Choosing the right music for your Corporate Event

Hints and tips from LastMinuteMusicians.com

As industry professionals we have been involved in both organising music for corporate events and performing in corporate event bands for many years. Our most recent corporate clients have included the Mayor of London, Jaguar, Five TV, MLS Business Centres, Anthony Gold Solicitors, Haworth UK Ltd, Modem Media Plc, Capital & Regional, Dorchester Hotel, Grosvenor Property & Partnership amongst many others.

During our extensive experience in corporate hospitality we have noticed that the success of a corporate event depends greatly on how well the organisers match the entertainment to their guests needs.

You should consider the following:

• Is the music for background entertainment or a particular feature of the event?
• Is it necessary to have one style of music for the early part of the event, e.g. a background cocktail pianist for reception drinks, and the another style of music for later in the evening, e.g. a function band for dancing?
• Is your event specifically planned to entertain your guests or do you expect them to be networking and discussing business?
• What is the age range of your guests?
• Is your event solely in one location or do expect the musicians to move locations? E.g. reception drinks in the foyer and then dinner in the main dining room.

Below are recommended solutions to help you choose your entertainment for three common corporate event situations:

Corporate entertainment situation 1

Evening reception with dinner & speeches

Most corporate clients who are organising an evening reception with dinner and speeches are keen to portray an atmosphere of class and sophistication. Therefore, experienced, qualified musicians are a must have! Professional musicians will not only look appropriate (e.g. lounge suits), but will choose appropriate repertoire and judge a room so as to play at the most suitable volume.

In our experience a Jazz Trio (Piano, Bass, Drums) or Jazz Quartet (Piano, Bass, Drums, Vocals/Saxophone) is ideal for this type of corporate event.

Example break-down of an evening reception:

"Meet and Greet”

We recommend using either the pianist or the pianist and bass player from the band to play light cocktail music for this part of the evening. Clients often ask for the music to start before the first guests arrive to “set the scene” for your guests from the outset.

Dinner

Usually, a jazz trio is perfect for dinner music. Again, playing light cocktail music / dinner jazz, which will be loud enough to be enjoyed by all guests but quiet enough not to disturb conversation.

Post Dinner

A Jazz Quartet is a definite recommendation for this part of the evening. In our experience, the later part of the event is when guests are more inclined to listen to the band so adding a singer and/or saxophonist adds another edge to the music.

Recommended Jazz Trio – Click Here

Recommended Jazz Quartet with Singer – Click Here

Recommended Jazz Quartet with Saxophonist – Click Here

Corporate entertainment situation 2

Company Party

The first question that one should ask when organising entertainment for a company party is “will my guests want to dance”? If the answer is yes then a larger band is essential. Asking a jazz trio to perform at your party and then insisting that they play the latest Kylie song will simply not work! It is essential that you find an ensemble who are experienced in playing music to dance to and who can entertain a crowd enough to get them onto the dance floor. In our experience, music from 60s, 70s & 80s will suit a wide age range and is always popular for dancing.

Example breakdown of a typical company party:

“Meet and Greet / Networking”

We recommend either a jazz trio or cocktail pianist for this part of the event. Light cocktail music is ideal when your guests first arrive as this is the time when people are most likely to be talking and networking.

“Dancing”

A professional function band is most suitable for this part the evening. Function bands are experienced at getting people up to dance and are much more visual than a dj.

Recommended Jazz Trio – Click Here

Recommended Cocktail Pianist – Click Here

Recommended Jazz Function Bands – Click Here

Corporate entertainment situation 3

Company Fun Day

The “brief” for a company fun day is usually to entertain your current workforce, entertain prospective clients or to increase your company branding. In any of these cases the overall effect of the entertainment needs to be one of fun.

Below are some possible ideas for music at a fun day:

• Dixieland Jazz Band – Jolly Dixieland jazz is light hearted and is suitable for outdoor performance.
• Latin Band – A Latin band is often associated with summer and is great for dancing.
• Tribute band – Everyone loves a tribute act!
• Big band – A big band playing well known swinging tunes from the 40s and 50s is great for this type of event. Having 18 musicians always an impressive sight!

Recommended Latin Band – Click Here

Recommended Dixieland Jazz Band – Click Here

Recommended Big Band – Click Here

Recommended Tribute Band – Click Here

What next?

If you live in London or the South East try browsing Corporate Event Bands for hire in London and the South East. If you live further a field click here to search for a band near you.

About the Author:

Chris Walmsley is a musician, web developer and joint-founder of www.LastMinuteMusicians.com. Specialists in event planning, internet business management and promotion www.LastMinuteMusicians.com experiences over a hundred thousand hits every month and is an invaluable resource for any event planner.