Community› Local Wedding Boards› DC
DC
New Discussion

Steel drum player (or how to find a very specific sort of musician)

islandblondeislandblonde member
First Comment
in DC
My fiance and I met and fell in love during our six years of living in the Caribbean, so I think it would be a great touch to have a steel pan player do the music for our ceremony.

I'm having a difficult time finding one, and I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice -- either recommendations, or ways that I can find a musician who plays a very specialized instrument. I've looked at GigMasters and GigSalad, and there was a live music guy who works with our DJ who was trying to get us someone (at a very substantial markup for him -- so we told him no thanks. Unless you think $600 is what someone would actually charge for less than an hour of playing.) We've also got friends in the islands finding out if they know anyone who can locate a player for us.

We're fine with having a kid play -- in the Caribbean, kids learn steelpan in elementary school -- as long as it's a kid that will do a good job. But I'm not sure where to find these kids. I'm going to try to contact Caribbean student associations at the DC area universities, and I'm also going to try to get in touch with local cultural organizations.

Any other suggestions are more than welcome!
Report Reply to Post

Re: Steel drum player (or how to find a very specific sort of musician)

  • FtreVic7/19FtreVic7/19 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    When planning parties for work, I have used Peter Humphrey of Oasis Band. They were a big hit. Hope that helps!
    http://www.oasisbanddc.com/
    0 Invited image
    0 Yes image
    0 No image
    0 ? image
    Report Reply
  • villanosal8villanosal8 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We used Lennard Jack for our cocktail hour.  He was $300 an hour.  Everyone loved him!!!  He was great to work with- really relaxed and very responsive.

    http://www.lennardjack.com/
    Here is the email we used to communicate with him: marlene@lennardjack.com
    Report Reply
  • carlyanne05carlyanne05
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    This post is a bit late but I've heard the DC Pan Jammers at a few wine festivals - excellent musicians!  Here is their link...http://www.dcpanjammers.org/. HTH!
    BabyFruit Ticker
    Report Reply
  • islandblondeislandblonde member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you are wondering...

    We ended up getting several bids through my inquiry on GigSalad.com. They were all over the place, including a band from New York City that would perform for $500! (I'm getting married just outside of Baltimore. It's not like New York is anywhere close.)

    We got two that were feasible: one for $350 and one who did not quote a price. The $350 player never returned my phone calls or e-mails asking to talk more about what he could offer. The other player's manager quoted a price of $50. Then called back and apologized -- it would actually cost $100. And yes, we signed a contract with that player. We figured it would get no more reasonable than that, and his samples on his website were what you'd expect for a pan player this far north. (He is a longtime player from Trinidad, so we are getting someone who knows what he is doing.)

    Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help!
    Report Reply
  • chanty804chanty804
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    @islandblonde what is the link to the website on the player you will use?
    thanks!
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards