Welcome to our Rockaoke Blog! Follow our posts to stay up to date with gig announcements, press features, festival news and everything Rockaoke.
About us:
ROCKAOKE are the UKs original, BEST and only SPECIALIST live karaoke band, inviting their audience to “live the dream” by taking to the stage and singing with a live rock band…
“One of London’s finest WTF experiences!” – Timeout London
ROCKAOKE had a great night yesterday playing the SMW 30th Anniversary Party at Wilton’s Music Hall, London. Such a great venue and a lovely bunch of people – isn’t that always the case at ROCKAOKE gigs!
Thanks to Fiona and Euan at Sonn Macmillan Walker for booking us and all at Wilton’s for helping to make it a very special night.
“Everyone’s still talking about the Rockaoke – and will be for some time!!”
“Thanks again for such a great night – it totally rocked!”
“Just wanted to say what absolute legends you were at the Sonn Macmillan Walker do last night. Such fun. Frightened to death to sing then didn’t want to get off the stage.”
Here are some photos from our recent trip to LISBON, Portugal.
It was brilliant to work with our friends and colleagues at ASPECT COMMUNICATIONS again and we had a great night performing for our client at SUD Lisboa, a fabulous venue on the north bank of the Tagus right by Ponte 25 de Abril. We got to spend 2 nights in the CORINTHIA Lisbon – very lucky us.
The weather was super nice for the time of year. So we took some nice photos – see below.
Above all – it was so good to be playing in Europe again. Our first overseas corporate event for almost 3 years since Prague on 28th february 2020.
“Goose Island’s Hop Party had it all. From fantastic beers and ales, to an exciting twist on karaoke and some of the biggest and best bands in the country, it was quite the exclamation point to round out a summer of great parties.”
“Over in the The Wingman, attendees could take part in a bit of Rockaoke – it’s like karaoke, but instead of naff backing-track and a bewildered audience, there’s a full-live band to singalong with and an eager crowd helping you, too.”
In Bitter Sweet Symphonies, Amy Butcher did a review of the event and said some nice things about ROCKAOKE.
“Before the bands were set to play, I wandered around basking in the sunshine, sipping on my Blossoms SK-Brew to find Rockaoke in action. Now, before this day, I had only heard wonderful things about this act, and yes Rockaoke is definitely an act in itself. Performing karaoke gets kicked up a notch when you’re given the chance to play with a live band and there’s also a crowd cheering you on – this was the perfect way to warm up before settling into a night of live bands.”
“Goose Island’s Hop Party had it all. From fantastic beers and ales, to an exciting twist on karaoke and some of the biggest and best bands in the country, it was quite the exclamation point to round out a summer of great parties.”
“Over in the The Wingman, attendees could take part in a bit of Rockaoke – it’s like karaoke, but instead of naff backing-track and a bewildered audience, there’s a full-live band to singalong with and an eager crowd helping you, too.”
In Bitter Sweet Symphonies, Amy Butcher did a review of the event and said some nice things about ROCKAOKE.
“Before the bands were set to play, I wandered around basking in the sunshine, sipping on my Blossoms SK-Brew to find Rockaoke in action. Now, before this day, I had only heard wonderful things about this act, and yes Rockaoke is definitely an act in itself. Performing karaoke gets kicked up a notch when you’re given the chance to play with a live band and there’s also a crowd cheering you on – this was the perfect way to warm up before settling into a night of live bands.”
EXCITING NEWS……! ROCKAOKE has been featured in the latest edition of Heatworld as one of the top ‘quirky karaoke’ nights around.
“Get the goss on the new craze for quirky karaoke”
If you prefer your sing-along experience with added air guitar, this is probably the closest you’ll get to joining a rock band. The on-hand pro musicians promise they’ll make you feel like you are in a band, whether you’re rocking out to Arctic Monkeys or AC-DC.
They’ve entertained everyone from James Corden to Jeremy Corbyn (yes, really) so you’ll be in superstar company. And as well as private events and one-off appearances, they have regular gigs in both London (various locations) and their hometown of Sheffield in the Mulberry Bar.
On the 28th September, the fabulous Grace Hall will be transformed for a night of ROCKAOKE!
Talk about adding a touch of class to proceedings! This elegant venue was originally built to accommodate a New York banking firm, so it must be pretty posh. Grace Hall is widely sited as one of London’s most exceptional venues and plays host to weddings, formal dinners, fashion shows – you name it. It has a distinctly 1920s vibe, which works rather well for a night of partying…
Forget your ordinary start to the weekend and join us onstage for a Friday night like no other! It’s not just rock music; every genre and era is covered, from Abba to Kanye West to Grease – what will you rock out to?
Enjoy cocktails, spirit infusions, wines and beers as you watch the show with an extensive and unique bar menu available throughout the night.
