Your Host And Your Band!
"Darioke"
Hi! My name is Dario and I'm excited to back you up with my band at Home Away From Home in Wrigleyville! What an exciting time cause I love this gig so much I turned it into a competition giving YOU the chance to no only be the STAR but to win big doing it!! We call this "Darioke" and we do it every Sunday at Home Away From Home! Don't hesitate to reach out to me right away so we can start getting to know each other musicall and have the best time! Good luck!!!!
How This Works
Your voters
As your fans and supporters arrive to "Home Away From Home" they will be offered the chance to purchase one "voting ticket" for $10 which will cover the participation fee and a drink*! It is not required to purchase this just to be present. The serial number on their ticket will validate one vote submission on their phones. At this time they will also be presented a QR code they can scan when voting opens each evening. QR codes will not be reusable as a new one will be generated for each week/round. Voters will not be allowed to purchase more than one voting ticket. If they lose their ticket they lose their vote. Hopefully they got their drink already! To obtain the included drink, voters present their ticket to the bartender, they will tear it in half and they will return the other half.
Our Fair Voting System
This is what it looks like for the audience members who are voting. Supporters can only vote once in the evening. Voting will be opened during the last singers song. As you can see voters have to select their top 3 favorite performers. This prevents popularity contests and keeps observed talent at the surface. The form will not accept submissions that contain any more or any fewer selections.
For record and clarity, email addresses are collected so that voters get a copy of their submissions to avoid miscommunications. We do not sell email lists to anyone for any reason!
To prevent fraudulent or remote voting the serial numbers on the purchased participation tickets can only be used once. Duplicate entries of serial numbers cancel out your vote. (Duplicates show up highlighted in red on our end.)
Voting Schedule:
Week 1: The "Bloodbath Round". In the first round a whole 1/3 of the total contestants will be eliminated from the contest and receive a participation prize. (details TBD) This week will be 100% decided by the judge panel. However, part of their decision will be based on crowd reactions so it is advisable to still bring your friends. No voting tickets or purchases are required.
Week 2-9: 50% Judge points and 50% voters points.
Week 10: 100% Audience vote! But there's a catch! The entire contests history of the contestants points are calculated with their points accumulated in week 10. This means talent and popularity really face off! Not to mention, this event is open to the public as well! This system and all elements involved ensures maximum suspense. There is no obvious winner!
Our Judge Panel
Our rotation of "main judges" are all in the music industry as professionals who all have a heart to help. They will comment on performances but will not reveal their scores. We will also have a mix of guest judges who take the place of the "third" judge to keep the point system just. Guest judges will be a mix of influencers, business owners, radio personalities and more! Contestants that proceed to the next round will be announced by the host at the end of each night.
Tips and insights!
Let's get you ready to rock the stage! It all starts with mindset, right? To wisely avoid problems with this, I would plan to arrive as early as 6pm to settle in and get your mind right! These are personal tips from me to you (that the bar may not like) ;-)
- drink water with no ice
- avoid a full alcoholic beverage before your stage time
- plan to not eat anything acidic that day
- Take selfies! Make a video! Tag the bar! Get hyped!
- have time to "shake it out"
- make friends!
- and most importantly do everything to avoid feeling rushed and not as calm as you can be before you hit the stage!
Aiming for 6pm arrival also allows for traffic or parking problems to occur and not make you late!
If you live in the city it is recommended to Uber there. If you don't and you have to drive (like me) street parking is super cheap but the garage 1/2 block north is actually very reasonable as well for Sunday evenings! (worth IMO)
As far as the show, our judges look for more than just a great voice.
Pro Tips:
Pick songs you have memorized. sing with your hands you eyes and your smile! Above all, CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE!