E3 Group is a dynamic and innovative entertainment production company and booking agency with offices in London and Brighton and operations in over fourteen countries.
TV host Toby Anstis is tonight set to host an exclusive event at the Studio Valbonne nightclub in Soho, London. The event, which is invite-only, will feature performances from pop group The Saturdays.
The team here at E3 Artists have just begun working with Toby’s management. Enquiries regarding Toby’s availability for hosting corporate events can now be directed via our London office on 020 7836 4759.
The cost to hire a band for a wedding, party or function is often affected by the location of your event. Travel and accommodation costs must be factored in if your event is in Manchester but you require a band to travel up from London. To help those looking to hire a band keep their costs low, we’ve identified some of the best party bands on the circuit by region together with links through to video of their performances. The following is not an exhaustive list of bands or regions. Stay posted here for updates.
Party bands for hire in London
Our current top three recommendations for London are:
FUNKification
Funky Buddha Band
Soul Funk Secret
Party bands for hire in Brighton & the South-East
Our current top three recommendations for Brighton & the South-East are:
Madison Heights
Grand Avenue Music
Pop of Ages
Party bands for hire in Manchester & The North
Our current top two recommendations for Manchester & The North are:
Beat Street International
Superphonic
Party Bands for hire in Birmingham & The Midlands
Our current top two recommendations for Birmingham & The Midlands are:
The Smooth Criminals
The Cherie Gears Band
For more bands for hire in London, Brighton, Manchester, Birmingham or beyond, check out our bands page.
If you’re looking for a top flight cover band to hire for a function or party event, you might want to consider our “band of the month” for April – Hussy. Consisting of four top session musicians, this band has an impressive wealth of experience on the circuit including gigs for The Carlsberg festival, Tigi Awards and the Rugby League Millenium Magic. They’ve appeared live on ITV (you can view one of their impressive performances below) and they have toured internationally.
Hussy are not your average pub style covers band. The quality and energy of their performances set them apart making them an ideal booking for large event organisers who are looking to create a lively, rock orientated atmosphere. Hussy cover a lot of hip, modern material in an engaging style of their own including hits by Kings of Leon, The Hoosiers, Kaiser Chiefs, Stereophonics, The Kooks and many more. Their sets are adaptable to meet your event requirements. For availability information you can contact one of our entertainment agents, or to view more options visit our bands hire page. E3 Artists offer lower fee deals on a range of bands that we work with.
Using the internet to search for possible bands to hire for weddings, parties, or business events can be quite tiring process due to the sheer volume of band sites, agencies and resource pages available. To try and make this process a little easier we’ve put together a list of our favourite resources on the web. We hope these links will help some people to find their perfect band although we also hope, as band booking agents ourselves, that you might come back to us!
Band Me Up is a great international band booking resource with an abundance of information on new bands, venues and promotion companies. Although it features a lot of U.S based bands, there are plenty of resources on here for those looking to hire a band or organise a venue in the UK.
British Arts offer a high quality band hire resources page featuring links to a range of acts including classical ensembles, jazz quartets, rock bands and everything else inbetween.
EntsWeb are a leading UK based entertainment directory offering category specific listings of bands for hire. A great resource if you’re determined to book direct and not use an agency, however, you should apply caution when dealing with acts you have not come across before. A good agent will help you to avoid certain pitfalls.
Band4U offer a searchable database of bands including party bands, cover bands, jazz bands, steel bands, and tribute bands. This is a particularly useful resource if you’re looking for a band in a specific geographic location. The impartiality of the site is also a bonus although it’s recommended that you check which agencies any of the bands you’re interested in are registered with. A band that is not listed with any agencies might be a potential risky booking.
Gig Guide aims to “enhance and sustain the growth of the United Kingdom music industry by providing FREE gig listing services to amateur and semi-professional musicians”. The site is also a great resource for those looking to hire bands as it includes a directory of bands playing various types of music for weddings and functions.
Ok, this doesn’t make our resource list as impartial as it ought to be but we can’t not reference our own band hire page. We’re currently working with some of the UK’s most talented musicians and we think we have pretty much every type of band for every type of occasion. Let us know what you think!
A fellow agency (ok, we’re making amends for our shameless self promotion above), LastMinuteMusicians are, we must admit, a great resource site. Take a look, but bear in mind we provide lower fee deals on a wide range of party and wedding bands.
Our booking agents are often approached by clients’ looking for advice on bands for hire by category. Different genres of music obviously suit different types of events, but selecting the right band for the right event can be tricky. In the first of an occasional feature, the E3 Team present our current top four bands by our top four categories: Rock & Pop, Jazz & Swing, Soul & Disco and World music.
Rock & Pop. This month’s rock & pop accolade goes to Hussy, an exceptional London based rock covers band. Hussy are an ideal booking for parties, functions and themed events.
Jazz & Swing. Our current Jazz & Swing favourite is Five Star Swing, a highly talented group of musicians with an impressive history. Five Star Swing are currently very popular for weddings.
