Weekend singers ages 21 and older who hit the stage Friday and Sunday nights at The Cabin will be treated to the full “rock-star” experience, said Malia Denali, who runs the show.

“With the Cabin’s layout, you get that big stage and lighting opportunity, and that’s half of the appeal,” she said. “You’re not just in a corner somewhere, and I’m not flipping through my phone while you’re getting through your Adele song.”
Not only is the singer able to experience the spotlight, Denali makes sure they sound as good as they can.

“I get the opportunity to do some mixing,” she said. “I can turn the high-end up and pull the bass out a little bit. With the program I use, I can change the tempo and change the key. So once people start singing, I can adjust things to help them out a little bit, too. I have Riley Ortiz, my production manager, who is so incredible. He sits up with me half of the time, and he’ll come up, and we’ll toast everybody and tweak on the nobs.”

In addition, the stage is set up with monitors that shoot the sound back to the singers, so they can hear themselves, according to Denali.

“This is something I pitched hard for,” she said. “The Cabin is known for presenting live music, and we’ve become the standard. So if we’re going to do anything musically inclined, we have to do it right.”

Cabin Karaoke sessions are held Fridays from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. and Sundays from 8 p.m.-midnight, all year around, Denali said.

“We’ve been getting such a good local crowd on Friday that it gets so busy, and the biggest hazard is I can’t get to everybody,” she said. “So, we wanted to open it up on Sunday.”

While Friday night taps into the big-party feel, Sundays are a little more low key, Denalis said.

“It’s more like a living-room vibe,” she said. “It’s quieter, and you can crush multiple songs. I had one gal up last Sunday who just owned the stage. I was (like), ‘What do you want to do next?’”

Cabin Karaoke started three years ago, as Cowboy Karaoke envisioned by Programmer Junior Richard, Denali said.

“I had the great honor of taking over from Cowboy Joe Salisbury, who is a legend in his town, with his blessing and great training,” she said. “He and I had worked a couple of years prior in tandem. I would do my trivia and then we would close out with karaoke. So, when it came time, I was able to keep it going.”

Denali doesn’t only help with the sound and song selection, she is also a vocalist, who can help the singers at any time.

“I’m happy to do duets with people if they don’t have people to back them up on songs like ‘Shallow” (by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga),” she said with a laugh. “It’s always nice to grab a mic and assist.”

Denali posts a free sign-up sheet in the Cabin lobby at the beginning of each night.

“You put down your name, song and artist of choice,” she said. “I work with a program called KaraFun. KaraFun has its own catalog online, and it’s very extensive. So I tell any karaoke enthusiasts that if they want to look at what they want to do in advance they can, and if they come in and read the room and want to switch their vibe, they can in real time.”

While KaraFun’s list is quite extensive, it doesn’t include everything, Denali said.

“Up until recently, I got a lot of Taylor Swift, but her music has since been pulled out from the program,” she said. “I think it’s a copyright thing. So, I constantly tell them to have a backup because if we don’t have your song, we can talk about it.”

During the winter months, Cabin Karaoke has filled the venue to capacity, Denali said.

“From what the higher-ups tell me it’s the strongest-running program at The Cabin,” she said. 

Bachelorette parties help with that, according to Denali.

“They come in packs, and they’ve also been some of my favorites,” she said.

Denali enjoys some of the running themes these groups bring to The Cabin.

“Recently, there was one when a gal was getting married to a guy whose name starts with the letter S, so all the gals showed up as things that began with S,” she said. “There was a sparkler, a shrimp, a strawberry and a soy-sauce packet. And one gal came dressed up as a sandworm from ‘Dune.’”

Another group featured a bride-to-be who was getting married to someone named Tom, Denali said.

“So they all decided to come in as Toms like Tom Cruise and Tom Hardy,” she said. “I live for that kind of creativity.”

Not only do these bachelorette parties go all in as far as cosplay and costumes, they sing their hearts out.

“They all go hardcore in on it, and I sit up there and marvel at these friendships — especially in this day where it’s so dangerous to sometimes say hello to strangers,” she said. “But at the Cabin, there is a community of strangers who are reaching out to the crowd with a microphone, crowd surfing and pumping each other up.”

Denali has her own way of warming up the crowd and putting the singers at ease.

“I get sideways glances from people who are on stage that seem like they are asking if they are doing OK, and I watch them and shout, ‘You’ve got this, babe!’” she said. “I also tell people who are nervous to go with the crowd-pleasers like ‘Wagon Wheel’ and ‘Sweet Caroline’ because if they do those, the crowd will drown them out.”

Denali also tells them to pretend like they are in their car listening to the radio.

“We’re so uninhibited when we’re listening to music in the car,” he said with a laugh. “So, I guess you can say I encourage people to be uninhibited. It’s karaoke, after all.”

Cabin Karaoke

  • When: Fridays from 8 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sundays from 8 p.m.-midnight
  • Where: The Cabin, 427 Main St.
  • Web: tinyurl.com/42j463xt