Lyrics as access
Everyone in the room gets the words.
A concert assumes you can hear it. For a lot of people that assumption quietly fails, and the fix is not complicated: put the words somewhere they can be read, in time with the song.
// the problem
Loud is not the same as clear
Live vocals compete with a PA, a room, and a crowd. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, that mix is often unusable — not quiet, just indecipherable. Plenty of hearing people hit the same wall at a loud enough show or in a noisy enough car.
The usual answers require the venue to act: book an interpreter, install a captioning rig, run a hearing loop. Those are good and they should exist. They also mean waiting for someone else to decide your night is worth accommodating.
// what changes
Two ways in, and only one needs the venue
Manual setlist mode works anywhere. Lyrical finds the show near you, loads the artist's setlist, and you tap the song being played. The lyrics follow, and you can nudge the timing when the live arrangement drifts from the recording. Nobody at the venue has to know or agree.
LiveSync works when the show runs it. The front-of-house operator advances the lines for the whole room, so the timing matches the performance happening in front of you rather than a studio take. Audience members join in a browser with a short code — no download, no account.
Either way, the lyrics can move off your phone. On Even Realities G2 or Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses the current line sits in your field of view, so you can watch the stage instead of your hands.
// honest limits
What this is not
Lyrical shows song lyrics. It does not caption speech, so the things between songs — the thank-yous, the story about the third track, the announcement about the last train — are not covered. It is not a substitute for an interpreter, and describing it as captioning would be wrong.
| Works without venue support | Manual setlist mode runs at any show | Yes |
|---|---|---|
| No app needed for LiveSync | Audience joins in a mobile browser with a code | Yes |
| Hands-free reading | Lyrics on G2 and Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses | Yes |
| Operator-corrected timing | LiveSync tracks the live arrangement, not the record | Yes |
| Speech captioning | Song lyrics only; stage banter is not covered | No |
| Sign language interpretation | Not a replacement for a booked interpreter | No |
// questions
Accessibility questions
- Can deaf and hard-of-hearing people use Lyrical at concerts?
- Yes, and it is one of the reasons the app exists. You can follow the words on your phone, on smart glasses, or on a display, without needing the venue to install anything.
- Does the venue have to support it?
- No. In manual mode you open the setlist for the show, tap the song being played, and follow the lyrics yourself. That works at any concert, whether or not the venue has heard of Lyrical.
- What does the venue add if it does support it?
- With LiveSync, the front-of-house operator advances the lines for everyone at once, so the timing tracks the actual performance rather than a recorded version. Audience members join in a browser with a short code.
- Is this the same as captioning?
- No, and it should not be described as one. Lyrical shows song lyrics in time with the music. It does not caption speech, so stage banter, announcements, and anything unscripted are not covered.
- Does it work on glasses instead of a phone?
- Yes. On Even Realities G2 or Meta Ray-Ban Display you read the current line in your line of sight, which means you can keep watching the stage rather than looking down at a screen.
- Does it help in a car?
- It can. Passengers who cannot make out lyrics over road noise can read them on the car display. The driver must not interact with it.
- Does any of this cost money?
- No. Following lyrics at a concert, in manual mode or through LiveSync, is free. Lyrical Pro adds translation, playlist export, and watermark-free recaps, none of which are needed to read the words.
- Does it work if the song is not in the setlist?
- Yes. You can search the artist's songs, including by a line of the lyrics if you can make one out, and the song you pick is added to the running setlist.
// keep reading
Lyrics at concerts
How setlist mode works when recognition cannot beat the crowd.
Lyrics on Even Realities G2
Read the line in your field of view and keep watching the stage.
For venues and crews
Run LiveSync from a browser and drive every screen in the room.
Common questions
Pricing, devices, lyric sources, and what needs a connection.