For those wanting to warmup their vocal chords while having a little laid-back fun, downtown Bowling Green is the place to be.

Five nights a week, bars across town break out the karaoke machines and amp up the microphones for sing-along fans of all genres.

Whether it’s country, classic rock or preppy pop, students and residents can find a place to karaoke Saturday through Wednesday nights.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights are karaoke night at Nate & Wally’s Fishbowl. DJ Paul Music starts the tunes at 11 p.m. and also works the karaoke machine at Tubby’s Tavern on Wednesday nights.

James Wiltsie, manager and bartender at the Fishbowl, said about 65 percent of the crowd consists of college students; the rest is an older crowd, including patrons who come in groups after work.

Kamikaze’s used to host karaoke twice a week, but with an increase in business, they decided to run it Sunday through Wednesday, manager Cody Lucius said. The bar has had karaoke for the past five years; DJ Karaoke Chuck starts at 10 p.m.

Lucius said many customers prefer to sing along to country and “Journey” numbers. He said the atmosphere on karaoke night is more friendly and laid-back than other nights.

“They just kind of come out to have fun and never have any problems,” Lucius said. “It lets people interact more when they can get up on stage; they can sing and have fun and make a fool out of themselves without everyone making fun of them too bad.”

Bowling Green resident Bruce Lillie, 53, said he’s been a regular on the downtown karaoke scene since 2003.

“Everybody’s more accepting of others versus the rest of the time when … everybody’s sitting in their own little cliques,” he said. “If somebody’s walking off the stage, they get high-fives from people they don’t even know.”

University alumnus and karaoke frequenter George Toth-Demetriade said karaoke serves as a good “ice breaker.”

“It’s a good way to have fun with people you’ve never seen before. It’s a good way to connect,” Toth-Demetriade said.

For those who can’t get enough sing-a-long fun during the week, Grumpy Dave’s Pub hosts karaoke night on Saturdays at 10 p.m. with $1 off imported bottles.

Grumpy Dave’s bartender Holly Shepherd said, “I really like it when older men come in and sing Frank Sinatra — the real classic songs — because they always do so good at it, but that doesn’t happen very often.”

Shepherd said the most popular karaoke songs are from the country and pop music genres.

Toth-Demetriade said he sings boy-band songs with his friends. Among his favorites are “Shape of My Heart” by the Backstreet Boys and “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette.

“I like to sing stupid songs … I don’t take it seriously,” he said. “I try to sing well but I don’t do it to show off — I do it to have fun.”

Lillie said his favorite genre to sing is 1970s rock. His favorite song to karaoke to is “Vehicle” by The Ides of March.

“I think we’re all kind of partial to what we grew up with in high school,” he said.

Lillie said half the fun of karaoke night is watching other people perform and “seeing who can sing and who can’t … who’s having fun and who doesn’t care.”

Toth-Demetriade said a downside to karaoke is “the politics involved in getting in line.”

“It’s hard to get on [stage] when it’s busy, but it’s more fun when it’s busy so it’s a tradeoff,” he said.

Alcohol can be a factor in an individual’s willingness and ability to sing in front of strangers, Toth-Demetriade said. With an increase in alcohol intake, “willingness goes up and ability goes down.”

“The first few seconds are awkward when the song’s coming on,” Toth-Demetraide said. He uses the “awkward” beginning measures of a song to dedicate his performance to random crowd-goers.

Lillie said for those too shy to take the stage, “just get hammered and don’t care … but I don’t like to tell people that because sometimes they get too ridiculous.”

“It’s funny to see people that are shy who have great voices that never get heard, and people that aren’t too shy that have terrible voices that should never be heard,” he said. “Come, find out where you sit [vocally], bring your friends and don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s a cool social thing.”

Toth-Demetriade said, “As long as it looks like you’re having fun, people have fun.”