November Live wedding band showcase report.

The Jim Jam Ceilidh Band
The Jim Jam Ceilidh Band

Freak Music held their 2nd live Scottish wedding band showcase last night at Edinburgh’s Jam House on Thursday night and despite for the second time, terrible weather, it turned out great again. Inside anyway. As happened at the July event, all went smoothly and in the end we only finished 4 minutes later than planned which, given that we had nine acts on is pretty good going. Again, most of the credit for this should really go to Stevie on the sound desk and I guess the bands were mostly well behaved…

As an introduction to the evening we were delighted to be joined by the recently formed act from the world-famous musicians of Fat Sam’s Swing Band, Champagne is an Edinburgh-based cocktail jazz quartet, ideal for wedding and drinks receptions.  They can expand from a 4 piece up to a 7 piece outfit, catering for events of all sizes and were more than happy to simply set up in a corner of the venue and just play.

First up were Groove Sector(one of about 13 bands on the roster with the word “groove” in their name) who are a Glasgow based 8 piece act who’ll add horns to the mix if you’re after a proper soul/funk groove at your special day. Mainly a standard old school soul act, they’ll also do some more modern songs adding their own twist on them.

Another Groove, this time Groove Culture (right) were on second and were kind enough to bring along their electric drum kit, pretty much plug-and-play, literally. Another top end Glasgow band that’ll add a funky groove to your big day.

Groove Culture
Groove Culture

Taking us along a more traditional Scottish wedding route next were the Jim Jam Ceilidh Band (above) who, needless to say, are mainly a Ceilidh band but are also happy enough to mix it up a bit and have been known to do the Pink Floyd classic, Wish you were here. The mind boggles.

Between the previous three acts the crowd were gently entertained by the nimble fingers of harpist Helen Macleod and her concert harp, quite a change in pace it must be said but a wonderful atmosphere it crated nevertheless. Helen is one of Scotland’s finest wedding harpists, often booked out for wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions.  Despite the light blinding her for the first few pieces, like a trouper she soldiered on.

Next up were a band who are fairly new to us, the Honey Moons an Edinburgh based 4 piece (who can expand with brass) who pride themselves on their eclectic, think Elvis to Britney and all points in between, and energetic sets and certainly delivered that on the night.

Clanadonia
Clanadonia

As it was a Freak night, good friends Clanadonia (left) were never likely to be far away, and they came, they played, they conquered. And unlike last time where they practically played in the dark we managed to get light on them this time. Not sure if that was a good thing though…

Formerly the Super Records, the recently re-launched Brand New Originals showed up, plugged in and played 5 stonking rock classics from yesteryear topping it all off with a frankly astonishing version of the Led Zeppelin classic Rock ‘n’ Roll. Do you want that played at your wedding? Of course you do!

Last up were Corra (below) with Rachael on vocals this time, rather than Jayne or Stacey, which means they can now take triple-bookings and for a wee lassie I reckon she could strip paint off a wall a hundred yards away purely by the power of voice. Another sickeningly talented stable of musicians, this lot can go from rock and pop classics to called Ceilidh sets in the blink of an eye and back again.

Corra
Corra

All in all a top night, and slightly less stressful for the Freak staff this time round mainly because we knew what we were taking on this time and it all came good in the end. That said, it’s usually after the event that the phone calls and emails start coming through from prospective clients and only three months or so until the next one. Watch this space.

 

 

 

More from Chris Mackinnon
The Vintage wedding fair comes to Glasgow
This Sunday, the Vintage Wedding roadshow stops off in Scotland’s largest city:...
Read More