A few months ago The Swinging Bass Band played at a wonderful summer wedding party in a marquee which was in the garden of the bride’s parent’s home. There were over 100 guests who enjoyed the summer afternoon weather before moving into the marquee.
The band began with You Make Me Feel So Young, Fly Me To The Moon and Come Fly With Me. When the bride and groom were ready we played their first dance, Dusty Springfield’s I Only Want To Be With You. We often are asked for Let There Be Love and Moondance so we played these and soon after some from Michael Bublé.
It was not long before it was right to include some pop covers, Isn’t She Lovely and Lovely Day, Mustang Sally, Good Times and Get Down On It. The guests were in the party mood and loved Mack The Knife, Jailhouse Rock and Rocking All Over The World.
The last hour was provided by a DJ friend who kept the party going.
On Tuesday April 24th 2012 The Three Double Basses, Andy Kirkland, Geoff Cooke and Paula Robinson, have been invited back to play another evening at the Regent Sports & Social Club, 102 Regent Road, Leicester, LE1 7DA.
They last played there in June 2011 to a full house. Each Double Bass played for 20 minutes accompanied by the house band, and a few guests, in each half of the evening. Finally, they played arrangements which Geoff had written for 3 double basses of Duke Ellington compositions.
The house band this time will also comprise Peter Houtman (keyboard), Richard Everitt (sax) and Andrew Sime (drums).
Andy leads The Swinging Bass Band which plays at weddings, family events and corporate functions.
Hope to see you there!
There will be a small admission charge – and even less for Regent Club members!
It was a very hot July day when The Swinging Bass band played at The Pavilion, Branston Golf and Country Club, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. The six piece live band had been booked to play for the evening party.
Our vocalist and guitar wiz, Dave, was still on holiday, so again we invited John, a great friend and Sinatra and Bublé vocalist, to be with us. He is no mean pop vocalist too, and guaranteed to get a party going!
It was decided to play 3 sets and the first dance was medley of You Make Me Feel So Young, Fly Me To The Moon and Come Fly With Me. This was followed with Moondance, all as Michael Bublé would sing them.
As the evening developed we moved from swing music to rock and roll (Blue Suede Shoes, See You Later Alligator), onto include hits like Dance the Night Away and Rocking All Over The World. We finished with New York, New York.
It was a hot summer night, and the guests generated a lot of their own heat too dancing and enjoying themselves!
It was a January wedding at Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire, and the band was booked to play for the evening wedding party. Prestwold Hall is a magnificent venue where we have been to several times. In December and early January the Christmas decorations give a fantastic seasonal atmosphere.
We played three sets and not long into the first set we played the first dance, Close To You, by the Carpenters. We kept the dancing going with some of Michael Bublé’s best swing music. Then we were into pop covers and the like of Ladies Night, Play that Funky Music, Good Times, and Mustang Sally.
By the third the dance floor was packed and we were into Jail House Rock, Rocking All Over The World and finished with New York, New York.
It was a lovely summer day when the trio and band played for a wedding at Rockingham Castle, Northamptonshire. The wedding ceremony took place nearby, and then wedding party gathered on the terrace at Rockingham Castle for drinks. The trio played background music giving a great feel to the event.
We then moved to Walkers House, within the castle walls, for the evening event and were joined by 3 more musicians to form the 6-piece band.
Our regular vocalist and guitar wizard, Dave, was on holiday, so we invited John, a great friend and Sinatra and Bublé vocalist, to be with us.
He was fantastic and as the party really got going he moved into his pop cover features and had the place rocking!
In August 2012 we have been invited to play at Halsted House, Leicestershire, for a wedding reception and party. In the afternoon the trio will be playing background music during drinks and the meal and in the evening we will have the 5-piece band getting the guests dancing. We will probably play a mixture of Michael Bublé swing and pop covers.
This is the first time we have been asked to play at Halsted House, although we have had enquiries to play there before.
The setting is fantastic and the gardens and views across Leicestershire countryside are fantastic!
When the band played at Thrumpton Hall, Nottinghamshire, the trio were asked to play marriage ceremony music and then quiet background music during drinks.
It was winter time and the evening wedding party took place in the Hall where the 6-piece band played. There were about 60 guests and we were asked to play True Love for the first dance. It was right to keep the guests dancing and we went straight into Moon River.
Then we followed that with some Michael Bublé and Sinatra classics, pop covers and rock and roll.
