How much time do you need for setup and soundcheck?
From the point of access to the stage/performance area, we would need 45 minutes at the least.
What are your standard performance times? (unchanged)
8pm - 12am, including a 30 minute break.
How flexible can you be if our timings aren't confirmed yet?
Absolutely! We will work with you and the venue to make sure your night is a roaring success!!!
How long is your break, and do you play background music during it?
We take a 30 minute break and we'll definitely play background music for you during this time.
Can we pick the songs you'll play on the night?
We typically offer clients the chance to pick up to ten 'must plays' from our repertoire, and also to let us know if there are any songs from there that you don't want.
This will give us a good idea of your tastes and therefore where to go with the rest of the songs we play.
Will you learn our first dance if you don't already know it?
100% YES!!! We will also learn a second song for you no problem.
Can you take requests on the night?
Of course!
Can you keep the night going if our venue has a 1am licence?
Absolutely!
Our DJ sets are becoming legendary, a great way to lift the atmosphere for a final hour of POWER!!!
You could split us between a live set and a DJ set within our standard times at no extra charge; this is becoming an increasingly popular option.
Or, add an extra hour for the DJ set for an additional charge.
What other add-on options do you offer?
We can include ceilidh in our set at no extra charge - it's always a great laugh and can be a good icebreaker!
Is all the equipment, like PA and lighting, included in your quote?
Yes absolutely.
What do your clients love most about your performances?
We are relentless! We give our all every time we play, every song we play; we want you to feel like you're at a gig!
Which artists are you most influenced by?
To name a few... Queen, The Beatles, Green Day, Deftones, George Michael, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, System Of A Down.
Can you provide a ceilidh set, how long does it last, and can you call the dances for our guests?
Oh yes!!! With great pleasure! We could, if you want, do up to an hour of ceilidh. Of course, this depends on how well people know the dances (if at all!). We will fully call the dances if required.
What happens from the moment we book you?
As soon as we receive the contract for the booking, we reach out to the couple via the email address on the contract. Principally, this is to thank them for booking us. We will also invite the couple to participate in a video call to discuss things, should they desire. Additionally, we will outline when they should expect to hear from us next.
How much contact will we have before the wedding, like calls, emails and planning forms?
Chris handles all email correspondence. Depending on availability, we may share the responsibility for doing calls.
Either by email or a video/audio call, we will seek to establish basic information, based around the following questions:
Do you have a first dance song you would like us to play?
Do you have any other specific requests?
Would you like us to attempt ceilidh?
How have relations with your venue been?
How many guests are you expecting to attend?
We then have an established framework for correspondence in the lead up to the wedding... 2:2:2
Two months before the wedding date, we will check in, incase we still don't have any details we need (principally first dance choice)
Two weeks before the wedding, we will confirm all details with the couple.
Two days before the wedding, we will send a short message with best wishes for the ceremony etc, and general positive vibes!
How do you prepare our first dance once we've chosen it?
We have a shared playlist for first dance requests which we have not played before, so as soon as something is added, it will be on rotation for us to become familiar with.
Our tastes in music/preferences are completely irrelevant to your choice of first dance. We will tackle anything! If required, we can provide audio recordings of our arrangement, and/or a clip of us running through the song at a rehearsal or during a soundcheck.
What if we ask for a song that's not in your repertoire?
We typically say to couples that we welcome requests, and if it's something not on our repertoire, we will learn 2-3 songs for their wedding (aside from their first dance).
Beyond the first dance, what else can we personalise about the night?
We welcome information about music tastes/favourite bands etc. This will always be discussed on calls. Usually, we will let couples know that they are more than welcome to have an input, and let us know up to ten songs from our repertoire which we absolutely must play on the night, and equally if there are any they'd rather we didn't.
We are particularly aware of the sense of theatre at the end of the night; effectively, this is the climax of our performance. So we will also ask couples if they have anything in particular in mind for this time.
What venue details should we flag early, like noise limiters, access, stage size or power?
If we are not familiar with the venue, we will request a contact for them, so we can discuss the logistics and remove the need for the couple to act as a go-between.
We do not need a lot of space. If your venue does inform you that they have a sound limiter, and we consider this to be prohibitive, we would usually bring electric drums. We are very experienced and adaptable.
Do you deal with our venue and planner directly, or does that go through Coast?
