Wedding Music Bands in Santa Barbara

Radio Prophets delivered an awesome performance. Great energy and a fantastic night.

Jon was AMAZING to work with. First, he loves his profession and it shows by the amazing musicians he brings & their energy!! Had a solo vocal/guitarist during cocktail hr, then a trio playing during dinner, and 7-piece band for dancing. Band has a versatile song list for you to review and highlight beforehand. The band created an amazing atmosphere for guests. Dance floor was always packed, even during the band’s break and the DJ mixed from our Spotify song list we put together (mostly, house & hip hop) Post-wedding, everyone kept remarking just how amazing the band was! I am so glad we found Jon / JSH music - not only because of the talented musicians but throughout the entire planning process Jon was always responsive, helpful and willing to adjust plans / terms as needed to accommodate our requests (I.e. added a solo vocal/guitarist for cocktail hr) Have no doubt when booking Jon / JSH that you’re setting yourself up for a fun and memorable event.

Sandy

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

I hired The Academy for my husband's 60th bday party and they had everyone on the dance floor from start to finish! Gus was so responsive, professional, and easy to work with and the band was fantastic. My guests (age range 20's to 70) could not stop raving about how great the band was and how much fun they had. I would recommend them to anyone and would use them again in a heartbeat!

Cindy

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

Thank you Justin & team for making our night extra special! Communication was top notch, from booking to event day. Justin went above and beyond and is a true “yes man”. Upon arrival to our venue, we could hear the band sound checking and our entire wedding party got so excited! It wasn’t until we hit the dance floor when I truly realized, this is the best wedding band I’ve ever heard (and how lucky they’re playing at our wedding?). From vocals, to sax, guitar, piano you name it, this band is super versatile and outputs an incredible sound - pure class! Thank you again Justin!

Nick was OUTSTANDING! He kept the party flowing beautifully, was warm, charming, professional, and well, charismatic! He had great suggestions for music, sent us CD's and lists of music he'd used in the past so we wouldn't have to go searching ourselves, and was open to anything we threw his way. He also did an amazing job for our ceremony and cocktail hour. We had a BLAST at our reception - I think we hardly sat down the entire night. Over and over again we've heard from our family and friends what a blast they had and we had Nick to thank for that. He kept the party moving, played just the right mix of songs, he was classy, and several of my single friends were checking him out... :-) We would DEFINITELY recommend him to any and all friends who ask for a fantastic DJ -- in fact, we already have!

EPIC! Professional, enthusiastic, kind, accommodating, versatile, extremely personal and without question one of the MOST TALENTED entertainer I have had the pleasure to work with. Thank you, Chris! Since 1985, my career has been multifaceted but I have always been in the entertainment world, travel & leisure. I have produced and hosted venues with thousands of people attending so when I tell you, HIRE Chris for your next event, rest assured the entertainment and music of all genres is taken care of. This was our wedding. Together we had waited over 60 years to marry. We were so grateful and appreciative that Chris was an integral person in our day. We choose to marry right before the holidays at the last minute and Chris was amazing with his availability and flexibility!! Chris even accommodated my wedding song list that he only received 48 hours prior to and he even learned a new song just for us! And, only a few days before Christmas! Thank you, Chris:) Chris is a perfect example of what the holidays are to be....sharing joy and giving..... Chris has no idea until he reads this review that our businesses include concierge and venues always needing professional musician's and he will be our first choice. Happy New Year Chris to you and your family and thank you for being a part of our family!

Michael

4.8 out of 5 rating

4.8

Highly recommend the Soul Cats for an amazing night that you will never forget. Going into our wedding, we knew we wanted live music, and especially a more classic soul/funk sound. The Soul Cats were that and so much more. They truly went above and beyond. For instance, we wanted a jazz trio for our cocktail hour, and Michael (Soul Cats bandleader) was able to arrange that for us. As professional tap dancers, we wanted our first dance to be tap dance to Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together,' and the band was able to learn it and coordinate playing it live with us. They even learned Hava Negila and arranged to have a friend of ours join and sing it with them. All and all, they put up with a lot of requests on our end and made it a fantastic night. If you're a fan of a classic sound, I can't recommend these guys enough.

‘The Sound Effect Band.” We really wanted to have a live band for our wine country wedding but finding a quality band was a real challenge. The internet was not near as helpful as it was for a lot of other wedding vendors, but in our search we had the good fortune to find ‘The Sound Effect Band.” We exchanged a few emails and traveled down to south bay to hear them rehearse. We were impressed by their sound, even in a private home without their lead singer. They were easy going, very amenable to our ideas and really worked to make their performance what WE wanted! They learned several new songs and provided music both for the ceremony and subsequent party. They read the crowd like the professionals they were and adapted music selection, volume and tempo to exactly what was needed. They were one of many features that made a wonderful night truly magical!

Platinum Groove did a phenomenal job at our wedding. They did it all- they did the piano for our ceremony, guitar for cocktail hour, and full 6-piece band for the reception. We were blown away by every song they performed- especially the ones we requested (At Last, Heaven, Landslide, Simple Man). The music sounded great and vocals were incredible, and they did a great job emceeing. There was not one person sitting in their seat once the dance floor opened up. They also incorporated a few prerecorded songs that we requested and did a great job with the timing and transition. Frank and David were great to work with- communication was easy and clear. This is now the 4th or 5th wedding/event they have played for my husband’s family and we still had guests come up to us after the wedding asking about hiring the band for their own events. I wish I could live the day over again just to be able to enjoy the music again!

Charletta and Seth provided us a fiddle and guitar duo playing delightful instrumental music for our wedding welcome meal picnic. They set up their own sound system at the perfect volume for guests to enjoy conversations and live background music.