We were able to take a break as the guests went outside (complete with coats and hats) during a firework display over the lake. A memorable day and a lovely setting for a winter wedding!
We were delighted to be booked to play at a wedding at the historic Caverswall Castle, Staffordshire. It goes back to the year 1275 when the manor house was developed into a moated castle and was rebuilt in the 17th Century. It was not difficult to find and very close to the A50, but alas, it has now closed as a wedding venue!
We played background music as the guests were dining with the trio and then downstairs near the bar with the 6-piece band. In the evening we were asked to play a mix of swing music and pop covers to cater for a wide age range.
The bride and groom did not want a special first dance, so we began with a medley of You Make Me Feel So Young, Fly Me to the Moon and Come Fly with Me. You can hear this on the sound tracks of this web site. As the night developed we moved away from swing music into pop covers, including Dance the Night Away, Lets Groove and some of Elvis’ Rock and Roll to get everybody dancing. We finished with New York, New York and Wonderful World.
We played at a delightful Diamond Wedding Anniversary last summer. A surprise garden party was organised by the family of the couple celebrating their anniversary. All their friends, including some who were at the wedding 60 years ago came.
To keep the band sheltered from the sun (or was it the promised rain?) a small number of gazebos were linked together in the garden. The rain did keep away and we were treated to a lovely sunny August Sunday afternoon.
We were asked to play swing music and that we did with a lot of Sinatra and Michael Bublé songs. As the afternoon developed we included some pop covers from the 1960’s and some rock and roll favourites.
It was a wonderful afternoon and we are looking forward to going back for the couple’s 70th anniversary!
In February 2012 The Swinging Bass Trio will play background music in the Sculpture Gallery at Woburn Abbey. This will be our first time playing there and we are looking forward to an amazing wedding and a memorable day!
We will be playing a mix of easy listening music, some light jazz, and tunes sung by Michael Bublé
The Swinging Bass Trio and Band have played at Moxhull Hall Hotel, Sutton Coldfield twice in the past and we are delighted to say that we have been booked to play there again for a wedding in September 2012.
The first time was in August 2008 when we provided back ground music during wedding drinks. It was a lovely sunny day and played outside in the shade while the guests chatted and enjoyed their drinks and canopies.
In July 2008 the trio (sax, keyboard and double bass) played quietly during drinks and the meal in the permanent marquee. After the meal a curtain was swept back to reveal the band all set and ready to go. We were joined by the drummer and trumpeter and it was not long before soon we had the guests dancing away. We played a mixture of swing and pop covers. As before, we started with swing. As the evening developed we included more and more pop covers, so we ended on a high note with everyone dancing.
The Bride, Lisa, had arranged for there to be a BBQ later in the evening and we were able to enjoy this when the DJ took over from us.
As a result of this wedding we were invited to play at another at Hogarth’s Hotel, Dorridge, near Birmingham in July 2010. There is a blog too about that wedding.
This September we will play during drinks and the meal, and then for the evening reception and party.
We have now updated our website with our latest YouTube video. See The Swinging Bass Wedding Band for a preview of the 5 piece wedding band in action or watch the clip below.
Guests enjoying the background music from The Swinging Bass
Guests enjoying the the champagne reception
On 13th October 2011 we played at a wedding reception at Grafton Manor Hotel, Bromsgrove, Birmingham during the wedding dinner. It was a sunny late autumn day and the guests were able to enjoy the wonderful gardens at the venue before hand.
The trio (sax, keyboard and double bass) played a good variety of background music to provide a relaxed feel to the reception and loud enough to be heard, but not too loud to stop the guests enjoying themselves.
This was a later booking and we were able to be there!
This was the first time we have played at Grafton Manor Hotel and hope it will not be our last. It’s an amazing venue and the permanent marquee has magnificent views of the gardens.
Not long after we had played at Moxhull Hall, Sutton Coldfield, in July 2008, we were booked to play for a wedding at Hograths Hotel, Solihull, Birmingham in July 2010.
Hogarth’s Hotel, has a unique outdoor setting for wedding ceremonies in the garden. It’s almost on its own island – yes on an island near Solihull! The trio (sax, keyboard and double bass) played during the ceremony and the signing of the register. This must be a location for a wedding ceremony which we will remember for many years. During drinks we played on the hotel terrace.
Later, after the wedding dinner the trio was joined by two more musicians – drums and guitar/vocals and we played for dancing for the first hour and a half of the evening. We were asked to play just Michael Bublé style music and swing. It was a time to really get into swing music and to leave the pop covers for another time.
