Reggaeoke, 13th May

Reggaeoke has already established itself quite well in Brixton, having been going for about a year down there. I went along to its Eastside launch at the Queen of Hoxton. 

Reggaeoke is exactly what you might think it is - karaoke but all the songs are reggae! There was a decent turnout - the night is clearly popular enough down South to warrant some of the regulars making an appearance in Hipsterhood. And I can see why. The whole night had a bit of a party vibe, with the crowd being encouraged to sing along and support the performers on stage. For me (and I daresay quite a few others) just listening to the songs was enough as it was like revisiting my childhood with all the songs my dad would play at home.

The roster of songs you can perform is just great but I have to warn you if you're thinking about giving it a go - reggae is HARD! I was thinking about performing but I was too chicken. Every time I thought about doing a particular song I realised I didn't really know that many words. Then someone else would do the song and I would thank God I didn't bother trying it as the lyrics were much more difficult to 'sing' than I expected. 

Also - unlike with regular karaoke, all you get is the screen with the songs - no bouncy ball to help you along. 

Something like Night Nurse was quite straightforward but even Uptown Top Ranking and Murder She Wrote are trickier than you'd think! Not to mention Gimme the Light!

Some of the people were just awesome and knew the songs back to front. Others, errrr... less so. But it was all a lot of fun and if reggae is your bag then this is a great way to enjoy that music.

There are prizes for the best performance (ie not necessarily the best singer) but I didn't end up staying long enough to see who won though there were definitely a few contenders. Janine, the founder also makes an excellent host, being supportive to the performers and encouraging the audience to get involved. She's running a really fun night.