Choosing a wedding band
The vast majority of our customers are after one main thing when booking a wedding band: they want a band that will get people up and dancing. Our answer is that all our bands will fulfil that requirement, so the first thing is to decide on the musical genre that you like, that your guests will like, and that will fit in with the theme of your wedding reception.
Pop/rock 60s to 2000s bands are the most popular choice at Function Junction. Playing songs from The Beatles onwards, this material is familiar to most of the audience and great at filling the dance floor. The usual line-up is just like The Beatles: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums, with vocals shared between one or more of the band members; some of our bands also feature female vocals.
If you like this sort of music, you can’t go wrong. Just read the customer testimonials for bands such as
Cover Up,
Fabulous Feedback Band,
Loaded, Cover Story, Bears, etc, who are among our bestsellers for this type of band.
Next most popular are bands playing the funkier side of pop. These bands tend to be a little larger and usually include keyboards and sometimes sax and other brass. Female, female and male vocals, or two female vocalists are usual in these bands. Typical of this sort of band is Funk Federation and The Love Junkies.
We also have some very popular bands who include pop/rock, soul and other pop (Abba, etc) in their repertoires. Lost In Music, Bellissima, Jumpin’ and Fuze are examples.
The wide appeal of performers such as Jamie Cullum and Michael Buble has added to the popularity of swing/jazz bands. If you want "Sinatra-type" swing, then go for someone like Kevin O’Brien, or for 20s/30s "dance band jazz" try The Charleston Chasers. One factor that you need to consider, is that these bands can only play swing/jazz, and will not be able play any more recent "pop" music. If you want some pop too, then one option is to consider having both a swing band and a disco. Another option would be to have a band playing mainly up-tempo "dancey" jump jive such as One Jump Ahead or Jivin’ Miss Daisy, or to have a band that can play both jazz and pop. Examples of the latter type of band are Swing City, Omnibus Edition, The Fabulations, The Little Big Band and The Ray Rich Band.
If you don’t want pop, rock or soul (perhaps because of noise
or other restrictions at your venue) but still want something that will get everyone dancing, then a popular alternative is a ceilidh or barn dance band. Experienced callers will demonstrate the dances and this is great for getting everyone to join in.