Pocket park turns into karaoke stage
When karaoke broke out Thursday night in Atlanta, the singers had a big stage. All of downtown Atlanta, in fact.
From the open-air Plaza Pocket Park, music rang out for three hours across West Main and around corners and alleyways between buildings.
Karaoke on Main was a first-time event organized by the Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Red River Lumber Co.
“So many talented people, and a lot of turnout,” said event leader Aaron Whitehead. “This was the brainchild of Miranda Johnson and Sarah Staley. They came up with it together.”
Who knew that one’s neighbor could sing and sound good, too? And especially when backed by a large, prerecorded orchestral and choral sound, and with one’s own voice amplified.
Such music as Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” the Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes,” Kenny Rogers’ “She Believes In Me” and Tanya Tucker’s “Let Me Go to Texas” caused people to not only applaud but get up and dance too.
Youngsters ran across the flashing floor lights all evening long. And at the end, a bunch of them got up on stage and sang “Let It Go” from the Disney movie “Frozen.”
It didn’t seem to matter if you were young or old. In fact, some of those with gray beards received the most applause. But all who walked to the stage received hand claps.
As is common today, young women sang with powerful voices and a stage presence that reflects years of watching television. Stage announcer Aaron Whitehead told Danielle Wise that her performance of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” had sounded better than the original recording.
In the crowd, one sensed everyone wanted to get up there and try out their voice. One who did was Nikki Woods, who is 34 but looks more like a teenager.
Her daughter Payton, 6, had opened the evening by singing “The Star Spangled Banner.” Then, mom won first place and a $50 prize.
“I didn’t expect to win, so many talented people here. But I love this event. Something to do on Thursday nights,” Nikki said.
The event will be repeated the third Thursday evening of this month and in August, too.
The e event was a crowd pleaser. In fact, no one was distracted by the crossing of the nearby railroad trains with their noise and horns. On oneoccasion, the train had 76 cars in tow. Another roared by with 86 a few minutes later.
No matter, the karaoke fans in downtown Atlanta just kept on singing and listening.