Archive for the ‘Wedding Band Hire’ Category

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Hiring Local Bands

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Hire a local band

Hire a local band

Todays blog is about hiring local bands.

There is a definite advantage to having a really great band based ten minutes down the road from your wedding venue . If you are able to find a local band available on the date of your wedding and able to play for a reasonable sum of money then it’s the dream wedding entertainment booking.

Obviously this dream wedding band booking isn’t always available but by speaking to Live Music Management you can definitely improve your chances of finding a quality local band for hire. You might wonder why this is given that Live Music Management are a large (ish) national entertainment agency? The answer is simple and it’s one of Live Music Managements strengths as a company.

Live Music Management began, around fifteen years ago, by supplying the Walkabout Australian bars with their entertainment (something we are proud to still be doing in 2013.) As the Walkabout bars expanded outside London Live Music Management grew with them setting on a network of reps out in the field who would audition and vet local bands and DJ’s in each town and area that the Walkabouts expanded to. As the Walkabout chain grew from Glasgow down to Newquay so did Live Music Managements roster of quality bands and DJs.  Live Music Management would hold audition nights for bands in Brighton one night and then the next day we would be holding an audition for bands in Surrey . We would find the best places to see a band in Plymouth   and then find out exactly who the best bands for hire in Devon were. We would then offer these bands the kind of quality work in great venues that they had been looking for.

In this way our roster of quality bands grew so that not only did we lay claim to the best cover bands in London but we also were able to identify the best bands for hire in Cornwall . Over the years Live Music Management have identified hundreds of quality bands this way and in the process of hiring local bands we have been able to offer tips and recommendations about how to make the local bands sets better and more suitable to the kind of wedding band and club work we were able to offer taking some bands out of the pub scene and into the event industry where the tricks of the trade that they have learnt at local level play out on a national stage.

Part of the job of Live Music Management is to sort the wheat from the chaff and there are many local bands that we reject as they would not meet our exacting standards and we would feel uncomfortable with them playing a wedding , event , or holiday centre.

Live Music Management continue to place bands in bars throughout the UK . We are also a major player in the holiday park market with bands for hire in Cumbria and bands for hire in Dorset and every other seaside county in the UK. Every weekend from March through to October we have bands playing at holiday parks throughout the UK.

In short Live Music Management are able to identify the best local bands in each area or the bands that are happy to travel to that area with minimum extra charge for travel. We would love to be able to help with your wedding , party or event and you can call us on 08454 900515 for best options.

 

 

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Live Streaming Weddings

Friday, May 17th, 2013
Live streaming weddings

Live streaming weddings

I recently read about live streaming weddings and it struck me as something out of a science fiction novel. Surely the whole point of holding a wedding party is so that people can attend in person, meet with friends and family members , witness the wedding and enjoy the company of their closest and nearest and dearest? I then recalled weddings  held in Las Vegas or on the beach in the Seychelles  and attended by very few people and the idea started to make sense. When I then thought about the very many friends and colleagues who have moved to other countries for work purposes and perhaps held big celebrations (and even weddings) in countries well away from their home town the idea of live streaming weddings began to make perfect sense.

In the business world it has become common to hold a conference call and increasingly common to hold a webinair where presentations are made online. I then thought about the activities of my own children who rush home from school and go straight online where they spend the majority of the evening enjoying facetime with their school friends .Often after just leaving them and with the option of meeting them in the flesh they still choose to chat online rather than meet up.

I was recently at a London function band’s rehearsal where the keyboard player was not able to attend. He did however participate from the studio where he was working that day contributing some keys online and having his input recognised in a face time session. There was also the recent experience of being asked to sing on a song written by a song writer friend of mine. I turned up at his home studio session and  by chance found that I knew all the musicians who had played on the song, none of whom had contributed in person, all of whom had recorded their pieces in their own home studios. The songwriter and myself were the only two people on the track who had met up!

In this new cyber world it is not a surprise that the live streaming of weddings is becoming a new reality whereby friends from around the globe can join in with your wedding even if they are not able to actually be in the venue at the same time as yourself. After all this is only a better , real time version of watching the wedding back on video. How long before Live Music Management are asked to supply a virtual wedding band streamed into the wedding via the power of the interweb or a wedding dj who can DJ a party in India whilst sitting behind the decks in Catford?

