FAQ: Residencies

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Let us know as soon as you arrive and we’ll plan for a little something special for them, time permitting. We can’t bump you or them up the list, though– we want everyone to have a good time!

We hear you! Here are some insider tips and tricks to maximize your time with us:
Get here early! Most of our residencies start at a slow time of the night. The earlier you get here, the more you can sing!
Put in your next song immediately. Get that next song in right away! Heck, put it in before you come up– we’ll add it to the rotation immediately after you sing.
It’s fine to change your mind. It’s okay to put your name in even if you’re not 100% sure of the song you want to sing. Just be sure you talk to us about changing your song at least two singers before your turn so we can make sure it’s ready to go for you.
Let us know you’re coming! We’re happy to reserve tables at our residencies for regulars, and we can even save spots in the rotation if you check in ahead of time.
Don’t tip us! Of course, please do if you’re having a great time, but don’t tip us hoping we’ll move you up in line! Now that most banks charge for refunds, we won’t be able to give you your money back if you don’t get to sing.

Here’s how our rotation works: as a new singer, your first song gets bumped up to two spots after the last new singer request in the rotation list. Then your next song gets added to the bottom of the rotation after you sing. (You really needn’t bother requesting a bunch of songs at once– you won’t sing any more often and honestly, we’ve found that people who put in a batch of songs tend to forget what they’ve requested and end up in a panic on stage! We don’t want that for you!) That way, new singers get cycled in quickly without shutting regulars out. And in the last hour of our shows, we don’t bump new singers up, period.
By the way, duets count toward the first person in the request, so if you want to sing a song with a friend, make sure you put YOUR NAME FIRST. It can be pretty awkward when someone has to turn down your duet on stage in front of everyone because they want to sing their own solo request first!

Sorry, we don’t do that. No offense to those karaoke hosts who do, but that’s not our thing.

Seriously, we’ve had to turn down tips as high as $200. It’s one reason why our regulars trust us and keep coming back to our shows.
But here’s what we can do for you at certain venues: an extra hour. It depends on the night, the venue, and the staff’s availability, but in some cases we can run long to accommodate you and anyone else already in the song queue. Pricing is $75 at minimum and requires payment in advance, so be prepared!

We promise we’re as sad about it as you are! We want everyone to sing as many songs as they can, but our venues do have a hard cut-off. Our hosts always read off the names of upcoming singers for the last hour of our shows, so if you want to squeeze in a song at the last minute, please listen to the host, watch the screen for your name, and above all please stay in the room! If you’re not there when we call your name we’ll have to bump your name down so others who are ready to sing can get their chance.
Even if we can’t get to your particular song, everyone gets a chance to sing at the end of the night! Our hosts always close the night with a group song that everyone can sing along to. Don’t be shy– join us!

Even with tens of thousands songs in our catalog it still happens! And sometimes we have to remove songs that we had just last month. Licensing is weird. If you’re at our show, just come up and ask us about it: if we can legally purchase it, we will! If you’re at home brainstorming before your next visit, fill out our Song Request form and we’ll email you back as soon as the song’s available.
By the way, that word “legally” is doing some heavy lifting there. We err on the side of caution, so just because you’ve seen it on YouTube doesn’t mean it’s actually available. And no, we don’t play songs off of YouTube. Sorry!

Yeah. We struggle with this one. It’s problematic, and absolutely antiquated, but for a huge number of folks Rocky Horror Picture Show was their first introduction to any non-hetero identity and we’re uncomfortable erasing that. (But as always we’re open to your thoughts!)

This is Chicago. We don’t sing R.Kelly in Chicago.