2 Steps To Booking With Confidence
How To Hire A Band For Your Wedding
2 Steps To Booking With Confidence
by Tony Cooper
For over 35 years Tony has been involved in the entertainment industry. Beginning as drummer with The Maxx at the age of 14, to record label exec to booking agent before landing into his true passion, Artist Management. Tony formed Encore Artists Development in 1997. His diverse experiences offer him a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the entertainment industry as a whole.
Step 1. - Read
How to hire a band for your wedding or event. After deciding the style of band that fits your event talk to friends and family that have been to events recently and ask if they saw any good bands.
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Ask the contact at your venue, or any other vendors that you might be using, for referrals. They’ll be able to tell you who’s good and just as important who’s easy to deal with.
Some bands are good, but very demanding and hard to deal with and can become a nightmare at your event. Information from someone who has dealt with these bands personally can provide invaluable insight.
See the band live if you can. This shouldn’t keep you from booking the band, if you can get reviews from people you trust.
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Ask the band if you can contact some of their previous clients. Ask the clients about the band’s performance, attitude and willingness to go the extra mile.
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Consider bands that are actual bands and not 2 musicians and a rolodex. I’m amazed by people who think that a band that uses a bunch of substitute players has any chance of being as good as one that uses a consistent lineup.
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This isn’t to say that bands don’t make changes from time to time, but band’s who work a lot and are full time are usually just better. Your chances are always better with people that are pros.
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The Maxx uses the same line up year after year. This is the number one contributing factor to their consistency and success.
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Big mistake a few make. Don't value a band by it's size. This mindset would make a van more valuable than a sports car, a larger house more valuable with no consideration for location, an abundance of fast food over smaller portions of quality food. I think you get the point. True a large band can justify their price by the number of musicians, but paying all of the musicians is not your concern.
Value and price are based on experience, reputation, and quality of service both on and off stage, which leads to a higher demand. The Maxx is a well seasoned organization that has amassed a stellar reputation from over 25 years of service. Their devotion to quality of service, willingness to go the extra mile, and being genuinely nice people have kept them in high demand for decades.