For best options on wedding bands and DJ’s call or email the Live Music Management office on 08454 900515 or email info@lmmuk.com

 

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Wedding Reception London

Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Wedding reception London

Wedding reception London

There are so many fantastic venues in which to hold a wedding reception in London. From cool and trendy bars through to the grandest of civic buildings, iconic world famous landmarks to sneaky little hide away secret venues known only to a select few. The choice is down to yourselves and the constraints of your budget.

Likewise when thinking about entertainment for your wedding reception in London you can be sure that you have the best acts in the UK , more or less, to choose from. This is great but it poses it’s own problems as there is so much to choose from with every kind of London wedding band and London wedding singer available that it can be bewildering.

If you are considering band hire in London then Live Music Management are the company chosen by many of the Capitols top events companies , wedding planners and venues for their live entertainment. If you have ever seen a live band in venues like The Roadhouse , Walkabout , ONeills in Wardour Street or any of the other top party band London venues then it will probably be one of the Live Music Management stable of acts.

Live Music Management have been booking live function bands in London for well over thirteen years and we have auditioned and vetted literally hundreds of acts so that our current roster contains the very best available acts in the London area.

Our experience of booking entertainment into London wedding receptions is second to none and you can be sure that by choosing a Live Music Management band you are choosing a band known for it’s professionalism and reliability. You can also be sure that you will receive the very best in support and back up service with our reps available on call 24 hours per day , seven days per week to deal with any emergency problems. We pride ourselves on offering the best confirmation and contracting service in the business and so last minute problems are very rare however our reps are there to deal with any last minute issues.

In the process of choosing a band for your wedding reception in London you can rely upon the expertise of a team of entertainment experts who look at your wedding day not as if it will be a single booking but as the start of a relationship whereby you will be recommending our services to your friends and colleagues.

Please feel free to call the LMM office for the best options for your wedding reception London on 08454 900515

Sugar Shack are just one of the great wedding bands in London that Live Music Management have the pleasure of managing . You can view their new website here http://sugarshackweddingband.co.uk/

 

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Wedding Themes 2013

Friday, May 10th, 2013
Wedding themes 2013

Wedding themes 2013

As the wedding season begins in earnest Live Music Management are able to point out some of the key wedding themes beginning to appear in 2013 . Wedding themes 2013 style cover a wide number of inspirational ideas. Obviously Live Music Management’s key area of expertise is live music at weddings and so our list is slanted towards the wedding entertainment trends that we have noticed coming into play.

1920′s Great Gatsby Style

With the Great Gatsby movie opening shortly the glamorous era of the 1920′s jazz age has become a key wedding theme in 2013 and many of our swing bands have benefited from an increase in bookings as clients look to book the perfect jazz band for their big day.

Festival Weddings

Festival themed weddings have become very popular with great rock bands playing the key big anthems and perhaps also offering an acoustic element to their set list.

After Show Parties For Weddings

Many clients , particularly those who grew up in the clubbing age and perhaps still go out clubbing themselves , are not content to allow the festivities to end at midnight and the celebrity inspired after show has grown in popularity with younger guests moving onto a club or booking a party DJ who can play night club style hits until the early hours of the morning.

Highly Themed Weddings

Whether the passion is for circuses , Harry Potter or Star Wars Live Music Management are seeing a number of fun wedding themes in 2013 with clients carrying the theme through everything from the wedding invites right through to the wedding band on the night being asked to learn certain songs or dress in a particular way in order to meet with the wedding theme. These are all themes which we have worked with in the past twelve months. (Top tip for Circus Themed wedding . Hire a stilt walking band !!!  If not hire some stilt walkers who will entertainment and wow your guests.

Weddings Themed To The Location

Getting married in Devon on the coast ? Then a pirate themed wedding will fit the bill perfectly. Getting married in a castle? Then what about a medieval theme and court jesters and court musicians playing music suited to the theme?

Live Music Management have a keen eye for forward thinking wedding themes and we love to get involved with providing the best live entertainment for your wedding theme. We are able to tweak and to bespoke any act to fit with your wedding theme in 2013 and beyond.

