The Upbeats

It takes us one hour to be ready to play once we get access to the room.

8pm until midnight 

Absolutely, we are happy to be flexible and work with your venue on the schedule!

We take 30 minutes for our break while the buffet is being served to allow your guests time to eat and have another drink. 

We have background music that we play through our PA system during this time.

Yes and no. We have more songs in our setlist than we will manage to play on a night, so we are happy for you to choose from our setlist on the page. 

In terms of songs we don't already do, we are happy for you to request a few songs and we will learn them for you. 

Let us know about these requests as far in advance as possible so we can rehearse them to the proper standard.

Absolutely! We are more than happy to learn not only your first dance but also a few other requests as well.

Definitely. If it's a song we are able to busk then we will give it a go. If we don't know it then we are happy to play the original track through our sound system.

Yes we do! This can be added to your booking through the agency and we can do a DJ set until 1am where we play club style music that we can't play ourselves as a guitar band. GBX!

We also provide daytime music for your ceremony and/or drinks reception. Whether you are looking for instrumental piano music to play you down the aisle, or acoustic guitar covers as the backdrop to your drinks reception--we are able to provide daytime music to suit your needs. 

This can be added to your booking at any point so don't hesitate to get in touch.

It is! We provide all we need to perform. We have recently upgraded our rig to include a digital desk so we can record our set and post some highlights of your wedding, such as your first dance, online.

Our energy! We absolutely love to play music and we know our enthusiasm translates onto the dancefloor with all the air guitar and air drumming we see our audiences do. It's as much a night out for us as it is for the guests! 

We have a really versatile set that includes something for everyone, and we are great at keeping an eye on what the audience respond to the most so we can tailor the rest of the setlist towards that.

We all have our different favourites but our common ground lies in late 90s and early 00s rock music such as: Foo Fighters, Oasis, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, blink-182, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers.

We always say our setlist should look like a T in the Park lineup! So we love our oldies and our pop music, but indie rock is the staple of our sound.

Yes we can. Up to 45 minutes of ceilidh but we find 30 to be the sweet spot. 

We teach all the steps first before we play, and we call the dances as they go. We use a backing track for the traditional instruments, and we play along with our drums and guitars to give it more oomph.

Coast's live booking system pings us an email to notify that a booking has been made. Myself or Adam, our singer and guitarist, will then double check the calendar entry to ensure everything matches the booking form, as well as add in some info that the booking system doesn't capture but is helfpul for us later on to make everything run smoothly.

This is typically the client's contact details and the venue address and postcode so we can link it to Google Maps. All of this helps us remove human error later on to prevent us needing to go looking through the inbox for a contact email, or for one of us to input the wrong postcode on the day of the wedding and head to the wrong place.

We reach out to our couples many months before their big day to get the ball rolling and say hello. Typically I send out an email in January, well ahead of wedding season, to check-in and ask about first dances and a special request. For some couples, this is too early but is great for allowing them time to bounce ideas off us well in advance of needing to make a decision. For other couples, this is great as they are super organised and know exactly what first dance they want already, so it's something they can check off their list.

A couple of weeks before the wedding, our singer, Adam, will mesage to check in again and go over some of the finer details for the evening. Often this is done via setting up a call or messaging over WhatsApp.

We ask about the first dance choice well in advance of your wedding to allow ourselves as much time as possible to familiarise ourselves with it.

Having performed hundreds of first dances, we know there is no 'one size fits all'. The first dance is absolutely about the couple and we always advise our couples who are unsure to not feel pressured to choose a romantic ballad if it doesn't suit them.

There is no wrong choice for your first dance. However, as a guitar band with all male vocalists, we are of course going to be able to do a song by a guitar band more justice and stay truer to the original arrangement than we will a song with a female vocalist and an orchestra!

We always try to represent the original track as best as possible with our arrangement. We have multi-instrumentalists as well as multiple vocalists in our band, so we can fortunately cover piano, guitar, lead vocal, and backing vocal duties without needing to compromise on any element!

Experience has also taught us to know when to advise that it's better to simply play the original track via our sound system than it is to perform a cover that strays too far from the song that couples know and love.

