Dust off your Donna Summers CD and warm up with Garth Brooks! It's time to let those karaoke pipes wail, to the delight (or horror) of your audience. When you've exhausted the playbook at Austin's king karaoke bar -- Ego's -- here's where you can go for an encore.
Don't let anyone tell you that Round Rockers don't know how to rock. At Homer's Bar & Grill, our Greater Austin brethren get down on the karaoke stage, singing their hearts out on an enviable sound system. Just protect your delicate vocal chords, singers: Smoking is still allowed (!) here.
Common Interest is for the karaoke enthusiast who's graduated from private rooms, and is ready to hit the stage: The stage of a sports bar, that is. Common Interest should really be called Separate Interests, as half the folks there are watching football, but it makes your performance that much more triumphant when they jerk their heads away from Tony Romo to clap for your Salt N' Pepa number.
Mondays are rough, but you know what helps? Monday night rock n' roll karaoke at Beerland. If you can't get no satisfaction (har) from their playlist, Beerland will happily let you bring in your own music.
Cruising down Congress you might miss Silhouette. But make it point to spend a lax Friday night with your friends here sometime: it's located inside the 100 year-old Bremond building (complete with creaky stairs and gorgeous old crown molding), and lets you order sushi in your own private performance room.
The go-to spot in central Austin for private room karaoke, Austin Karaoke is BYOB, and conveniently located next door to a liquor store. Maybe they realize that karaoke requires more than a little liquid courage.
A country-dancing, fire-spinning, karaoke-ing gay bar? I think it's pretty self-explanatory why you need to check out Rusty's, if you haven't already.
Let me get right to the point: The sushi at DK Sushi isn't really the point. Sure, it's fine. But the real draw is Thursday night karaoke, hosted by what may be a certifiably insane (and hilarious) individual, DK himself. Free sake bombs if you sit in the front, and more if you take the stage and sing. Along with a gong, Asian soft porn on overhead TVs, a disco ball and DK's Gallagher-like personality, it's an Austin rite of passage.
This is like the Cheers of the Manchaca Austin, 9-to-5 set. Karaoke night is every Tuesday, with shockingly great mics, and a pop-heavy playlist that American Idol fans can sing along to non-ironically.