Review: The high and low notes of college town karaoke, from Speakeasy to Goodfellows

“That’s not how you spell karaoke.” 

“I thought it was with a y, ‘karyoke,’” staffer Will Kleinschmidt said, looking down at his phone as he typed in our shared Google Doc. 

“Definitely not,” I, assistant lifestyle editor Morgan Brenner, said. It was Day 1 of our weeklong karaoke crawl, an endeavor that by Day 3 would start to feel like a genuine ‘crawl.’ (As seniors, drinking five days in a row isn’t exactly as easy as it used to be.) 

In that moment, sipping beers and brainstorming song ideas, we would not have realized how treacherous our journey would be: we’d have to navigate loud, out-of-tune singing, karaoke hoggers, the rough terrain of ostentatious, screaming frat boys and sing for underwhelmed and overwhelmed audience members alike. 

Nonetheless, come Friday, we would become stronger than ever, emboldened by bad singing, inspired by good singing. 

Now, we’re here to help navigate the way, showing the high and low notes of local karaoke. 

Monday — The Northside District

Northside has a very distinct vibe: the weird wall-art, tasty food and dim lighting make for a certainly unique karaoke experience. We shared carnitas tacos and maduros, and Will had a blackberry cider that was delicious. 

While the neighborhood bar has great ambiance, the karaoke set-up was awkward. Performers have to either stand behind a small computer screen, or scooch up to a mounted TV that is partially blocked by a support beam.  

Ambiance: 9/10 | Karaoke Setup: 5/10 | Crowd Energy: 4/10 | Performer Energy: 8/10

Overall score: 6.5/10

Morgan Sang: "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac

Will Sang: "Smooth" by Santana

Standout Performance: "When You’re Gone" by The Cranberries, performed by “Jackie.”

Tuesday — Might As Well Bar and Grill

Although the energy at MAW was electric, from the performers to the audience, their karaoke night suffers from a clunky setup: a stage turned away from the bar’s main seating area, a single microphone—even for duets—and a speaker system that’ll ensure you lose your voice — not from singing, but from trying to talk to the person sitting next to you. 

Luckily, all of our skepticism was eased by a $1 wing deal.

Ambiance: 2/10 | Karaoke Setup: 6/10 | Crowd Energy: 8/10 | Performer Energy: 9/10

Overall score: 6.25/10

Morgan Sang (with our friend Mason Roth): "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé 

Will (Almost) Sang: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield, "Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Chicks and "Movin’ Out (Anthony's Song)" by Billy Joel — he couldn’t decide.

Standout performance: "Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles, performed by Eva Eapen and Saanvi Madishetti 

Wednesday — Goodfellows Chapel Hill

As the saying goes, "big things come in small packages.” While Goodfellow’s had the smallest interior, with a slightly congested bar area and little personal space, this created a pleasantly intimate experience. The music was at the perfect volume to dance along to the performances on one end of the room and have casual conversation on the other.

And while there is no kitchen at Goodfellows, the free pickles and popcorn, plus the generous drink prices helped this night of karaoke rank on the top of our list.

Note: Goodfellows has karaoke on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Ambiance: 10/10 | Karaoke Setup: 8/10 | Crowd Energy: 9/10 | Performer Energy: 9/10

Overall score: 9/10

Morgan Sang: "Meet Me Halfway" by The Black Eyed Peas

Will Sang: "Sin Wagon" by The Chicks 

Standout Performance: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, performed by Levin Low and Sam Allen

Thursday — Speakeasy Carrboro

If you’ve never been to Speakeasy’s karaoke, you’re missing out. The emcee, Empress, is an incredible vocalist, and the local bar has the best karaoke set-up out of the crawl by far: it has a spacious stage and TV screens project lyrics directly across from the performer. 

Speakeasy is definitely the place to go if you love to perform. No worries if you aren’t a great singer: our inkling is that Empress keeps the mic volume low and cranks the karaoke track up. 

Note: Speakeasy Carrboro has karaoke on both Thursdays and Sundays. 

Ambiance: 8/10 | Karaoke Setup: 10/10 | Crowd Energy: 8/10 | Performer Energy: 8/10

Overall score: 8.5/10

Morgan Sang: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele

Will Sang: "Take It Off" by Kesha

Standout Performance: "‘Cause I Love You" by Lenny Williams, performed by Onicas Gaddis and Shonda Craven 

Friday — Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery

Top of the Hill After Hours is underrated. On Fridays, they have a $4 well drink deal, where you get your choice of soda/sour mixture with their house vodka. It’s a chill vibe, and affordable, with yummy late-night snacks (Morgan and DTH print managing editor Sarah Monoson shared the Thumbs and Toes). 

The set-up, however, was pretty awkward. Since the lyrics are displayed on a projector behind the performer, they cannot easily face the audience. Nonetheless, it was easy to join the queue, and the wait time was only around 10-15 minutes. 

Ambiance: 4/10 | Karaoke Setup: 3/10 | Crowd Energy: 7/10 | Performer Energy: 8/10

Overall score: 5.5/10

Morgan Sang: "Habits (Stay High) "by Tove Lo, and "Guess" by Charlie XCX featuring Billie Eilish with DTH assistant sports editor Emma Moon.

Will Sang: Nothing. After a week of drink deals, Will’s liver started fighting back, and he did not make it to the end of the crawl.

Standout Performance: "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J, performed by Emma Moon and DTH senior writer Lola Oliverio.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Eva Eapen is an Opinion Desk staffer.

@morganmbrenner

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com