We find a good yardstick is Kings Of Leon or Stereophonics. If a first dance is more Kings of Leon or Stereophonics than it is say an electronic Lady Gaga song, we'll be able to do it justice.

If we think we are going to play a "version" rather than a true cover of the original, we will advise our couples and allow them to make the call for their special moment.

We are happy to accept a special request or two beyond the first dance. With how busy we are, and with our focus being on prioritising the first dance, we cannot accommodate a large list of requests and do them all justice.

We have honed our setlist over 10+ years of performing for large crowds at all kinds of events and we know what works. Our setlist is tried and true, and we are confident that it offers something not only for our couples themselves but also their guests.

We tend to share our setlist with our couples after they book and as the discussion around the first dance and requests is ongoing. This opens up discussion about the type of songs we tend to go for that works best for us and our crowds.

There's no ego involved whatsoever, so if your "must have" is an EDM track by a Soundcloud DJ, we are happy to download this and play it via our PA system -- but we won't be able to perform a live cover of that type of song well.

If you like that there's blink-182 or Luke Combs on our setlist and hope we'll add Green Day or Zach Bryan for you, we'll be thrilled to perform that live!

We absolutely understand the want to make the night your own and we are happy to accommodate a couple of special requests that don't seem typical of a wedding band. We have performed plenty of songs over the past 10 years that are not going to be found on another wedding band's setlist! We have also accommodated and worked alongside other suppliers and performers that couples may book to bring extra personalisation to their big day.

Having said that, we would advise that you trust we know what works, having performed at hundreds of weddings over 10+ years. Please take a look at our setlist in advance and consider your guests' tastes as well as your own. Our setlist primarily focuses on guitar music from the sixties through to the noughties for a reason -- it's what we excel at. Beyond this, we offer a great DJ set that focuses on 90s and 00s clubland and school disco. Think 'Saturday Night' and 'Children Of The Night'!

Where the crowd is mixed, it can be really effective to have the band play from 8-11 and then have the DJ tunes from 11-12.

As much as we want our couples to be confident in us, we also want to be confident in our couples. Start with our setlist. If your night calls for more music from the 2010s onwards or you'd change more of our setlist than you would leave, respectfully, we think a DJ is a better fit for you and would allow you a better night.

Please let us know if you’re aware of anything that could be an issue for us. If in doubt. Let us know and we can chat things through

Venues with space restrictions or noise restrictions can be a challenge. So the more we know these things the better thanks

Probably best that when you’re chatting with the venue you tell them you’ve booked a 4 piece band. If the venue says anything in response to this that sounds difficult then please let us know

If venue is a marquee or something outdoor or semi permanent please remember that we’ll need power supply. If this is coming from a generator and is also supplied to by the rest of the venue and/or the kitchen etc then best to ask the question of the venue if bands normally have issues

If a venue where to tell you outright that there’s only space for a DJ or a solo musician or something like that’s please tell us. It’s not common but if this was the case we might find ourselves simply unable to fit where you are expecting us to go. But basically chatting these things through ahead of time can stop any unexpected problems on your wedding day

We’ve worked at so many venues over 10+ years that we’re confident in our ability to turn up to any venue and make it work

At times of course restrictions like sound limiters can be frustrating and a challenge to navigate. But we have never failed to still put on the best show we can

We are happy to chat things through with venues, events planners or whoever when it is required ahead of a wedding- but it is not always required. Venues are almost always familiar with how bands work and we are well used to working with different venues so there’s never any problems.

We provide every piece of equipment we need and use. So we don’t rely on a venue providing anything so there’s no risk that a venue eont be suitable for us. So long as there’s space enough for us to set up and a power supply for us to plug into then we are good to go.

Sometimes venues get in touch with us for things like insurance or PAT certificates and of course we have all these up to date and provide them.

While we don’t have an exact uniform we do tend to aim for that look that’s somewhere in the middle of “smart” and “cool looking band”

We don’t want to look like guests. So there’s no three piece suits on stage. But we don’t want to look like a pub band.