We always encourage the couple to pass on our details to the venue, and we will make contact with the venue ourselves as a matter of course. We have learned from experience that couples can often end up acting as a go-between, and this is something we are proactive about avoiding.
What do you wear on stage for a wedding?
Although we are absolutely aware that we are pivotal to the atmosphere, we do not consider a couples' wedding reception to be 'our' gig. Our personality comes from within. One aspect of our approach to this is to wear what we're comfortable with; usually casual shirts with dark jeans or dress trousers. We do not wear co-ordinated outfits.
What happens if a band member is ill on the day, and do you have deps?
We have dep musicians for all members of the band. All engagements in our diary are checked with them in advance and we all have access to the same shared calendar, in order to ensure that we have a contingency in place.
Do you check in with us or the venue on the day to confirm timings?
Usually, our last contact with the couple will be two days in advance. We would consider it bad etiquette to contact the couple on their wedding day. We will have already reassured them that we will arrive in plenty of time, and that as soon as we arrive, we will introduce ourselves to management.
What should we expect if we've never booked a live band before?
Our ethos is that we are coming to YOUR party. Therefore, our principal motivation is that you feel comfortable and relaxed with us in the room. We are there to help everyone have a good time with each other, and create unity and excitement in the room.
Like all your other suppliers, we are working for you, so at any point in the night, you are welcome to talk to us, about anything!
What happens when you arrive at the venue, from load-in to soundcheck?
On arrival at the venue, we will establish contact with management / wedding co-ordinator to let them know we are there, clearly establishing when and by whom the next point of contact will be; i.e. where we should wait and who will inform us when we should access the room. We will regularly check in with staff during this time. We view ourselves as wedding suppliers, and see our relationship with the venue as absolutely critical to things running smoothly.
Typically at an established wedding venue, we will either have to wait until guests have vacated the room after the meal, or, our performance area/stage may be partitioned, and we can set up behind this. We pride ourselves on being able to do this with minimum noise.
Likewise, we do not require a long time to check sound etc. From access to the room, we can comfortably set up in 45 minutes. Again, we pride ourselves on doing this in a timely and efficient manner. Several times, we have had couples comment to us that they didn't even know we were there, by which time we've already finished setting up... this is the holy grail!
If you start at 8pm, what time do you arrive, and what can change that?
Regardless of the location, we would aim to arrive at the venue at 6pm. Occasionally, if we can set up earlier (for example, if the ceremony/meal is taking place in another location), we will turn up even earlier. The wedding reception we are booked for is the sole focus of that day, so we are obsessive about being on time, i.e. early.
How do you approach the start of the evening? Do you call the bride and groom onto the floor? How much of the first dance do you give them before inviting others in, and how do you read when to make that call?
We always ask about this in advance, so it is not something we leave to interpretation on the night. Almost invariably, couples are reluctant to be in the spotlight for too long (if at all), however this can vary. It is entirely the choice of the couple. We will frequently pass on our wisdom that the first dance is an exciting moment for all the guests. We like to add to this sense of anticipation, and we see the minutes before we welcome the couple in as a vital opportunity to establish a rapport with the guests. Unless instructed otherwise, we will invite and encourage guests to stand around the edges of the dancefloor. We will embrace the sense of anticipation, welcome the couple into the room and ensure a rousing welcome for them. Our approach to this is to get the feeling in the room that we're all on the same side and in for a great night together. Of course, we appreciate that it may be a nerve-wracking moment for the couple, but we will use all our experience to guide them through.
How do you decide what to play next, and how do you read the crowd?
We are never working from a list. Although we have many well established medleys, if we feel that a change in gear is needed, we will do this. For example, if we are halfway through a 90s pop medley and see that it is going well, we will keep going in that style. We very much play with our heads up and eyes open, so reading body language and facial expressions is one of our strong points.
How do you build the energy across the evening, and where do breaks fit?
Typically, we work in waves, building momentum and riding on high, then relent, reacting in real time to how things are going. Our learned wisdom is that guests will feel so much more if we let them do that. There is no hard and fast template, but things we always try to do are:
1. Make the start of the night feel like the start of a gig; 15-20 minutes continual high energy songs.
2. Give people time to breathe. Put in a slower song where appropriate.
3. Use the last hour of the night to build energy gradually, to a crescendo.
How do you handle song requests from guests on the night?
