I had some pretty nerdy hobbies as a kid. (I still do, but that's beside the point.) One was historical reenactment, in that context almost every after-party involved groups of people sitting around and singing traditional songs and parody songs. Another was science fiction fandom, there too, parties often involved people sitting around and singing "filk" songs, and you can always find a song circle at a science fiction convention. Or at least that's the case where I am.

Another nerdy hobby was gaming-- about twenty years ago I was involved in a strategy game that was played by mail. A number of players met up at a gaming convention, and afterward we went to one guy's house to hang out.   Enough of us were used to the historical re-enactor and science fiction fan modes of doing things, in that we wanted to have a sing along. But a whole bunch of us weren't into those things and didn't know the songs. We wound up having a sing along anyway, and had a wonderful time singing advertising jingles and tv show theme songs!

I think the biggest stumbling block to community singing is that other than Christmas carols, most people don't really learn songs that they can sing with others.   But when people can, they go for it with gusto. I remember standing in line to play laser tag (again 20 years ago) when Bohemian Rhapsody came on the sound system. Wayne's World-like, *everyone* in line started singing along. It was the best fun of the night.

Here in Chicago, there are quite a few places for organized community singing if you know where to look. Song circles, community jams. The easiest thing is the Old Town School of Folk Music, generally on the first Friday of every month. I have been in situations where people randomly break into song in bars and people start singing along… but I have to admit I've usually been part of the group that the singer is a member of. So that's sort of stacking the deck.   The last few years I've been organizing a monthly sea chantey sing and it is slowly but steadily growing. (Next one is April 22nd, PM me for details if you are in the area.) Many people who have participated in it have told me that while they don't have a particular interest in maritime music they enjoy having the opportunity to sing along in an un-judgmental, non-performance setting.

The author of the article writes, "People who enjoy singing get together in homes to make music with friends, and choral groups abound. It's the community-oriented, community-building, sometimes spontaneous kind of singing that's suffering. But yes, even those averse to singing in public may do it more than once a year. Likely in a bar. Drinks help, of course, and so do pop songs with a catchy chorus." One stumbling block the article doesn't mention is that bars often have recorded music playing. In fact there's recorded music everywhere. That makes it harder for spontaneous singing to break out.