Tips from the Musician: How to Choose Music for Your Event
It’s been just shy of 365 days since my last blog post. My apologies to everyone who might have been waiting with bated breath for this new one. I have set a goal for myself, and that is to post a guide, idea, or thought in this blog at the end of every month.
Today I am going to share my thoughts on choosing music for an event that you, the reader, might be producing. As stated in the previous post, I am a professional musician of over ten years and I have played countless weddings, corporate events, birthdays, anniversary parties, and any other type of special occasion you can think of.
I have performed on gigs that made me proud to contribute to the event. These events had exuberant guests who loved to dance and party, an organized planner who represented the client’s wants and needs, and just an overall good time that ran according to schedule.
I have also performed on gigs that made me want to quit music altogether. Gigs that made me want to cower behind my amp and pray that there was no one in the audience who would recognize me and put me on their Instagram story. These events had very boring crowds that didn’t quite seem to know what the “concept” of the party was, poor time management which made the event run behind, aloof clients who didn’t know what they wanted, and something that might not be so obvious, performing in a band that wasn’t the right fit for the event.
So how do you, the future event producer, come up with a party that is talked about by your friends, family, and colleagues for years to come? Obviously it will be the venue itself, the food, the drinks, the lighting, and the entertainment, a.k.a. the music. I can’t speak informatively on the former features but I can about the music.
Why hire professional musicians for your event?
Before I get started on how to choose music for your event, I want to make my case on why you should hire professional musicians (as opposed to a DJ or just using a Spotify playlist) for your event. Having live performers entertain you and your guests offers a multi-dimensional experience. Good musicians communicate and express emotions better than any DJ could. Sure, a DJ provides a bumping sound system with all the hits you want to hear (and don’t get me wrong I’ve been to great parties with solid DJ’s), but it doesn’t quite appeal to the human experience as a good band would. Seeing talented people interact on stage is a remarkable thing, and when they can do it for you and your guests, it’s truly an entertaining experience.
You smile at all the facial expressions. You see and smell the sweat. You feel the drummer and bassist providing a live and tight beat. You get goosebumps when the singer nails your favorite Whitney Houston song. You scream at the top of your lungs with the band during the hook of “Don’t Stop Believin.” You probably get the point by now, but these are experiences that I believe truly top what just a DJ can bring.
With that I would like to share some tips on how to choose the right music for your event!
1. ) Figure out the exact function of the musicians you’re hiring
This might sound like a no brainer, but you would be surprised. First and foremost, this is a job for the musicians whom you are hiring to play your event. I’m sure they are very happy doing what they do for a living, and I’m sure they get more out of it than a paycheck (because otherwise, why would they be doing it, right?) But this isn’t their passion project of blending hip-hop and Indian Classical music. They are there to do a job, and that job is to provide your party the music you want.
And what is it that you want? Do you want the band to keep your guests dancing all night? Do you want the band to perform quietly while people talk and eat? Obviously, for an event like a wedding, you would probably want a band that could do all of that—play tenderly and quietly for the ceremony and cocktail hour, and then loud and energizing for the reception. Maybe you hire different bands for different parts of the event such as a string quartet for ceremony, a jazz duo (preferably mine) for the cocktail hour, and a 10-piece dance band for the reception. Some event companies offer packages that feature all of these and you pay them just one lump sum for the whole package.
The point is that even if you think it would be a good idea to have a James Brown tribute band perform at your two hour Sunday morning brunch, maybe it would be better to have a folk trio singing and playing lightly while people are eating. Or maybe not! Maybe you want the James Brown band because your guests can get down to “Get Up Offa That Thing” during any time of the day. This leads me to my next point…
2) Know your crowd
I can’t tell you how many times I have played in loud, boisterous dance bands for a crowd that looks like they just got out of their Tuesday night book club. It’s so awkward being in a band giving it our all trying to get people to dance to “Uptown Funk”, and, instead, they are sitting in silence eating the cake leftovers. You of course want to hire a band to do the function of what you’re hiring them for, but there is only so much they can do to get people going. Some people are just ready to party. These are the people who are rocking out on the dance floor to the entrance music before the First Dance. Of course, alcohol plays a big role in giving people the confidence to dance, but I think, as a future event producer, you should be conscious about your guests and their interests. If you know your people and they’re the types who are more mild-mannered and don’t really boogie down, then maybe it’s best to put your money into more background music elements and hire the smaller band. If you know your crowd are the types of people who are dancing the whole night and puking from too many Aperol Spritzes mid-reception, then I would suggest splurging on the big band featuring horns and multiple singers.
