaoke Melody. Offering private room karaoke for more than a decade, Karaoke Melody boasts more than 900,000 song options in 14 different languages, a full bar and menu of bar food.
7130 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta. 770-825-0088, karaokemelodyllc.com
More OTP spots for karaoke:
Encore KTV. 3865 Venture Drive B, Duluth. 770-756-8888, encorektv.com
Impulse Karaoke Lounge. 4771 Britt Road, Norcross. impulseloungekaraoke.com
Punch Bowl Social. 875 Battery Ave. SE, Atlanta. 470-443-1443, punchbowlsocial.com/location/atlanta
MICS Karaoke. 6035 Peachtree Road, Doraville. 770-462-9999, instagram.com/mics.karaoke
Red and Terry’s Timbers. 730 Concord Road SE, Smyrna. 770-434-2432, redandterrystimbers.com
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