 

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Inspiration For Weddings

Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Inspiration for weddings

Inspiration for weddings

There are hundreds , if not thousands, of wedding inspirations blogs , online magazines and sites like Pinterest which help wedding planners and individuals alike style their wedding to a particular theme. Within the last decade the idea of the themed wedding has really come into it’s own with vintage weddings , tea party weddings , rock n roll weddings, festival weddings and many more making the headlines. Todays blog is aimed at the client who has decided on a theme for their wedding but is looking for inspiration for wedding entertainment which will fit with the theme. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list but we have picked several of the headline wedding themes and offered a suggestion for the entertainment.

Rock N Roll Weddings

Live Music Management have hundreds of suggestions of rock bands available to hire for weddings. We are also home to the UK’s best live karaoke bands aka Rockaoke or Bandeoke .

Irish Themed Weddings

Live Music Management have several great Irish bands for hire including bands who offer callers who can teach and explain the traditional dancing.

Festival Themed Weddings

There are dozens of suggestions when it comes to festival styled wedding entertainment  and the dedicated page on the LMM website outlines them all from stilt walkers and fire eaters through to acoustic bands and live karaoke bands

Tea Party Weddings

The Great British Bake Off and the popularity of retro themed festivals has inspired a new generation to hold tea party style weddings. The kind of music which would fit with these would be classical Musicians such as string quartets or harpists or maybe a swing band to lend a suitably 1940′s vintage feel.

Vintage weddings

Vintage has been the main inspiration for weddings for the last five or six years with weddings taking on 1940s or 1950′s themes and booking jazz bands  or acts that play modern music in a quirky jazz style. There have also been a number of 1950′s style weddings with 50′s rock n roll bands available to hire from Live Music Management. With the 1930′s themed Great Gatsby movie out later in 2013, and the almost endless inspiration for weddings ,which the word vintage kicks off this trend is going to run and run.

Live Music Management have a dedicated in house team of event and wedding entertainment specialists and we are happy to speak to you about how best to realise your inspiration for weddings ideas . Call 08454 900515 or email info@lmmuk.com for best options.

 

 

 

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Find A Wedding Band

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

 


How do I find a good wedding band?

This was the question posed by a friend of a friend who loves music and wanted to be sure that the very best wedding band (within her modest budget) were booked to play at her London wedding. For this particular person the question was answered pretty easily as my friend , John , suggested she ring Live Music Management because he knows we have the best wedding bands in London on our books.

When the same question was posed on the Wedding Channel recently the suggestions ranged from asking the venue if they had seen a decent wedding band playing there recently to hiring a professional wedding planner who would (possibly) know of a good wedding band or wedding singer that would fit the bill. There wasn’t a suggestion of contacting an entertainment agency and , to be honest, if I was suggesting to a friend I would not be just saying find a wedding band by contacting a wedding band agency. There are so many wedding band agencies out there now .Many of them are operating from back bedrooms with multiple bands that they haven’t any relationship with and no long term clients.

If you want to be clear that you are receiving quality, honest advice then look out for an entertainment agency who have quality long term clients of the type that book several hundred acts per annum. Speak to the person in charge and get a feel for their integrity and knowledge of their own roster. They should be able to tell you lots about the bands that wouldn’t be apparent from just looking at the home page on a website.

I am now going to make the case for using Live Music Management for your wedding entertainment bookings (you knew this was coming I guess!)

Live Music Management were established back in the 1990s. Our sole client (to begin with) was the emerging Walkabout chain. Our growth followed the Walkabout chains growth and as they began opening throughout the UK from Glasgow down to Newquay we grew our own roster of talent, both DJs and party bands. Our reps would be out in the field looking at the local music scene, organising showcases , running endless auditions (if I tell you that I myself once auditioned over 150 DJs in Glasgow over a two week period then you will get the size of it.) Once the growth of the Walkabout chain settled we then began to gain new clients…from national holiday park chains to High Street Bars to overseas clients. Our first steps into the wedding market were taken by chance when people would call us to ask if they could book the act they had just seen in a Walkabout for their wedding day. Eventually we began marketing ourselves as a wedding entertainment supplier.

It was a natural growth like all the other developments in Live Music Management history. By the time we began supplying the wedding market we already had brilliant bands of all genres from London Jazz bands to Irish bands based in Yorkshire, from disco bands through to Scottish wedding bands and all of these acts were working for us on a regular basis playing city centre venues and other long term clients who rebook.

Find a wedding band by looking out for the bands that get rebooked. Call Live Music Management and ask us about the best band for your event. Our intention will be to supply the right band for you so that you become another one of our customers who will sing our praises and help us continue to grow our business.

