Pittsburgh TechFest 2026

I run Lead Singer Wanted, a Pittsburgh-based live band karaoke act: the audience picks the songs, gets on stage, and sings lead while a real band plays behind them. I also wrote the software that runs the show, including QR-code signups, the singer queue, synchronized lyrics, the sheet music on the musicians' iPads, and the video wall. Oh yeah, and a Guitar Hero controller drives the whole thing!


The problem: five screens, four musicians, and a crowd all have to agree on what is happening right now. Every part of that can fail mid-song, and there is no maintenance window. When something breaks, the next song is only seconds away.


The solution turned out to be old-fashioned engineering, not fancy tools: one small event driving every device, a deliberately dumb server, recovery plans written before the failure happens, and a human kept firmly in charge of anything involving taste, because a perfectly "fair" queue can still put five slow songs in a row and empty the dance floor.


The impact: a side project that became a production system, 150+ shows over seven years, and engineering habits I now use wherever software meets real people.


This is a live demo, not just a slide deck. You'll scan the QR code from your seat, sign up like a real audience member, and we'll build a working queue in the room. And then I'll show you what happens when it breaks! You'll leave with engineering habits you can use immediately. And probably a song stuck in your head.


You don't need permission, a big team, or a maintenance window to build real production software. Pick something you love and let real users break it. The show must go on!