Generally we dress in black trousers and black shirts/overshirts. Sometimes it might be a short sleeved shirt if the weather calls for it

There’s certainly a bit of continuity between us with the black trouser and boots and shirt look but it’s not the cheesey “matching outfit look” - that’s not really our thing

This is an absolutely reasonable worry for a couple to have. Thankfully it’s something that occurs almost never

Truthfully in the 14 years of playing weddings we’ve only had a band member covered for sickness a handful of times. It’s very rare thankfully

But of course unexpected illness can happen. From working in the industry we have dozens of friends and acquaintances who could cover or stand in for a sick member of the band.

We know guys from other bands who we’ve worked with before, as well as the regular “dep” players who work between a lot of the bands doing exactly this sort of emergency cover thing

So between the many people we know who could stand in and help we are confident we’d never have to cancel due to illness. We have the added flexibility that the members of our band are multi instrumentalists. So we can jump and change between instruments should we need to.

For example. If our bass player was to take unwell. And we were struggling to find a bassist. Our lead guitarist could move to the bass if we were struggling to find a bassist, and we could then bring in another guitarist instead

This flexibility gives us great confidence in ourselves and should give our customers confidence as well

We always arrange one final phone call to check in with the couple the week leading up to the wedding

This is that extra chance to confirm everyone’s for all the same details and expectations. It’s a chance to catch any last minute things and alleviate any late concerns. Should it become apparent we need to discuss anything with the venue or other suppliers etc we can then action this appropriately

On the day itself we always aim to arrive well before our actual scheduled arrival time. This lets us arrive comfortably and calmly and check in with staff to see how things are running on the day

Any problems with timings running late or whatever is no problem for us. We’re very flexible and happy to wait in the wings until we get the thumbs up to get going

We’ve also got the benefit of the agency coast having the contracts with all the confirmed and signed timings to keep us right. Between the contract. The chats with the couple and everything in between there’s no reason we would ever be unsure of when or where we’re meant to be

Of course it’s a big thing. But please know that we’re here to chat and answer any questions at any point in time. As are the brilliant team at the agency. You’ll never be left wondering what’s going on

And please rest assured that we take this seriously and we’ve been doing this since 2013. We know what we’re doing. We’ve seen all the good and bad things that can happen at events and we’re experts at making sure the night goes on and the dancefloor stays busy

We’re also human, we’re reasonable and approachable and flexible. There’s no egos or attitudes in the band. Our job is to be cool, fun, and to bring the party so you and your guests have the best time ever. Everything we do is to make sure that happens

We arrive at the venue in separate cars about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, this allows plenty of time for finding exactly where we need to be or dealing with any last minute changes etc. When we arrive we first of all check in with the venue/hotel staff or with bar staff/caterers or whoever is in charge of proceedings. We will get a quick chat about timings and if things are running on time, we will discuss if we can start to load in, or if we have to wait, we will discuss where is best for us to park etc. We will find out if theres anything else we should know about or that would be relevant to us. if its appropriate at this time to say hi to the bride and groom (or the brides, or the grooms) then we will do. if they are busy with eating, photos or anything else then we will get on with setting up in the background until there is an appropriate time to chat.

we will always aim to arrive 90 minutes before we are due to start. this gives us extra time should there be any sorts of hold ups getting into the venue etc. it takes is 60 minutes to set up and sound check properly. if we know a venue has a particularly difficult load in due to steps or vehicle restrictions etc then we will have that extra time from arriving earlier to make up for that

The way the evening starts, with cake cutting and first dance etc is entirely up to the couple, but what we will always do is offer our professional opinion to help this run as smoothly as possible. we always tell couples theres no exact right or wrong way to do things at a wedding. its YOUR wedding so its your decision ultimately.

We will discuss this with couples ahead of time. Normally over a phone call in the week/s before the wedding. During which time we will make a plan of how the couple want introduced to the room (first names or married name or mr and mrs etc). We will discuss the structure of the first dance and whether people are being invited to join or not (that could be the bridal party, or everyone, or both but staggered after each other - we are flexible!)

sometimes couples want as short a time as possible on their own, maybe the thought of having all those eyes on them is overwhelming, and we totally get that. if thats the case then we would keep it short and sweet, enough time for a good photo or two before inviting others to join. Maybe that would be 30-60 seconds of dancing on your own

sometimes couples want to have more of the dance, and they'd maybe dance together for half a song, some maybe up to 2 or 3 minutes and then invite people at the end. sometimes couples dance the entire first dance themselves! just like we say. theres no right or wrong. do what feels best for you