The LMM team are available within office hours on 08454 900515.

 

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London Entertainment Agency

Monday, April 29th, 2013
London entertainment agency

London entertainment agency

Live Music Management are a London entertainment agency with offices in the Midlands and representatives throughout the UK. The structure of the company allows us to keep ahead of developing trends and easily audition new talent whether that be party DJs or function bands.

We have maintained an office in London since our origins back in the later 1990s as supplier to the growing Walkabout Australian bar chain. Our London presence has enabled us to identify the very best in London wedding bands and London function bands , London soul bands and London jazz bands . Our regular auditions are populated by the very best London bands and we always keep our ear to the ground about emerging talent to add to our roster. If you are looking for the best band for hire in London then LMM are the company to trust.

The same goes for our DJ pool which consists of the very best in London mobile discos and party DJs in London. This too is constantly refreshed by our audition and vetting process.

It’s Live Music Management’s commitment to ensure that we only represent the very best talent in London for clubs , parties , functions and weddings and this is born out by the fact that well over thirteen years since our beginnings as entertainment supplier to the Walkabout venues we are still the sole supplier of DJs and bands to this fantastic bar chain. We also pride ourselves on the many other long term clients that we continue to supply with talent. These include famous names like Butlins (over eight years of supplying them with acts), Marks and Spencers (through a third party events company we have been supplying them with their in store live acts for over seven years) , The UK Military (well over six years of supplying them with entertainment both here and overseas.) Our client list goes on and on. It even includes some London based individual private clients who have used Live Music Management party bands for their parties year in and year out. As I write this I can think of one particular client who booked one of our bands for their 50th birthday party and then booked acts from Live Music Management for both their daughters weddings.

Live Music Management are the London entertainment agency for weddings , parties and events. The sheer number of repeat bookings that we make week in and week out shouts out that we are delivering quality entertainment at competitive prices . Industry professionals trust Live Music Management for their live entertainment bookings we, sincerely, hope that you will too.

If you would like further details please call 08454 900515 or email rick@lmmuk.com

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Wedding Music Tips

Friday, April 26th, 2013
wedding music tips

wedding music tips

There are a million and one things to do and plan when putting together the perfect wedding day. Live Music Management book entertainment into around a thousand weddings per annum and every one is individual and different closely reflecting the personalities of the Bride and Groom .

In our view one of the most important parts of a wedding reception is the music chosen regardless of whether this is provided by a wedding DJ or a wedding band. It is quite likely that the music at your wedding will be remembered long after the wedding breakfast is forgotten. It will certainly change the atmosphere more dramatically than the flowers or the table napkins will. That’s why many Brides and Grooms and professional wedding planners  choose Live Music Management in order to ensure the right wedding entertainment is delivered to their big night.

We would like to offer a few simple wedding music tips that might help you make the decisions about what kind of music to book for your wedding.

DJ’s For Weddings

There are a number of advantages to booking a Deejay for a wedding as opposed to hiring live music. For one, in most cases , it will cost less money. Secondly a DJ will have a wider choice of music and be able to deal with requests more effectively than the majority of wedding bands. However there are a couple of things to be wary of. For instance don’t just plump for the DJ offered as a free of charge addition to your wedding package by the venue. Check out the quality of the DJ beforehand. Not all DJ’s are the same. In Live Music Management’s experience the majority of DJs holding hotel wedding residencies are not particularly good and a bad DJ is sure to ruin your wedding party (especially if that’s the only entertainment you have booked on the night.)

Bands For Weddings

When considering what kind of band style you would like for your wedding think carefully about your wedding guests and the atmosphere you are planning to create. The wedding band will change this atmosphere the minute they start playing. We have hundreds of testimonials from happy clients saying “the band created a great atmosphere at our wedding….everyone was dancing all night” and “people have not stopped texted me to tell me how good the band was” etc etc.

Do you want your guests up on the dance floor. If so you probably want to hire a rock pop party band or a soul funk party band dependant upon your own personal tastes. If your wedding is going to be a quieter affair then we have acoustic bands available. If you want a glamorous , vintage atmosphere then maybe consider hiring a swing band. If the evening is about conversation and great food then maybe something from our classical music section will fit the bill. If you are looking for quirky and unusual then there are a number of options in our unique acts section. If your friends are all up for a laugh then you might book a Rockaoke aka bandeoke or live karaoke band .

