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Live music for weddings, functions and events
Solo, as a duo, or with a larger group — guitar, piano, mandolin or bass, and a repertoire that runs from standards to classical to Spanish. Based in Thames Ditton, playing across Surrey and London.
I play for weddings, parties, corporate functions, restaurants and pubs. Most of the time the job is not to be the entertainment — it is to make a room feel like somewhere people want to stay in, while they talk over the top of it. That is a different skill from playing a gig, and it is mostly about knowing when to be quieter.
You would be booking me directly. There is no agency in the middle, which means the person you discuss the music with is the person who turns up and plays it, and the fee is not carrying anybody's commission.
Where it usually fits
Weddings
The ceremony, the drinks afterwards, or dinner — the three moments where live music does the most and needs the least volume. Processional, signing and recessional pieces chosen with you, and one request learned as standard.
Functions and corporate
Receptions, dinners, awards evenings, launches, private parties. Background that holds a room together early on, and something with more in it once people have a drink.
Pubs and restaurants
Regular slots or one-offs, solo or as a duo. Sensible about volume, sensible about finishing on time, and I bring what the room needs rather than what will fill it.
What gets played
A wider book than most
Because I teach all of it, I read all of it — which means the repertoire is not one style with a couple of exceptions bolted on.
- Standards and jazz — the American songbook, bossa nova, the things a room recognises without being able to name.
- Classical — solo guitar and piano repertoire, and the ceremony pieces people actually ask for.
- Spanish and flamenco-influenced guitar — the single most requested thing for a drinks reception, and the one most likely to be faked badly.
- Folk, Irish and bluegrass — mandolin territory, and a good deal livelier than it sounds on paper.
- Popular music — arranged for whatever the format is, rather than played over a backing track.
If there is a piece that matters to you, say so early. Learning one for the booking is included, and there is usually room for more.
The instrument is worth asking about too. Guitar and piano cover most events, but I play a good deal more than that — strings and Indian classical instruments among them — and for a ceremony in particular the right one can matter more than the repertoire. Say what you have in mind and I will tell you honestly whether it suits the room.
What a booking includes
- Two hours of music as standard, split into sets across roughly four hours on site. Different shapes are fine — tell me the running order and we will fit the music to it.
- One piece learned specially, chosen by you, at no extra cost.
- Amplification suited to the room, set up and cleared by me.
- A conversation before the day about the running order, the volume and the moments that matter — not a form.
Fees
The fee depends on the format, the length and the journey, so it is quoted per booking rather than listed. Send the date and the venue and you will have a real number back, not a range — and because you are booking directly, it is not carrying an agency's commission on top.
Solo, duo, or more
Solo is right for ceremonies, drinks receptions and dinner — one instrument, no PA in a small room, and nothing to work around.
As a duo there is a second voice or a second instrument, which is what most people picture for an evening: more lift, more variety, still not loud enough to stop a conversation.
A larger group is possible with reasonable notice — the players are musicians I work with regularly rather than a pick-up band.
If you would like to hear something before deciding, ask — I would rather send you recordings close to what your event actually needs than point at a general showreel.
Common questions
How long do you play for?
Two hours of music is the usual booking, split into sets to suit the running order — commonly two of an hour or three of forty minutes, across about four hours on site. Longer, shorter or a second musician later in the evening are all arrangeable; ask.
Can we request a particular song?
Yes. I will learn one piece that is not already in the repertoire as part of the booking — a first dance, a processional, something that meant something to somebody. More than one is fine too, it just wants asking early rather than the week before.
Do you bring your own equipment?
Yes — amplification suitable for the room, and I set it up and clear it myself. For a small ceremony or a dinner it is often better with no PA at all, and I will say so if that is the case rather than fill the room with speakers because they came in the car.
Solo, duo or a band?
Whichever fits the room and the budget. Solo suits ceremonies, drinks and dinner; a duo gives you a singer or a second instrument and lifts a party; a larger group is possible with enough notice. The music is chosen for the format rather than squeezed into it.
How far will you travel?
Surrey and south-west London routinely, and further by arrangement. Tell me the venue and I will tell you whether it works and what, if anything, travel adds.
How do we book?
Tell me the date, the venue and roughly what you want the music to do. I will confirm whether the date is free and what it costs, in writing, before anybody commits to anything.
Check your date
The date, the venue and roughly what you want the music to do. I will tell you whether I am free and what it costs — usually the same day.
Ask about a date