Our job is to keep the dancefloor busy. so we will play the songs required to do this. In order to do this we will read the crowd and figure out what people are responding best to. sometimes the first wee part of the night acts as a bit of a measuring stick for us. if we play a variety of old songs, modern songs, indie, country, pop, rock all within the first 30 minutes then we will know what sorts of things people like the best!

this will help us shape the night and play the songs that will keep people dancing.

what we also have is over a decade of experience playing to audiences of all types. and this sets us up nicely to be good at judging what will work just by looking at the ages and the styles of individuals on the dance floor

we are quick to make changes on the fly, we can jump from one song straight into the next and we can jump from one style of music straight into another

as a band were constantly making eyes with one another and shouting out ideas to one another of what to play next and all of that is in response to what we are witnessing on the night - this results in a set list that is tailored not only to the preferences of the bride and groom but also responding to the people on the dancelfoor

It can vary massively from one event to the next how the flow of an evening will go

Sometimes weddings start a bit slower, maybe because the weather is beautiful and the venue has an incredible outdoor area that guests are enjoying. Other times theres 200 guests jumping and singing along to our sound check who simply cant wait to get started

Part of our job is to recognise what is right for each event and playing to that appropriately.

If that means we keep it high energy throughout then you can guarantee that thats what we will do! But if it means we need to ease people in gently, maybe have some slow dances, or some oldies and some easy listening tunes to begin with while people get that extra drink and a chat in before the real dancing starts then that is okay too!

A break for us while usually line up with evening food being served. If the couple need anything different from us then we are flexible and happy to discuss this

usually that buffet time is a good time for some music to be played at a slightly reduced volume, a time for people to grab a drink and some food and have a wee break.

theres some events where this is not the case and people want to keep partying. this is no problem for us, we can respond to this and give people more of an uptempo "DJ set" to keep them dancing and singing

We are happy to hear requests from guests on the night - especially from the guests who are doing their bit to keep the dance floor busy!

While we know and can play several hundred songs - we cant play everything ever written. We'll always be accommodating and polite with people but sometimes the answer to a request is no.

Sometimes the best thing we can offer is to stick the original on during our break, allowing people to still hear that song request and get a chance to dance/sing along.

Ceilidh dancing can be an incredible inclusion to any event. but we do tend to operate on a bit of a "less is more" approach

too much ceilidh dancing loses the room in our professional opinion - but the right amount of it is perfect! our job is to get that balance right

the way we do this is by splitting any ceilidh dancing up throughout the night. we find that trying an easy dance, perhaps like the Gay Gordons early on, perhaps after the first 45 minutes of music is a great time. we use this as a bit of a measuring stick, because sometimes there are nights where people love the dancing, and other nights they would rather stick with the rock and pop songs! if this lands well, then we will do a second dance maybe another hour later. and we will just see what works best for the overall vibe on the night. if its being well received and everyones loving it, then we can do 3, or 4, or more dances!

I (lead singer, Adam) am in charge of encouraging people on to the dance floor for the ceilidh. ill explain to everyone that its going to be made super easy for them with practise runs and demonstrations and hands on assistance offered where required to get everyone moving in no time!

sometimes ill get a volunteer couple in to the middle of the room to demonstrate as I talk through the steps. sometimes ill need to go and demonstrate this myself! whatever is needed we will do.

We chat and interact with the audiences as much as feels right. But for the most part we do like to keep the songs coming and keep people dancing. We aren't there to be stand up comics, and the last thing we would ever want to be like is the cheesey wedding DJ who never stops talking even though no one can make out what they are saying!

we talk as is needed, having a bit of a laugh and banter with the audience when its appropriate and making sure to encourage people on to the dance floor.

the Dj set is a great addition to the live band set. it allows us to keep the party going and incorporate some of that excellent music which isnt suited to being played by a live band

the transition is seamless

its as simple as ringing out on the last note of our last song and grabbing our iPads/laptops to start the DJ set

Things dont go to plan. we are really used to this, over the last 14 years weve seen a lot of weddings and a lot of things go wrong. we are well experienced in making sure the show goes on regardless!

