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About

James Wist steel drums is a wedding musician based in Key West, Florida. Musician James Wist plays acoustic steel drums with clear bell-like tones for wedding ceremonies and vow renewals, and to set the mood for wedding proposals. His sounds range from the modern to traditional romantic, adding backup music that he recorded for a full band sound. James will work with couples to match their tastes and preferences.

Experience
Owner and musician James Wist grew up in Chicago and holds a bachelor's degree in music from DePaul University School of Music, where he played classical guitar. He also holds a master's degree in bass from the University of Miama, and performed on a cruise ship where he worked with several musicians for seven years. In 1988, he moved to Key West and has since performed for more than 900 weddings.

Services Offered
James Wist steel drums plays instrumental solos with his steel drums. He can perform during the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and/or rehearsal dinnner, as well as providing music during breaks. He provides his own sound/PA system and has liability insurance.

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Reviews of James Wist steel drums

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Samantha Sent on 04/23/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Loved the steel drums!

We found Jim through Chris Thomas (leader of our reception band.) Having steel drums play for our ceremony was such a unique and cool sound that really reflected the atmosphere we were in. Jim did a great job and played all of our requests!
PBiazinha
Paula Sent on 05/18/2018
5 out of 5 rating
James was a five star!! I kind of wish my guests had taken longer videos of him playing. As a bride, I did not have much time to enjoy him playing but I keep hearing how great he was and how perfect his songs and our choice of music was for our beach wedding. He is very professional and responsive. From contracting until the day of, everything went very smoothly.
I would absolutely recommend his services! Thank you James!
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Stephanie Sent on 02/16/2018
5 out of 5 rating
James Wist was fantastic! He was affordable and played amazing! It really made me feel like we were in paradise with the steel drums. He was professional, punctual and great at communicating with me. Thanks James!
Christina
Christina Sent on 06/01/2017
5 out of 5 rating
James was great! Responsive and professional and played an amazing ceremony and cocktail hour. He even learned the Star Wars theme to play for our recession from the wedding ceremony. The day-of was super seamless, he set up at our outdoor venue in Key Largo and the music sound, volume and quality were great without me having to hear a thing about issues or even potential issues. Thanks James! I just might want a recording of that Star Wars as I was so involved in the moment -- the dip kiss from my sailor husband and the crowd cheers -- I almost forgot to listen to our special song ;)
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Christine Sent on 01/19/2017
5 out of 5 rating
We used James to play steel drums for an hour and a half at our wedding and then we used his speakers to play our own speakers for the rest of the evening. He was prompt with any questions and responses. I would recommend his services to anyone.
Kristin
Kristin Sent on 11/25/2016
5 out of 5 rating
James Wist was so awesome- our guests loved it! So happy we decided to go with steel drums as our music for our sunset beach ceremony. It just went together perfectly and James is truly a pro at the steel drums. We were able to choose songs from his vast collection for James to play leading up to the ceremony and of course the processional/recessional. I wanted a specific, newer song for the bride processional and he was able to play the song through speakers and play steel drum background along with it. It sounded great! So easy working with James and glad we chose him to play our ceremony.
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Tanya Sent on 04/16/2013
5 out of 5 rating
Jim Wist played the steel drums for our ceremony and cocktail hour. He was great! After cocktail hour he let us use our iPod on his sound system for the music for the rest of the evening, which turned out perfect. I would recommend Jim Wist to anyone looking for relaxing island music for their wedding day in Key West! His rates are extremely reasonable!
Thank you! Tanya and Dave
Kristen
Kristen Sent on 09/11/2012
5 out of 5 rating
James was excellent !! He was a pleasure to work with and his music was beautiful. Everyone loved having him play during the ceremony and cocktail hour! It was perfect for our laid back wedding and really set the tone for the wedding. I would HIGHLY recommend James for any event. He was great!!
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Jillian Sent on 04/28/2012
5 out of 5 rating
My guests loved that I had a steel drummer for my beach wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. James was fun and kept the whole tropical laid back experience going. My husband is a HUGE star wars fan so I asked James if he could play the imperial march as soon as we said I DO. It was so cool hearing the imperial march set to steel drums. My husband got a tear in his eye when he heard the surprise that we set up for him and all of our friends and family cheered. It was AMAZING. Jim is awesome. Brides to be I strongly recommend a steel drummer for your beach wedding it is a choice that you will be glad that you made. Thank you James :)
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Jennifer Sent on 06/03/2010
5 out of 5 rating
James Wist was awesome! I am only sorry that I was getting my pictures taken during cocktail hour so I could not listen to him longer! We found him on the web but he was also highly recommended by our wedding planner and by our venue. His steel drum playing is absolutely beautiful and totally set the mood for our wedding. He also also was great for special requests (my husband wanted the cantina music from star wars) and he did it beautifully!! Very professional and quick getting back to you with emails and phone calls. Highly recommend him. We had a DJ for the reception so we had James for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Very reasonably priced and worth every penny!
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