Doors will be open from 6pm and the venue closes at midnight. £10 entry. Buy tickets here.
Rockaoke return to the awesome Meraki Festival in august 2018.
Amidst an absolutely incredible festival summer 2018 for Rockaoke, we are delighted to be giving audiences a chance to join us on stage again at one of our favourite festivals of 2017. Meraki Festival.
A truly magical place full of incredible live music, electric atmospheres and exciting experiences. Including ROCKAOKE!
Come and unleash your inner diva, crooner or rock god with us from 15:50 -16:35 or again at 17:45 – 18:30. Children are as welcome on stage as well as the ‘big kids’ too. Let’s see who gives the best performances!
First festival of the season done, and what an epic way to kick off proceedings!
We were booked by SJM Concerts, one of the UK’s leading promoters, to curate a pop up bar called the Neighbour Hood Inn. The brief was to fill it with the kind of entertainment you’d find in a traditional pub but to add an unexpected twist and engage the ‘hungry for fun’ festival crowd.
Luckily, we have a flight case full of these activities after 15 years in the game. The programme was hosted all day by our fictional pub landlord character, Mat Butcher aka Mat Slater. The live band then took to the stage for a bespoke, fully interactive live band music quiz ( different each day ), sing along bingo and 2 sets of Rockaoke, before our landlord turned to the decks for the evening under the guise of DJ Starship.
We knew what we had put together was going to be fun, but we weren’t quite prepared for the crowd surfing kids and OAP dance offs. The Neighbour Hood Arms was packed to the rafters all weekend, with full houses for the Sing-Along-Bingo, standing room only for the quizzed and complete carnage during the Rockaoke sets!
SJM were supremely happy and the festival crowd were euphorically entertained. Job very well done.
Keep your eyes peeled for video evidence of this completely interactive, Rockaoke programming. It should be making it’s way to a festival, corporate event or private event near you soon.
Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for Rockaoke, as not only do we have a plethora of corporate summer parties, weddings and private events lined up, but also a full calendar playing some of the UK’s top music festivals!
Ever since we played at our first major UK festival back in 2007 (in the VIP area at V Festival), we have forged a reputation as one of the go-to interactive festival experiences. Using our ability to interact with and engage audiences both large and small, we’ve been booked as part of brand experiences and in our own right at festivals such as Standon Calling, Meraki and Car Fest. We give festival goers the experience of feeling like a rock star and fronting their own rock band; an experience not unlike that of the bands they’ve come to see….
So crack open a cold cider and get ready to unleash your inner rock god at a festival near you this summer:
27th May – NBHD Weekender – Victoria Park, Warrington
15th-17th June – Eroica Britannia – Friden Grange, Buxton
21st-24th June – Isle of Wight Festival
29th-31st June – Love Supreme – Lewes, East Sussex
20th-22nd July – Blue Dot Festival – Jodrell Bank, Cheshire
26th-29th July – Kendal Calling – Lowther Deer Park, Kendal
27th-29th July – Standon Calling – Lordship Cottage, Standon
3rd-5th August – Bestival – Lulworth Estate, Lulworth
11th August – Meraki Festival – Herts County Showground, St Albans
Back in January we were asked by long time Rockaoke fan, Dexter Fletcher (film director) if we could come along to The Bloomsbury Ballroom and play at the wrap party for Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ biopic.
It was a slightly surreal night, what with us being in the same room and playing in front of total rock legends Brain May and Roger Taylor. This was made even more surreal by Rami Malek, who plays Freddie Mercury in the film, slaying through Queen songs ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ and ‘Under Pressure’ with all the Freddie mannerisms down to a tee.
And come the end of the night, when the grand finale was upon us, it could only have been one song………Bohemian Rhapsody, led by Oscar winning film producer Graham King. The perfect way to sign off from one of the craziest nights in Rockaoke history.
The official film trailer is out now. From what we saw on the night, it’s going to be amazing.
Ever wondered how world class, elite, Premier League Footballers celebrate winning the Premier League? Naturally, they hire Rockaoke!!
Premier League 2018 winners Manchester City hired Rockaoke to help world class football superstars such as Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne to name but a few, live out their Rock ‘n’ Roll dreams by fronting their very own live band.
The venue of choice was the Mayfield Depot, Manchester, an old disused railway depot. The evening started off a little quiet until the whole team invaded the stage to sing club anthem “Blue Moon”, then things hotted up as the night quickly picked up pace with the guys doing “Hey Jude”, “Mr Brightside”, “Suspicious Minds” and many more. Even City supporter and guitar hero Johnny Marr of The Smiths popped his head in just to see if the team had the same swagger on the stage as they’ve had all season on the pitch. He didn’t fancy getting up himself saying… “I’m off the clock boys but sounds cool. I’ll stick around”.
Just goes to show, everyone loves singing with a live band…..even the most expensive footballers on the planet!