What type of band should I hire for my party?
This video features Jason, who hired HARD TO HANDLE BAND to perform at his birthday party. Jason had a great time with his friends, celebrating his birthday on the dance floor while we played over 2 hours of rock, pop, indie and more with our DJ playing sets before, inbetween and afterwards for a full nights’ entertainment. This wasn’t a wedding reception, and as far as we know, Jason isn’t a multimillionaire. So how was Jason able to afford to hire a professional live band and DJ for his party? The short answer is that Jason did his research and found a band which was able to provide the service he wanted within his budget. So yes, you don’t have to remortgage your house to hire a great sounding professional live function band!
What’s the difference between a wedding band and a pub band? Is a band that usually performs at wedding receptions also appropriate to play at a birthday party? Should you ask for a quote for a pub band to play at my wedding reception? As you are here, we’re assuming that you are looking for live entertainment for your event. It could be that you have always wanted to entertain you wedding guests with a live band. It could be that your company has an annual event and that this year instead of hiring a large events band you have decided to look at an indie-style band to get create a festival vibe. Or maybe your significant milestone birthday is approaching and you love the idea of having a live band to entertain your guests. While hiring a live band is appropriate for all of the above, not all live bands are appropriate. And as there is a bewildering array of live entertainment bands being advertised online, let’s try to untangle and demystify the process of finding the best live band for your event.
The best place to start is of course your budget. If you are looking to hire live entertainment, you will need to decide how much it is appropriate to spend. Of course, part of this decision making process is based on your own finances, but it’s also important to get an idea of what types of live bands are available, and for that, creating a sliding scale of quotes is the best way to determine the figure you will eventually spend. Fortunately / unfortunately, the only way you are going to be able to do this is by making contact with bands directly. We say “fortunately” because in grasping the nettle and getting in touch with bands, you will get the ball rolling and start the process of getting the quotes in. The added benefit of this is that speaking to live bands direct will also give you an insight into the service they offer, the music they play and ultimately whether the vibe they create is what you are looking for to entertain your guests. We say “unfortunately” because you are also likely to be bombarded by a plethora of sales pitches (especially when it comes to entertainment agencies who will try to convince you that every band on their books is perfect for your requirements even though they are hundreds of pounds above your budget). Our advice is to disregard the sales pitch and concentrate on the quote and the service offered.
How much does a live band cost?
Pretty soon you will discover that some bands are waaaay outside your budget. And there’s nothing wrong with this – don’t feel like cheapskate just because you don’t want to fork out over £2000 to entertain your mates. There is a reason why some bands are charging this kind of fee for their services. People who are looking to hire a live band for a party, wedding reception or business event should consider the following:
- though pub-style bands will be a more affordable live entertainment option, with many local band available for a couple of hundred pounds, these type of bands may not offer an additional DJ service, meaning that and addition al cost will be incurred to hire a separate DJ to play music during band breaks. Pub-style bands may also not offer a comprehensive range of music styles to appeal to the tastes of all guests and also may not be available either at weekends due to performing at pubs and on weekdays due to other work commitments
- entertainment agencies are more likely to advertise “maximum spend” bands to encourage party planners to hire expensive bands. These bands may offer a comprehensive band and DJ service but as party planners are expected to pay the commission entertainment agencies add onto the total band fee, they may find these bands to be prohibitively expensive
- hiring professional live bands direct with no entertainment agency commissions may mean that party planners will be able to hire entertainment within their budget. As an added benefit, hiring direct means that party planners will be able to talk to the band to get an idea of the service they offer rather than having communicate through an intermediary
You may be thinking “HARD TO HANDLE BAND will be too expensive for me to hire for my party”. And yet here’s Jason, saying “excellent band!” after having spent the night with his friends on the dance floor for his birthday. Maybe it’s time for you to give us a call?
Hard to Handle wedding band – 2 hours of killer rock, indie, pop and more + live DJ!
Tel: 0796 433 5657
E: info@hardtohandleband.co.uk