Speakeasy Choir: Come On Eileen at the UNITED
Speakeasy Choir: Come On Eileen at the UNITED is a one-night pop-up choir on Friday, September 4, where the audience doesn’t come to hear the singers. They become the singers.
The 18-and-over event begins at 7 p.m. in the UNITED’s Gallery Events Space in downtown Westerly. Over the course of approximately 90 minutes, participants will learn the harmonies to Dexys Midnight Runners’ 1982 hit “Come On Eileen.” Then the newly assembled choir performs the song with the five-piece UNITED House Band.
No long-term commitment to a chorus is required. It’s one song, one night and one temporary choir.
Karaoke With Harmonies
The UNITED describes Speakeasy Choir as something like karaoke taken to another level.
Instead of individuals taking turns singing along with a backing track, everyone attending becomes part of the same singing ensemble.
Participants learn the song together, including its harmonies, before putting everything together for a final performance.
That makes the evening part social gathering, part music workshop and part concert.
It also removes one of the bigger barriers to joining a traditional choir. Nobody is signing up for months of rehearsals or preparing for a formal concert season.
The entire process happens in a single evening.
This Month’s Song Is “Come On Eileen”
September’s selection should give the room plenty to work with.
Dexys Midnight Runners released “Come On Eileen” in 1982 on the album Too-Rye-Ay. The song became an international hit and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
Its sound was unusual even by early-’80s pop standards, mixing pop and soul with prominent fiddle and Celtic influences while repeatedly shifting its tempo and intensity.
More than four decades later, its chorus remains instantly recognizable.
At Speakeasy Choir, however, knowing the song from the radio isn’t the same thing as knowing your part.
That’s where the first portion of the evening comes in.
Learn It, Then Perform It
The Speakeasy Choir format gives the group about 90 minutes to turn a room full of individual voices into an ensemble.
Participants work through the song and its harmonies together before the evening culminates in a live performance.
For that final run-through, they aren’t singing to a karaoke track.
The five-piece UNITED House Band provides live accompaniment.
The band is made up of instructors from the UNITED Music School along with other musicians from southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island.
That final performance is the payoff: the temporary choir formed earlier that evening gets to perform the song with a full live band.
A Collaboration With the Chorus of Westerly
Speakeasy Choir is presented jointly by the UNITED Theatre and the Chorus of Westerly.
The Chorus has been part of Westerly’s cultural landscape since 1959, when George Kent founded the organization.
Its traditional work is considerably different from spending a Friday evening singing Dexys Midnight Runners. The Chorus of Westerly is known for large-scale choral performances and has brought together both child and adult singers throughout its history.
Speakeasy Choir takes that choral idea and removes much of the formality surrounding it.
There’s still an ensemble.
There are still harmonies to learn.
There’s still a performance at the end.
It just happens in a much more casual setting, with a pop song and a house band.
A Choir That Exists for One Night
That’s really the appeal of the concept.
Most choirs are built around continuity. Singers rehearse together, learn a repertoire and prepare for performances weeks or months away.
Speakeasy Choir is deliberately temporary.
The group that walks into the UNITED on September 4 doesn’t exist yet.
During the evening, the participants become a choir, learn their parts, rehearse together and perform.
Then it’s over.
The Chorus of Westerly and UNITED have used the format with other popular songs in previous editions, making the song itself the changing centerpiece while keeping the one-night collaborative format intact.
This time, everyone gets to be part of Dexys Midnight Runners.
Event Details
Event: Speakeasy Choir: Come On Eileen
Date: Friday, September 4, 2026
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: UNITED Theatre
Location: Gallery Events Space
Address: 5 Canal Street, Westerly, RI 02891
Presented By: The UNITED Theatre and Chorus of Westerly
Song: “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners
Format: One-night collaborative choir
Session Length: Approximately 90 minutes
Final Performance: Participants perform with the five-piece UNITED House Band
Age: 18+
Tickets: $15
More information is available at the Event Website link below.
To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.
Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.