We don't have rules. We are at, and right in the middle of, the party! We certainly don't regard our stage/area as sacred, so we welcome all approaches.
If there is a song requested that we don't feel like we could make a passable attempt at, we will offer an alternative if it seems appropriate, or simply apologise!
How exactly do you perform the ceilidh? Who calls the dances, how do you teach the steps, and how do you get reluctant guests involved?
We have a channel on our YouTube channel dedicated to all things ceilidh, including footage of dances from the moment we announce that we are going to try, until the end of the dance.
We welcome the opportunity to teach guests who have no idea what to do. We see this is an amazing opportunity to interact with guests. We will walk through the steps if required. We use wireless headset mics at this time, to enables us to walk out in amongst the guests and direct/reorganise/demonstrate as required.
We ourselves do not pressure anyone into anything, at any point. Instead, we will address who we do have on the floor, and ask them if they can think of anyone who might be missing from the dancefloor. If the couple have requested that we do ceilidh (this will have been agreed in advance), then we are safe in the knowledge that we can remind the guests of this, and that it would be greatly appreciated by the couple if a few more of their beloved guests joined in.
Once we are happy to proceed with a dance, we will usually play a short track with traditional instruments, which Grant will drum along live to, and then, after a minute or so, we will fade this out and play fully live accompaniment. This enable us to change the pace (usually go faster!), and end the dance when we feel is appropriate.
How much do you chat with the crowd between songs, and will you make announcements?
We have very little space between songs. Typically, at a wedding reception, we will perform blocks of songs or medleys in continual 20-25min sections. However, we are interacting during these and in around them. Good humour is essential to our performances! As ever, we will announce anything required by the couple.
For couples who've booked your DJ set as well - how does the handover work between your live performance and the DJ set? Is it a seamless transition or a distinct changeover?
We transition seamlessly into DJ sets. Like with ceilidh, we see DJ sets as a chance to interact with guests. We welcome requests. In our experience, the night can take on a whole new dynamic with the hardcore party crew making niche requests.
What happens if something doesn't go to plan, like a late meal or schedule change?
We pride ourselves on our easy-going nature. On the day we are usually the last of your wedding suppliers, so we are fully aware that time may become a concern for you, for example if speeches run over, or weather causes a change of plan with your photos. As such, we are used to working quickly and efficiently to set up, and, if we do start later than planned, we will ensure that we pack in the same energy in the time we do have.
There may be circumstances beyond anyone's control. For example, we have experienced a situation where the generator for the marquee we were in failed. We managed to liaise with the couple and mobilised the guests, relocating them to the dining room in the castle, where we performed a reduced volume acoustic style set.
How do you handle venues with noise limiters or sound restrictions?
In our experience, no-one would notice a difference. If we know in advance that a venue has a sound limiter, we may choose to bring electric drums. From our perspective, this guarantees that volume limits are not going to be an issue.
How do you close out the night, and is there a go-to finale?
Typically, we will make the last hour a steady flow of songs. Unless instructed otherwise, our traditional last 25/30 minutes:
500 Miles
Proud Mary
Mr Brightside
Dignity
Smells Like Teen Spirit (we would judge this one in particular at the time)
Loch Lomond
Auld Lang Syne
The end of the night (like with the first dance) is our time to bring a feeling of euphoria to the room; everyone's love for the couple, and each other. We have all shared a unique night together, so it's not going to end with a whimper!
Only on the condition that there are no venue restrictions, we will be happy to do one more song.
What happens after the last song? How long does pack-down take, and is there anything the venue or couple needs to know about that process?
We will put background music on at an ambient level for 10-15 minutes. Altogether, we will usually be out the room 45 minutes after we finish playing.
Do you normally have any contact with the bride and groom after the event? What does that typically look like?
We will send a follow up email to thank the couple for having us. We will actively engage with fellow suppliers from the wedding on social media, which will often lead to spontaneous follow up contact with the couple.
How do you know when it's been a great gig?
Our one and only concern is that we do a good job for the couple we are working for. If they are happy with what we've done, we are delighted!
What surprises couples most about the live band experience?
We have repeatedly had feedback from couples that they couldn't believe how we kept things going throughout the night, that it flowed continuously.
Our most treasured feedback is when couples tell us that they are glad they booked us.
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