Music Bingo
Bear’s Smokehouse
Hartford
Aug. 6, 2025
Music bingo was just what it sounds like when I visited the latest edition in Hartford. Players were given their bingo cards, but instead of numbers, the squares contained the names of artists and songs. The host then played a 30-second clip of a song, and you filled in the board until someone declared, “Bingo!” The music itself was broken down into categories for each round, ranging from chart toppers from the decades to one-hit wonders to songs about colors or animals. If you didn’t know a song’s name, that was OK, as it was displayed on a big screen for everyone.
This wasn’t an amateur hour event run by Bear’s employees forced to take orders between rounds of bingo. The hosting duties at Bear’s Smokehouse in Hartford’s Front Street District were handled by Matt Bloom and Matt Forcier. Bloom began the company Wild Blooms Entertainment with his wife a little over two years ago. As with most successful business ventures, the idea grew out of something they loved. They both enjoyed going to various bars and playing musical bingo themselves. Eventually, the opportunity to help run the event at one of their regular spots presented itself, and the rest is history.
Matt Forcier is new to the company. He was there to help Other Matt at Bear’s, but he also runs the musical bingo event at Wood n’ Tap in Enfield on Thursdays.
I asked him what drew him to the job.
“It’s fun as hell!” he said.
The next round had already begun while we talked, a category called “Movie Mix 1,” which consisted of top-charting songs from movie soundtracks.
I thought I’d challenge myself and see how many songs I could name without looking at the screen, and what movie they came from. I’m sad to say that my movie soundtrack knowledge is worse than I thought: I could name only “Gangster’s Paradise” (from Dangerous Minds) and “I Will Always Love You” (from The Bodyguard).
The key I realized was to have friends with whom to come up with the answers. I was the only person here alone. The other players were in groups, comparing boards and shouting out answers. One of the players gave his own rendition of “Benny and the Jets,” shouting “Benny!” in time (but not necessarily in tune) with Elton John.
So while I struggled, the other players triumphed.
I spoke to Mike Mack, right after he’d won bingo in the movie mix round. His hands were full from his prize winnings: a giant candy bar, along with Bear’s own barbeque sauce and a beef dry rub.
“I come to Bear’s all the time anyway, but tonight we came specifically for the music bingo,” he said. “We don’t really care who wins. We come out to have fun and hear music we haven’t heard in a long time.”
He was there with his friends Nancy Nunez and Crystal Bell. Nancy was there for the competition. “I love bingo, period,” she said. “Add in the music, and it’s a lot of fun.”
“I’m here for the drinks and the food,” Crystal said, taking a sip.
I joined in for the penultimate round, themed around transportation. Every song on the playlist had a reference to planes, trains, cars or other modes of transportation. Matt & Matt made it more interesting: In order to win, a player’s marked squares had to form an L along the border of the playing card. I grabbed my marker and was ready to go.
What I wasn’t ready for was the wave of nostalgia that came over me. There were many songs I hadn’t heard before. (Turns out there are a lot of songs about getting around.) Then I heard “Ride Wit Me” by Nelly. That song came out when I was a freshman in high school. Memories of goofing off in class, basketball tryouts, JROTC and a million other hilarious, crazy moments came flooding back. I was singing along to the songs I knew, while watching my board like a hawk.
Alas, victory was not mine. Another player declared bingo when I had just three squares left. I still had a blast, and can definitely say I’ll be back as a civilian to play.
NEXTWild Blooms Entertainment will be at Bear’s Smokehouse in New Haven on Aug. 13.
Jamil gets ready to celebrate West Indian independence this weekend.
