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Cost of a live Band?

drdifabiodrdifabio member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul
I know there have been a couple posts recently that have listed bands that you all have used for your weddings.How much is a typical price for a live Band to play at your reception?My FI and I love live music, but have kind of a tighter budget so are trying to figure out if we can fit live music in...I also want to have a reasonable price in mind before I contact any bands.TIA!
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Re: Cost of a live Band?

  • kclepirekclepire
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    A co-worker of mine had a band at their wedding and we asked them how much it was and they paid $7k for theirs.  Not sure who it was or how big the band was.  We asked another couple we know and they had one for $4k.  We then didn't look anymore as that didn't fit in our budget, but I'm sure you could find one for much cheaper - maybe.
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  • kclepirekclepire
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oops that 4k should be $3k.check out gigmasters.http://www.gigmasters.com/Search/Wedding-Minneapolis-MN.html
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  • may2010weddingmay2010wedding
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We wanted to have this band that we go see quite often and they were about $2500 for a wedding. That is when we decided to just go with a DJ.
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  • 2beMrsD2beMrsD member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I think it really depends on the band.  I had $2000 budgeted for a band, and was able to find 3 contenders that we liked (Also, we're in Central MN, so we needed to include travel). Let me know if you want any info on the bands under/right around $2000.
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  • mofemofe
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We got a deal with our band. 7 piece band and it was $3200.  I think MetroJam charges around that much as well.
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  • hjh444hjh444 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My cousin I believe got DiamondBack for 2500$ which i thought was very reasonable for a fairly well-known band
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  • flower_loverflower_lover member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The cost of the live band varies A LOT depending on how many people are in the band and how long they are playing. We had a 3-piece band for (I believe) 4 hours and it cost around $1000.Somebody above posted the Gigmasters link, and I really recommend checking it out. We found our band through that site, and it lists the prices that bands charge. It's also a great site because it has reviews from people who have hired the band. Our band had gotten rave reviews and they were right on, they were outstanding, one of the top vendors at our wedding.
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  • jaramlerjaramler member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We're having PopLuxe (more info in my bio).  We negotiated to $2600 for the 7 piece band.  I've found that a lot of places/people are willing to negotiate, so it is worth a shot. Also, I learned after we booked them that the $300 deposit we paid goes to the booking agent, not even to the band.  So if you find a band that books themselves, you might save some money there. 
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  • tatinni123tatinni123
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We used a band called Big John Dickerson Band and they were $1500 for 4 hours. They were fantastic and you can go see them play before hand if you want. We went and saw them play at a local bar. Plus, my husband knows the lead singer, so we knew she would be fantastic!
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  • debbieupperdebbieupper member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We've got the exact same problem! Not sure if we can find anything affordable.2BeMrsD ... could you share the names of those under-$2000 bands you were looking at? That would be great!
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  • beckyrenbeckyren member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My husband is in the Twin Cities country band "The Hillbilly Mafia". They charge $1,700 for a wedding reception (give or take a couple hundred dollars depending on distance). You can hear/see them on myspace.com/thehbm or youtube. Email is thehbm@yahoo.com. They played for free at our June '09 wedding! =) You could also try contacting an agency or go direct to the band you want. Any band should be willing to work with a bride and groom..... Good Luck!
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