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Band for Hire

How to choose your band for hire and how much should it cost?

Choosing a band for hire is a major part of organising your event and making the right choice can often mean for your guests the difference between a successful, memorable occasion and a wasted evening out that should quickly be forgotten. There are, however, thousands of bands out there, as well as numerous agents trying to convince you to part with as much money as possible. Here follows some advice to help make the right choice and avoid the price pitfalls.

Deciding on style and some ideas.

 The style of band you choose to hire will reflect the atmosphere you are trying to create at the event. You may be interested in our article on live music entertainment, which will offer more information on this. Style will firstly reflect the purpose of the music in the event; background music, dancing, show case, homage etc and will secondly be in keeping with the tastes of the expected guests. Any themes designed into the evening should also be reflected by the choice of musical style. For example a rat pack band might be suitable to accompany a 50’s theme night or a movie stars evening, but would not be suitable for an English country garden, or 70’s disco!
For background music, options may include a jazz trio or swing band, a palm court trio, woodwind ensemble or cocktail piano player. A rock band, tribute band, 60s-00’s band, function band, funk band or latin band might cater for dancing, although other popular choices to hire are a bigband, a ceilidh band with caller or even a Mexican Mariachi band!

So how much should you pay?

Generally speaking, the price of your band will depend on two things: a) the number of musicians and b) how long they are required for. Remember that you are paying professionals for their time, so even if they are not performing they are still entitled to charge for their time. Keep this in mind when planning your entertainment and try not to have the musicians hanging around for too long. By the same token, however, bands will also need breaks, usually at least 15 minutes for every hour and an experienced event planner will plan these to coincide with other entertainment or interim periods such as speeches. As a guideline, individual musicians will usually charge between £150 and £300 for most functions. This will be more if they are required for long periods of time. By multiplying this out therefore, it should be possible to estimate a reasonable cost for the band you a hiring. £900 for example, therefore, would be a high price to pay for a trio. Less than £450 and you might be getting a great bargain, but be sure to exercise caution here. You usually get what you pay for and scrimping on the price might mean scrimping on the quality too. General good advice for any entertainment service is to make sure you have as much information as possible on an act before engaging them. Professional acts will have promotional packs with information, photos, repertoire and normally audio or visual samples of their work.

Significant extra charges to the above are to be expected if you are booking a ‘name’ or if the band use any particular equipment or include spectacular displays in their performance. Other reasonable additional expenses, which may be added to the total cost, include travel expenses and any parking. It is customary also to provide bands with food and refreshments, so this should also be budgeted for.

Good luck in choosing your band for hire.

What next?

If you live in London or the South East try browsing live bands for hire. If you live further a field, search the directory for live bands near you.

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