Event Music 101

To keep your event guests happy there are a few things you will want to consider when planning for musical entertainment.

-Before you book a band, see them.  Ask their booking agents for demos, audio files, or other available footage.  Keep track of how many singers, instruments, and what kind you will want if you book the band.  You might try and modify the band to be larger or smaller for your specific event.

-To pick the right genre or type of band consider asking your potential guests what they advise.  Some people will offer helpful suggestions and others can even give you more specific information based on events/bands they have seen before.  Guests are the best source for unbiased opinions and plenty of them.

-What entertainment you hire will depend a great deal on where your event is being held.  If you are holding an event in a busy city area or near moving water you won’t want to have an acoustic set up arranged, if you do, they will be drowned out.  Likewise, if you have a ceremony or party in a suburban area you may not be able to fit a large band in the designated area.  Additionally, you should be cautious of potential noise ordinances in that area. 

-Another thing to be careful of is going overtime.  Bands will usually book 2-4 hours of playing but if you have them play over their contracted time you will pay quite a bit.  Book the band for the maximum amount of time you may need them for, better safe than sorry.  If you book them for the max length you won’t have to be secretly hoping the party ends early, you can just sit back and enjoy the event.

- Lastly, Make sure you have a contract.  Professional booking agents will do this for you but if you are doing it yourself be sure to have the names, dates, times, locations, hours, price, and deposit present in your contract.  This will ensure that everything is sealed and you won’t have to worry about whether mix-ups or last minute cancellations.  

--Nikole Higgins, Communication Director, Nikole@utahliveband.com