Downtown Phoenix is getting a new place to lose your voice on purpose.
Off The Record, Arizona’s first group singalong bar, officially opens for nightly entertainment on Thursday, May 14 at 829 N. First Ave., just south of Roosevelt. The concept is simple, slightly brilliant, and dangerously fun: no karaoke machine, no spotlight-hogging solos, no awkward stage moment. Just one room, one song, and everyone belting it like the bridge was written specifically for their emotional damage.
The Public Grand Opening Celebration runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., introducing Phoenix to a bar where the crowd is the entertainment and the playlist is basically the main character.
“Off The Record is an immersive, inclusive experience for music lovers who crave connection,” Ryan Oberholtzer, co-owner and co-founder of sister Phoenix hot spots Barcoa Agaveria and Provecho, says. “It’s a place where people can sing their hearts out and truly embrace the joy that comes from letting loose with their favorite tunes, along with a room full of people sharing the same vibe.”
That vibe is the whole point. Ryan and Julie Oberholtzer drew inspiration from the way music shows up across cultures, countries, memories, and nights out that somehow become lore by morning. For them, Off The Record is less about performance and more about the instant community that happens when a room full of strangers somehow knows the same chorus.
“Music evokes memories and emotions in a way few other experiences can,” Julie Oberholtzer, co-owner of Off The Record, says. “We saw the power of music bringing people together again and again, and we realized there’s nothing really like that in Phoenix. This city has one of the most diverse mixtures of cultures and ideals, but few options to bring everyone together the way music does.”
Inside, the format flips the usual entertainment script. The entire venue becomes the stage, while professional DJs guide the room through nightly sonic journeys spanning 80s, 90s, 00s, contemporary pop, country, Latin, R&B, Yacht Rock and more. In other words, one night may belong to your cowboy era, another to your soft-rock-on-a-boat fantasy, and another to the pop anthem you swore you were over until the first note hit.
Off The Record also comes with some very unserious extras, in the best way. Near the entrance, a high-tech soundproof singing booth gives guests a place to sing-scream before stepping into the room. Once inside, 10 jumbo video screens serve up lyrics so nobody has to mumble through the second verse like a fraud.
LED lights shift with each nightly theme, props add a little theatrical nonsense, and a shot cart rolls through the bar for on-the-spot pours when the chorus needs courage. Guests can also grab bar snacks including sliders and wings from Provecho, the Downtown Phoenix food truck tied to the Oberholtzer hospitality orbit.
The bar will be open from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with singalong sets from 7 p.m. to midnight. Sunday Brunch singalong sets will also run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., because apparently Phoenix now has a place where eggs, coffee, and power ballads can all share a table.
Reservations are not required, but they are strongly recommended. Which feels wise, because once word gets out that Phoenix has a bar built entirely around communal main-character energy, the room may fill up fast.
Insider Takeaways
-
Off The Record officially opens for nightly entertainment in Downtown Phoenix on Thursday, May 14. The Public Grand Opening Celebration runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
-
The bar is located at 829 N. First Ave., just south of Roosevelt.
-
The concept is not karaoke: no mics, no stage, no solos, just everyone singing together.
-
Nightly themes will span genres including 80s, 90s, 00s, pop, country, Latin, R&B, Yacht Rock and more.
-
The venue features 10 jumbo lyric screens, LED lighting, props, a soundproof singing booth, drink specials, a shot cart, and bites from Provecho.
To learn more, visit offtherecordphx.com.
