Karaoke and nights out

Karaoke with Russian speakers: how it works

A night out in town comes together as easily as a beach day. Someone posts a date, a time and a part of town in the chat, and everyone else replies that they’re in, so there are enough seats and enough microphones to go round. There’s no fee: entry is free and you only pay for what you order yourself. We often bring our own kit - a speaker, microphones and cables - which is why our karaoke happens on the sand as well as indoors.

We sing in every language at once. People from several countries end up at the same table, so Russian songs come mixed in with Ukrainian and French ones. Announcements go out in French too, because French-speaking friends come along as well. We don’t publish the names of the venues on the site: the exact spot is posted in the chat just before we head out.

10 July 2025: the first karaoke night in central Montpellier

The first evening was a Thursday, in a bar in the historic centre of Montpellier, and the whole room was ours that night. Preparations started a week ahead: a notice in the chat read “Looking for a Boy or a Girl with a good voice for backing vocals”, and the backing vocals got a rehearsal right there on the beach on 6 July. People gathered from 6 pm, the first video from the room arrived at 19:25 with the caption “We’ve started”, and the last one at 00:39. About fifteen of us came. Around midnight the venue held a prize draw “for the most tuneful singer”. Those who were working that evening sang along from the chat, and the next morning the organiser wrote: “We’ll definitely do this evening again - more than once!”

14 July 2025: France’s national holiday with French friends

We did it again four days later, on France’s national holiday. The announcement went out to the chat on 11 July with a video clip made specially for it, and was pinned to the top. The room and the street outside the bar were decorated in blue, white and red. The big decision was about the guests: we invited French friends and people we know from other countries, and ran the programme of games, contests and karaoke in French. Doors were from 6 pm, the programme started at 8 pm, and people were asked to book a table in advance. The result was a holiday where the city’s Russian-speaking residents invited their neighbours to their own tables - and a good dose of real-life French practice along the way.

28 February 2026: dancing as a group in Lattes

This one was dreamed up by an ordinary member of the chat. On the Thursday she wrote that she was going dancing on Saturday at a club in Lattes, the commune next door to Montpellier, booked a table for 9:15 pm and suggested people message her privately so it would be easier to find each other. The organiser ran with the idea, posting three video announcements and a reminder on the day. The dancing there gets going closer to 10 pm. The day before, the chat estimated “About 7”, and in the end a group of ten or twelve women turned up, all dressed up in party dresses. Going as your own group means you can relax: nobody has to face a room full of strangers alone. The last message from the club reached the chat at 1:36 am.

Karaoke on the beach

We bought the speaker and microphones for the first beach day on 22 June 2025, and karaoke has come to the sea with us ever since: that day we sang until gone ten at night, on 6 July in La Grande-Motte we sang and danced on the sand, and when we closed the season on 11 October 2026 at Carnon, the songs to guitars gave way to karaoke off a phone. All our beach meet-ups are collected in the Beach days series.

How to come to the next evening

We announce the next evening in the chat: the date, the time, the part of town and whether a table needs booking. There’s no sign-up - just say in the chat that you’re coming and tell us which song to put on first. If you’re new and worried about not finding anyone, post in the chat when you arrive: that’s how people find each other at every one of our evenings.