Top Considerations before you Hire a Band for Your Private Event

1. LIVE101 BOOK A SINGER | DJ | BAND | LIVE MUSIC ARTIST www.live101.in

2. Top Considerations before you Hire a Band for Your Private Event

3. 1. Music selection • The first thing would be to check out their online song list to get a good feel for what they deliver and if it will suite yours and your audiences tastes for your event.  It’s usually a good idea to get a wide variety of styles to suite everyone in the audience. • It’s not just about the audience watching and partying to a band’s performance, it’s about having a band that enables the audience to have a great time and join in.  Calling on and having fun with individuals in the audience makes it personable and memorable.  Much of the show should be about reading the crowd, playing the right selections and requests.  We believe it’s important in the first set to play songs that are appealing to both young and old to get a lot of people on the dance floor early, this alone gets the momentum going.

4. 2. Will the band’s personality connect with your audience? • What’s their branding?  Serious and about themselves, or fun and outgoing?  Make sure you get a well-rounded, friendly bunch who will serve the entire audience and not a 1-trick pony.

5. 3. Gear • Many musicians love it however great gear is very expensive and takes a lot of effort to keep it well maintained, up-to-date and experience to run it properly.  For a band a fair size van is typically required to carry a decent sized show with proper PA and lighting (and a car to carry the rest of the guys).  Some bands /DJs try to get away with taking cheap or as little gear as possible and severely under deliver what the show should be.  Of course, this is a subject of individuals’ perspective but it’s sad to sometimes see a band make little effort and little financial investment into their show.  It’s worth asking if they have a quality full PA (tops & subs) and light show.  Sometimes bands require a sound company which is likely an extra cost to the client.  Sometimes it’s a great sound company with a talented sound man which is better than an inexperienced band doing its own sound.  Some experienced bands will have an amazing PA and even their own sound man.

6. 4. Research • See the band before hiring.  Or send a friend to see them first or at least, watch a few videos!  This is ideal and can take a lot of guess work out of qualifying.  You’ll see the band’s demeanor, how they engage the audience, what their sound is like, performance, song selection, etc.

7. 5. Setup time • Make sure the band can have the vast majority of their gear setup such as PA speakers, lights, power, drums and hopefully amps and other bulky items before guests arrive in your performance room.  They should have sound check completed by this time too. Keep in mind guitarists will have to do a quick tune up and band members may need to do some last minute tasks like putting in their headphones etc.  You don’t want a band making a bunch of noise sound checking during your dinner, etc.  Ask ahead of time where they’ll store their empty cases.  A neat looking stage area is worth it and indicates to the Musicians /DJ that you trust they’ll tidy up!

8. 6. Support for the band • What should I provide for the band?  We believe it’s our job to make the clients job easy as possible.  Water is a key essential so perhaps a couple bottles of water for each performer.  If a band is traveling more than say an hour from town, maybe offer a couple of meals to the fellas who set up the gear early in the day.  If you’re feeling extra generous, offer a few drinks, it’s an instant way to get the guys to play extra hard! • Hire a band with live101.in