Soul & Disco. New to working with E3 but now a firm favourite is Soul Funk Secret; a great choice for a party event.
World Music. Highly recommended are Section Eleven, a Hackney based and highly talented Latin dance band. This band are an ideal booking for function organisers looking to create a distinctive vibe.
You can view video and listen to audio of all of the above bands by following the links through to their profile pages. Alternatively, to view more bands for hire visit our bands page.
We’re often approached by clients looking for unusual entertainment ideas for their events. One particular act that we often recommend is the tremondously wild, wacky and unique Humanimal. The Humanimal is a collaboration between model Alex Kovas and his make-up and body paint artists. Alex is able to transform himself into a wide array of highly realistic looking animal creatures including big cats, horses, unicorns, antelope and dogs. As unusual entertainment options go, The Humanimal is quite a contender!
Alex’s performances for events vary. He’s sometimes utilised as a statue, other times he mixes and mingles as an “ordinary” guest. How about recieving expert racing advice and opinion from a horse itself?
Alex’s work is also ideally suited for themed events. Fantasy events with unicorns are no problem for The Humanimal.
Business or staff events can be made a lot more fun with The Humanimal’s wild creature incarnations. Imagine your staff bumping into this lion on the stairwell?
The Humanimal gets our vote as a top unusual entertainer. For further details on about this act visit our entertainers page.
Comedian Mark Watson has become a familiar face on television recently following appearances on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, BBC2′s Never Mind the Buzzcocks and the BBC4 quiz show We Need Answers. He had a busy 2009, completing a 60 date tour of the UK, Melbourne and New Zealand, winning the Fringe First for his show at the Edinburgh festival.
Mark is currently a popular choice for up and coming private and corporate events and has been voted “comedian of the month” for March 2010 by our booking agents. Mark has a busy television and events schedule for this year plus a new tour set to start in October. He does, however, have limited availability and his broad appeal makes him an ideal booking for many of our clients. Contact our London office for details or take a look at our comedians page for more options.
It’s been another very busy month here at E3 Group for both our entertainment agency and production teams. Here’s a quick round up of what’s happening in our departments.
E3 Artists
Our London based entertainment agents have been involved in some high profile bookings recently. The first of these involved flying Paul McKenna, the renowned hypnotist and NLP practitioner, to speak at The Annual Conference of The Association of Professional Coaches, Consultants & Trainers on March 6th in Los Angeles. Our booking team have also just confirmed a five date tour of Ireland for Olly Murs, runner up in the 2009 series of the X-Factor. The tour will take place in April this year.
E3 Events
In addition to working with partner company DRP Group, our events team are also preparing for The South Devon Festival which is taking place at the Newton Abbot Racecourse later this year and is being headlined by Will Young.
E3 Costumes
Our production team recently announced that they have started work on a new touring show for 2010. The show will require a sizable amount of bespoke costumes as it is set to feature what can best be decribed as three larger than life girls performing as the latest and most unique girl group. The girls have huge amounts of talent and are sure to become the BIGGEST girl group you have ever seen!
E3 Production
Our production team have just completed another voice over session with the legendary Peter Dixon, (voice of X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, E4 etc.) The session was a ‘ruddy’ great success, with Peter voicing introductions for many of our new shows and formats for 2010.
E3 Careers
After many months of preparation the first 2010 entertainers training course was officially opened in Mallorca earlier this month. E3 Group CEO, David Hill, along with Thomas Cook’s Head Of Overseas Support, Chris Medd, attended the opening presentation to welcome the first of many delegates to the three and a half week intensive course.
Visit E3 Group for further details about us.
Our booking agents here at E3 Artists have noticed a significant increase in requests to hire swing bands for weddings. Swing music continues to be a very popular choice for weddings; couples who choose this genre of music are looking to create a stylish and fun atmosphere for their big day. With the peak wedding period occuring in June and July, many wedding event planners are booking now to secure the best possible band.
As a result, our band booking agents have voted Five Star Swing as their “band of the month”. Five Star Swing are a highly talented, scalable and professional group of musicians, based in London, but offering coverage across the UK. You can view a short clip of their work in the video below. Five Star Swing have an impressive history including appearances on BBC Breakfast TV, Top of the Pops, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and The Royal Variety Show. As a scalable outfit they are an ideal choice for weddings. For availability information you can contact one of our entertainment agents, or to view more bands for hire visit our bands page.
Barbara Nice has been a long standing favourite in the E3 Artists office. Performed by comedienne, Janice Connelly, Barbara’s riotous live shows have been a huge hit with many of our clients. Her character based comedy is both endearing and very funny. Performing as a Northern housewife, her show includes a sequence of crowd surfing to the sound of Iggy Pop!
The E3 Artists team believe Barbara Nice is one to watch in 2010 and, as a result, she has been voted this month’s “comedian of the month”. For details on Barbara’s availability, contact one of our booking agents at our London office. Alternatively take a look at our other comedians for hire or click here to visit our entertainment agency home page.
