Every Thursday, music spills out and amateur singers spill in through Halo Bar’s doors. The club’s recurring Karaoke Night attracts anyone over 18 — but especially college students who love nothing more than singing their hearts out with a good drink in their hand — to join the festivities in Downtown Bryan.
Halo Bar is a modern, upscale dance club, contrasting its century-old building on North Main St. Most known for the drag shows it hosts every Friday and Saturday night, it’s been a part of Bryan nightlife since opening in 2003. Its selection of over 80,000 songs means the genres sung vary almost as much as the sobriety of the singers.
Sociology junior Hannah Carl came across Karaoke Night by chance. Scrolling through Instagram one day, she said an ad popped up about the venue and piqued her curiosity. She sent the post to her friends, and the group went this past Thursday to check it out.
“For someone who loves karaoke, I’ve never actually done karaoke at a bar before,” Carl said. “My family does karaoke for every holiday or just when we are bored, so I grew up doing it. But somehow during my time in college, I never found a place that hosted. I was thrilled when I saw Halo Bar had a karaoke night.”
Psychology junior Madolyn Byrd is another first-timer at Halo’s Karaoke Night. She said she loves karaoke and is happy she found a new place she can frequent. As an extrovert, Byrd said karaoke night is the perfect environment to make friends and have a good time.
“I think karaoke is such a fun activity,” Byrd said. “It’s cool because you get to just hang out with your friends and listen to good music. My favorite part is when the crowd sings along with you.”
Education senior Molly Welch attended the karaoke event with her friends. She said she doesn’t normally like karaoke, but the venue made it worthwhile. With a little help from liquid courage and support from her friends, she performed “Baby” by Justin Bieber because it is a crowd- pleaser.
“I loved how upbeat it was,” Welch said. “The lights and the environment were cool, and everyone had good energy. To be honest, I usually don’t love karaoke, but hanging out with my friends and checking out a new spot in Bryan was fun. I got up and sang once with my group, but I prefer just hanging out and talking at bars.”
Welch said she likes exploring the Downtown Bryan area. Her favorite activity to do with friends is going out to eat, so being able to try out new restaurants in Bryan is typical in her routine.
“Halo is also located well,” Welch said. “We went to dinner before in Downtown Bryan and got some pizza before doing karaoke, which was fun. Especially if you’re drinking, it’s good to have food options and have a walkable area.”
Byrd’s group couldn’t stay long — the curse of Friday morning classes — but that didn’t stop them from having fun with the music. They spent the night dancing, hanging out with other amateur singers and belting the words to their favorite Celine Dion songs.
“Karaoke brings people together,” Byrd said. “It’s cool seeing everyone singing songs with strangers and bonding over music.”