3) Take your time shopping around
It can be a very daunting task finding the right entertainment for your event. There are literally hundreds of working groups in Southern California with varying prices, experience, and talent. In my opinion, a good first step is to get referrals. Ask your friends and colleagues! Didn’t your co-worker Jenny’s cousin just get married in Malibu? You saw her Instagram pictures of that hot looking band. Direct referrals are great because you can hear first hand what the performers did well and/or didn’t do well.
If you’re having a hard time with referrals then don’t be afraid to use services such as The Knot, Wedding Wire, GigMasters, and plain Google searches. When you research bands this way, make sure they have multiple, RECENT, positive reviews. If they have five, 5-star reviews, with the last one being from 2015, I would move on. Also make sure they have up to date LIVE videos of people dancing and being entertained. Every act has a promo video they made in a studio-like setting. These are doctored up and made to sell you. Most of the time they are recorded ahead of time and then lip-synced to. This type of video is more for the visual effect. The goal is for you, the consumer, to be enamored and sold on the overall visual package of it so you can get a feel and sense of what they look and sound like. It is this reason that it is important to see videos of live performances because you can really see what they look and sound like, as well as how they interact with the crowd.
4) How the band communicates with you is important
Once you find that band you’re in love with, the next step is to reach out for a quote. When doing this it’s important to specify what type of event it is, where it will be, how many people you expect to attend, and what your budget is. Take note how the representatives of this entertainment company interact with you. Are they very quick at responding to you? Are they appreciative, grateful, and excited to be potentially working with you? Are they personable? Do they know how to write a good email with correct punctuation, grammar, and spelling? You’d be surprised on how many professional bands lack one or more of these qualities. Remember, these are going to be people you interact with a good amount leading up to your event. Come the day of the event, you will be trusting them with providing the service you paid for. It’s important to go with your gut when talking with multiple bands.
5) Pricing
The last thing to consider is of course, price. What should good bands cost? That’s a good question. Us on the other side are always trying to figure that out as well! Typically a good band should cost between $3,000 and $10,000 for a wedding. I know that’s quite a gap, but there are a few reasons why certain bands charge more than others. Typically the more people on stage, the more it costs. A 10-piece band would consist of a drummer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, three horns (sax, trumpet, and trombone), and three singers (two female and one male). In my humble opinion, musicians should always be getting $100 an hour for weddings so for a 10-piece band at, let’s say a 5 hour wedding, that’s already $5,000 just for the band that’s on stage. That’s not accounting for the sound guy, administrative fees, advertising overhead, the booking fee, and the cut whomever is running the company is getting. Remember, these bands are a business and just because each player is getting $100 an hour, it doesn’t mean that’s all it’s going to cost. For this hypothetical wedding using a 10-piece band, the overall cost would most likely be $8,000-$10,000. Other reasons why a band would charge more is their reputation, how long they have been in the business, the type of talent they have working for them, and maybe they’re a specialty band (such as Persian, Bollywood, Klezmer, etc.).
I know this sounds like a lot of money so how do you get it for cheaper? Of course, there are bands that would do it for cheaper. Not because they are worse or not as professional, but maybe they are a new band looking to get out there and make a name for themselves. Maybe they specialize in the low to midsize market. Maybe you choose to not go for a 10-piece band and go for a 5 or 6-piece band. Again, if you don’t have as many people on stage, it will always be cheaper.
The time of year also is a factor in how bands price their services. Wedding season is typically May to September and during these months the real popular event bands will be charging high season prices. If you book your wedding in the “off season” like in the late fall and early winter, then you will most likely to find the prices at least 25% to 30% cheaper. You can always ask for a lower price as well. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to just be honest with your budget and say how much you want to work with the band and see what they can offer you for your price. Most good and honest bandleaders will work something out because let’s be honest, it’s the music industry and they need to eat!
I hope this helps with your live music search for your event! I promise that with the right research and thought put into it, you can find entertainment that you’ll be talking about for a long time. Thanks for reading! I hope to see you from the stage one day.