In November 2011 The Swinging Bass Trio played at the East Midlands iNet Food and Drink Innovation Awards and Gala Dinner at the Old Library, the Conference Centre,
Nottingham.
This was the third year that we had been asked to play at the annual event and we were delighted to be asked to play again. The trio of keyboard, sax and double bass arrived to find a magnificent grand piano there and that we could use!
Again we were looked after very well with people to greet us and help carry the equipment and instruments in. While the awards were being made we had dinner – and prepared to an amazing standard!
This year the host was Jay Rayner, author, restaurant critic for The Observer and BBC’s The One Show frequent guest. Over 100 attended the evening and the awards were presented by Jay. As the guests were leaving we noticed that he was tempted by the grand piano – and he is a good pianist too!
We played at the 2010 evening at The Roundhouse, Derby. It is an amazing building that had been converted from a railway maintenance building into a unique conference centre. John Sergeant was the guest speaker. He spoke about his career as a journalist and as a contestant in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
In 2009 the evening was held at the Athena Centre, Leicester where we played for the evening for the first time. Hardeep Singh Kohli, passionate food fan, and guest on The One Show, Question Time and Newsnight Review presented the awards and was the guest speaker.
Following our booking to play at a vintage wedding in Waltham-on-the-Wolds village hall, we were delighted to be asked to play at the Vintage Themed Wedding at Dorridge Village Hall, Solihull, near Birmingham, on 9th June 2012. All the musicians have the date in their diaries and we know it will be another amazing event!
The Swinging Bass Band were invited to play at a wedding at Waltham-on-the-Wolds Village Hall, Leicestershire recently. It was a fantastic event and all 120 guests were in 1920’s costumes. The Bride and Groom arrived in a vintage car as did some of the guests.
It was an amazing wedding. The 6-piece band was asked to play three sets in the evening – a 1920’s set; a swing set; and a pop set. The guests flooded the floor from the very first note we played.
Table settings for the wedding at Waltham-on-the-Wolds Village Hall, Leicestershire.
Guests enjoying themselves at Waltham-on-the-Wolds Village Hall
In October 2010 Andy Kirkland’s Swinging Bass band played a concert at Embrace Arts, Leicester, to a near capacity audience. We were asked to play a mix of Michael Bublé material and swinging jazz tunes. At the end a couple from the audience came to chat and they have booked us for their wedding!
The Swinging Bass Trio and Band were invited to play at a wedding at Burrows Gardens, Derbyshire, in October 2011. The trio played quiet background music while the guests chatted and had dinner. Later the band came on and we played a mix of music. http://www.burrowsgardens.com
The band needed to be really well prepared because we were not sure how much swing and how much pop the guests would really want. We started off with a medley of You Make Me Feel So Young, Fly Me to the Moon, and Come Fly with Me as Michael Bublé would do them. As the evening developed we tried Lets Groove and Ladies Night. We had an excellent response to these and so moved in that direction.
A thank you card:-
“The drinks reception was fantastic with the trio pitching it just right … so the guests could talk”
“Then the band got us all going and we were thrilled to see so many of our guests on the dance floor (many of whom we have never seen dancing before!)”
We were booked to play at the wedding of Louise and Rob at Brownsover Hall, Rugby. It became one of the highlights of the year. We were asked to play quietly for the first 45 minutes while the evening guests arrived and after a short break to open up and play for dancing. We wanted the music to appeal to all the guests and so played a mix of swing and pop.
Louise and Rob asked for Cheek to Cheek as their first dance and them after a few swing tunes we moved into Kool and the Gang’s Get Down on It, then Good Times and Mustang Sally. We played Stevie Wonders Isn’t She Lovely and a few more others before a short break.
It was then a hint of Jools Holland with Tuxedo Junction followed by Dance the Night Away, Let’s Groove, some Rock and Roll and a taste of Status Quo’s Rocking All Over the World. We finished with New York, New York and Wonderful World. Then the guests insisted that we did an encore.
It was a fantastic night, then the emails and cards came from the guests:-
“.. so many guests said it was the best wedding music ever heard – and we totally agreed!”
“… a fun and exciting end to our day”
“Neither Rob nor I are fans of disco, and we thought that a swing band could be a good alternative, but we had no idea how brilliant and inclusive-for-all it would be! We absolutely LOVED it! “
Again we were looked after very well with people to greet us and help carry the equipment and instruments in. While the awards were being made we had dinner – and prepared to an amazing standard!