Live Music Management have hundreds of options available for your wedding and we hope these wedding music tips have been helpful . Of course our office team are able to help you choose the right direction for your wedding music and we are available Monday to Friday in office hours for a telephone consultation.

 

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Great Gatsby Weddings

Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Great Gatsby weddings

Great Gatsby weddings

F Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was one of those rare pieces of literature which perfectly capture the age in which it is set. F Scott Fitzgerald’s descriptions of the jazz age and the magnificent parties set on the enigmatic Gatsby’s estate paint a picture of the Roaring Twenties which remains as seductive today as it was back in the 20′s when it was published to great acclaim.

The novel has been filmed six times .The first was a silent movie filmed shortly after the novel was published. The most famous is probably one of Francis Ford Coppola’s least successful movies, a major borefest with Robert Redford as an attractive but ultimately dull Gatsby.

2013 sees a new addition to the celluloid versions of the Great Gatsby story when Leonardo DiCaprio takes the lead in Baz Lurhmanns movie. Regardless of your thoughts on Lurhmanns movies one thing is certain. The new Gatsby movie will be a visual feast and will almost certainly inspire a generation of Brides and Grooms to plan Great Gatsby Weddings .

Great Gatsby Weddings take the visual motifs of the jazz age and add some swing music to capture the glamour and opulence of the Roaring Twenties.

Live Music Management have a number of acts that fit with the Gatsby theme. Great swing bands can be found on our swing band section. We also have a number of jazz bands for weddings and solo acts that play jazz music. Of course the visuals are of particular importance when planning a Great Gatsby style wedding and LMM can ensure that the act you book dress in theme with your vision of how the night should be.

Besides the fabulous jazz acts that fit with the Great Gatsby style we also have some fantastic party bands who can dress in style and play a mixture of party music and jazz age classics (which is the way that Baz Luhrmann will be approaching the sound track to his vision of the jazz age. ) We also have dancers available to perform twenties style flapper routines whilst in costume and a number of female singing groups who can offer a tribute to the twenties.

If in doubt about the music which would best suit your event please give the LMM office a call. We are sure to be able to point you in the direction of the right wedding entertainment for your Great Gatsby wedding.

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Cath Kidston And Cupcakes

Monday, April 8th, 2013
Cath Kidston and cupcakes

Cath Kidston and cupcakes

Some months ago when a Bride described her wedding theme as being “Cath Kidston and Cupcakes ” I had a rough idea of what she meant but it was until this weekend just gone that I stepped inside a Cath Kidston shop.

I was out with several girls aged from ten to thirteen and my wife (who’s age I shall not reveal!) and all of them were in thrall to the Cath Kidston brand. I had previously thought that the Cath Kidston range probably appealed exclusively to middle aged women. I had a rough idea that it was a retro vintage brand with many items that wouldn’t have looked out of place in my Grandmas house which had been furnished in the forties and fifties and remained pretty much untouched by the modern world in the years up until she passed away. I was shocked on Saturday to see the younger members of our party picking up vintage looking backpacks and umbrellas and cooing over them. When the thirteen year olds saw the Cath Kidston tent , with its canvas covered in the names of UK seaside resorts they wouldn’t really know or want to visit, they all said in unison, “I want to take that with me to a festival.”

I now have a very clear image in my head of the Cath Kidston and cupcakes style wedding. It’s vintage. It’s retro. Yet somehow it appeals to girls of all ages (I have a very strong hunch that it is primarily women who love the brand!) and somehow it is very much on trend and fashionable.

Next door to Cath Kidston in Nottingham was a Jack Wills store . Anyone with fashion conscious teenage kids probably doesn’t need to be told that Jack Wills takes a public school , country pursuits and collegiate vision of Britain and somehow makes it appeal to urban kids who know nothing of pheasant shooting , la crosse , cricket match Sundays or rugby. Again its a nostalgic vision of Britain which manages to appear modern.

There is a type of band and style of music which certainly fits with this Cath Kidson and cupcakes brand and we at Live Music Management have a number of wedding bands for hire that would suit. Many clients looking at this style of vintage wedding would choose a swing band for hire or a jazz band but there are also a number of party bands that have the image appropriate for this kind of event.

Call the Live Music Management office on 08454 900515  for help choosing the right act for your Cath Kidston and Cupcakes wedding party.

 

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