The Banjo Lounge 4
Overview
- Swinging Vegas Lounge party quartet led by 5 string banjo and three part vocal harmonies.
- Eclectic mix of material.
- DJ option available
Price Range
Prices range from £400 to £2000
About
The Banjo Lounge will be performing at the Freak Music wedding band showcase event in July. Click here for more information.
Formed in Edinburgh in November 2007 The Banjo Lounge 4 are a finger-popping, tune-swinging acoustic quartet that combine the awesome power of double bass, funky drums, fat strumming acoustic guitar and the novelty redneck jazz styling of the five string banjo.
Probably Scotland’s only banjo led four piece the band have many years of gigging experience at all levels of the music business and they know exactly how to get the room jumping and jiving. Everything came about when the founder of London’s The Incredibly Strange Film Band (movers and shakers in the 1990’s easy listening boom and the world’s finest TV & film theme tunes covers band) Pat McGarvey moved to Leith with his crazy banjo in tow. Wanting to get out gigging those loveable classic theme tunes and easy listening hits once more he decided to set the wheels of cheese in motion.
Deciding on a more portable and stripped back format than the ISFB (an unwieldy 11 piece brass led funk band) he decided to trim the tunes back to their bare essentials, the banjo picking up the lead leaving the double bass, guitar & drums to cover the backbeat. With the band’s harmony vocals added on top this great new sound was complete and they found it fitted those classic schmaltzy tunes perfectly.
So with their love of great songs, crooners and stylish pop shining through, anyone with a passion for great live music will be excited, impressed and in love after a Banjo Lounge 4 show. But of course it’s not only the oldies, there’s more up-to-date songs getting the BL4 treatment like Addicted To Love (only twenty years old), Smells Like Teen Spirit (a mere seventeen years old) and even the odd proper almost-modern one like The White Stripes’ 7 Nation Army.
It’s an electric atmosphere all the way from this band so expect a thrilling mixture of classic pop from the 60's to the present day & bit of Johnny Cash style rock’n’roll, some very-danceable funky acoustic Motown plus a heavy sprinkling of lovely Tom Jones style showbiz...
Where are they based?
Based in Edinburgh but play regularly throughout Scotland and across the UK.
Picture Gallery
Click an image to launch gallery...
Sample Set List
500 Miles - Proclaimers
Addicted To Love – Robert Palmer
Ain’t Nobody – Chaka Kahn
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life – Monty Python
Back In Black – AC/DC
Beggin’ – Frankie Valli
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
Bring Me Sunshine – Morecambe & Wise
California Soul – Marlena Shaw
Counting Flowers On The Wall – Statler Brothers
Crazy In Love – Beyonce & Jay-Z/The Chi-Lites
Enjoy Yourself – The Specials
Enter Mr Sandman – Metallica meets The Chordettes
Everybody' Talkin – Harry Nilsson
Fire meet Misirlou – Jimi Hendrix/Dick Dale
Flash Gordon - Queen
Foggy Mountain Special – Flatt & Scruggs
For Once In My Life – Stevie Wonder c/o Sammy Davis Jnr Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash Ghostbusters Theme – Ray Parker Jr
Grange Hill Theme (aka Chicken Man) – Alan Hawkshaw
Islands In The Stream – Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers
It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones
James Bond Theme – The John Barry Seven
Jolene – Dolly Parton Spanish Flea – Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass Star Wars/Rocky/The Final Countdown Medley – John Williams/Bill Conti/Europe
Straight Down The Middle – Bing Crosby Song 2 - Blur Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody Medley – Louis Prima
Light My Fire – Shirley Bassey
Little Green Bag – George Baker Selection
Loveboat Theme – Jack Jones/Salsoul Orchestra
Lovecats – The Cure
Mr Brightside - The Killers
Mundian To Bach Ke (Knight Rider Mix) – Punjabi MC
Muppet Show Theme – Jim Henson/Sam Pottle
Music To Watch Girls By – Andy Williams
New Pollution - Beck
Nine To Five – Dolly Parton
Pick Up The Pieces – Average White Band
Rehab – Amy Winehouse
Sledgehammer – Peter Gabriel
Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Ukele Hawaiian Version
Swingtime For Hitler (our swinging version of ‘Springtime for Hitler’ from The Producers) – Mel Brooks
That’s Amore – Dean Martin
The Bear Necessities – Jungle Book The Message – Grandmaster Melle Mel (& The Furious Five)
Seven Nation Army – White Stripes Young Scene – Keith Mansfield Don't Stop Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson Ring Of Fire – Johnny Cash/Tom Jones
‘Theme from Shaft’ – Isaac Hayes
Thriller – Michael Jackson
Tell Me When (Quando Quando Quando) – Englebert Humperdink Love Me Tender - Elvis Can't Get You Out Of My Head – Kylie Minogue Theme from ‘The Pink Panther’ – Henry Mancini Take Me Out/Rappers Delight – Franz Ferdinand vs Sugarhill Gang Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Volare – Dean Martin
Please note the band like to do their own ‘take’ on these tunes and they may not be arranged in exactly the same way as you remember – in fact there’s every chance their version will sound better…
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This profile was compiled by +Freakster
