Those who know us know we love karaoke. We love the adrenaline rush of being the one up on stage; we love the thrill we get when we manage to sing a song reasonably well; and we love the people we get to meet who share a passion for singing and having fun.
When we moved to the Cape in 2022, it took us a while to figure out where we could go to sing karaoke. At the time, there weren’t many options. But we eventually found a few places, and over time we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of new spots that have started to jump on the karaoke bandwagon. Apparently, the word is out: Karaoke is a blast! And from a business perspective, a karaoke night can often draw a good-sized crowd.
So, with a solid three years of Cape Cod karaoke under our belts, we now feel qualified to share our list of the six best places to go to enjoy a fun karaoke night. Accompanying the list is a video that showcases snippets of some of the performances we’ve enjoyed during the past few years.
Our Top Six Places
This local pub and restaurant is one of our favorite places to go to sing karaoke. DJ Jeff King runs the show every Friday night starting at 8 p.m., and there’s almost always a good crowd of people there eager to participate. It’s got a high-energy vibe and a fun group of regulars who show up almost every week to sing. And usually at least one or two bartenders or wait staff will jump up on stage to take a turn at the microphone. There’s a nice stage setup that faces a large bar surrounded by high-top tables and a spacious dining area, giving you a good view of the audience you’re singing to. If it’s an exceptionally busy night, it can sometimes be a little tough singing over the bar chatter, but it’s generally a supportive crowd. On average, if you are there the whole night, you’ll be able to sing two or three songs.
On Mondays starting at 8 p.m., you’ll find karaoke DJ Jeff King at Sea Dog. Because it’s a Monday night, the number of karaoke singers in attendance can vary considerably from one week to the next, but there’s usually a fair number there to enjoy the experience with you. Sea Dog is loaded with TV screens, so there’s no question that some of the people are there to watch whatever game is being broadcast that night as opposed to singing karaoke. But if you bring a few karaoke friends with you for moral support, you’ll have a great time. Besides, what else are you going to do on a Monday night? On average, if you are there the whole night, you’ll be able to sing three or four songs.
Karaoke is a fairly new offering at The Auld Triangle, but it’s a great addition to the Cape Cod karaoke landscape. Held on Thursdays starting at 8 p.m., it’s a tamer experience than the karaoke nights conducted at other bars, but it’s a great place to sing softer songs or try out new material that you might be feeling uncertain about. Cheryl and Keith, who with their son also perform in the band Tria, host the evening, and they have what we consider to be the best sound system of any place we’ve been to. The venue also has a nice stage that looks out over the large dining area and bar. So far, the pool of participants has been fairly small, but everyone there is really into karaoke, so it’s an intimate but supportive place to sing. We expect the number of participants will grow over time as word gets out about this place, but for now at least, if you are there the whole night, you’ll be able to sing three to five songs.
From an ambiance perspective, there is no better place to sing karaoke than at the outdoor venue that is The Loft Shack. This seasonal outdoor bar is a beautiful place to spend a warm summer evening or even a cool fall night. There’s couches, high top tables, a full bar, pretty landscaping, fire tower heaters and fire pits, and a view of the resort pool. On most nights of the week, you’ll be treated to live music here. But on Wednesday nights, starting at 5 p.m., it’s all about karaoke. The DJ is Liz Solomon, a talented singer who occasionally sings a few songs, but you’ll get plenty of chances to take the mic in hand yourself. The size of the crowd varies; on the nights we’ve been there, we were able to sing anywhere from three to five songs.
If you are looking to sing in front of a truly supportive audience, then you’ll want to go to the Parrot Bar & Grille on Thursday nights starting at 6 p.m. Here you’ll find a large group of regulars who love singing karaoke. Many of them seem to know one another pretty well, which gives the place a comfortable, homey feel. But they happily welcome newcomers into the mix, and they’ll give you a nice round of applause at the end of your performance. The age range of participants runs the gamut,, and country songs and songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s being especially popular here. If you stay the night, you’ll usually only be able to sing two or three songs, but you’ll have a good time just listening to the other singers and enjoying the camaraderie of the place.
emBargo is probably the most popular karaoke venue we’ve been to, as it almost always draws a good-sized crowd. DJ Steve Solomon is an entertaining host, and there are always a handful of regulars who you can expect to see here, including frequent visitor Positive Paulie, morning DJ at Koffee FM. For us older folks, the 9 p.m. start time is a bit of a challenge for a Wednesday – we’d love to see that move back to 8 or 8:30 – but the later hour does seem to be an attraction for younger folks who tend to stroll in around 9:30. By 10, the place is usually hopping, but it all comes to a close too quickly at 11. Ballads and soft folk songs are popular at the beginning of the night, but later in the evening you’ll want to be prepared to sing songs with some energy to them, as people will definitely get up on the large dance floor if your performance inspires them. And there’s nothing better than the feeling you get when people start dancing to your songs. The one main downside to emBargo is that you usually only get the opportunity to sing two songs, even if you stay from start to finish. It’s another reason we’d love to see them add an extra 30 to 60 minutes to the beginning of their karaoke night. It’d make staying up so late a little easier to endure!
A Few Other Places To Consider
While that’s our list of favorite karaoke venues on the Cape, we know there are several other places that offer karaoke nights as well. Some, like the Chatham Squire, do it on a regular basis, while others offer it only occasionally and not always on the same night of the week. We haven’t been to all these places yet, but we list them here so that you know they might be an option. If you know of a place we’ve missed that you feel offers a quality karaoke experience, let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
The Chatham Squire (Chatham)
Knockout Pizza (Dennis Port)
The Red Nun Bar & Grille (Chatham)
The Cleat & Anchor (Dennis Port)
Liam Maguire’s (Falmouth)
Bamboo (Hyannis)
The Sand Bar (West Dennis)
The Anchor Ale House (Falmouth)
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