the most common thing to not go quite to plan is the timings on the day. its not uncommon for us to arrive and hear that the speeches ran on, or the bus was late arriving or wahetevr it is meaning dinner is running late. what we do in this instance is figure out if we can help speed things up. can we still access to start quietly setting us? can we start loading in so the equipment is half in the building at the very least? and if not, where can we hang about so we can get moving as soon as we are good to go?

sometimes theres more serious things holding up proceedings. weve had members of the bridal party take unwell, weve had the mother of the bride break her arm and end up in hospital, weve had generators fail leaving venues without power, weve seen it all!

and the thing that sets us apart is we are unphased by all of it. we are accommodating and flexible, and there are no big egos in the band. we roll with the punches. whatever goes wrong we will help to correct, and if that impacts us - then we'll brush it off and get on with it.

frustratingly for us sometimes equipment or technology can let us down. we travel to every gig with more that enough spare equipment to get us by should something stop working.

More and more venues have sound limiters of some sort. it is something we are very used to dealing with

its never ruined a night, and it never will. All it does is make our soundcheck all the more important, thats our time to figure out what frequencies are causing problems and how we set everything so that it still sounds amazing without tripping any limiters.

And the audience will never know the difference

The dance floor will look different from one wedding to the next. there is a lot of factors that come in to play, but what you will always see is the the Upbeats doing what we do best and what we love the most - playing the best songs you want to hear to make people sing and dance all night long

maybe at the start of the night you would be seeing all age ranges up enjoying some of the classic older songs and you'd see the granny's and aunties up doing their thing.

by 1030 maybe you've got all the girls with their heels off and all the guys with their ties off going absolutely mental to their favourite indie songs from T in the park or TRNSMT

and by 1130 you've got a full dance floor of people shouting their lungs out to the best singalongs and biggest hits

the ending of the night is special. and its something we discuss with clients ahead of time

not everyone wants to follow the traditional Scottish ending, and if thats the case, no problem, we are happy to finish the night as you wish

if you are keeping with tradition, we tend to play some of the biggest and best singalongs leading up to the last run of songs which would maybe look something like Caledonia, 500 miles and finally loch lomond, all performed 100% live by the band (you'll find no cheating with backing tracks or packing up early by the upbeats!)

We've always had a chat with the venue as well to know things like last orders and when the live music has to be wrapped up by. so we will time things as required to fit in with that.

"one more song" isnt usually the right thing for us at a wedding. especially if we finish with Loch Lomond, its the song everyone expects to hear last, its got the perfect balance of jumping around and singing along. its hard to beat. and, we also always line up the timings to finish this exactly when the lights go up

the exception to this would be if weve discussed and planned any different with the couple ahead of time. sometimes people want that extra special song to happen after loch lomond. thats all good with us!

The success of a night can be seen by the busy dance floor, the smiling faces, the exhausted dancers and the cheers from the audience.

we know ourselves having done this so long when its been a good night. its just a feeling you get, everyone can feel it. you just know its been a great night and everyone has loved it. its just the atmosphere in the room

and thats what we are there for. the exact way we do that might differ from night to night. but ultimately we are there to bring the party, to celebrate with everyone and give them a night to remember

we often hear loads of compliments and some of the best are things like this

"you sound so much better live than you do on your videos!"

"ive been to loads of weddings and you guys are definitely the best band ive seen"

"we didnt thing you'd be able to play so many different types of songs"

This is a hard one, it's very difficult to pick one memory. several hundred weddings over nearly 14 years with thousands of stories to tell, ouch, thats tricky

If we had to pick. We’d say the wedding in Brig o Doon after Covid and lockdown. The real first huge party with over 150 guests going mental and loving every minute of being allowed to sing and dance and party again.

It was one of those nights where as a musician you just get to feel like an absolute rock star up on stage

It’s nights like that that remind us why we do this. We are part of something by special, really helping shape the night for our amazing clients and couples - we get to be a part of one of their best and most remembered days. And it’s a total honour and joy and privilege to be a part of that

We never take it for granted. We are grateful for every couple who puts their trust in to booking us and we show up each and every night to deliver the very best we can