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Weddings

About

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Northside Brass Music Co. is a full-service music company providing live elegant melodies to charm any wedding day. Founded by Ryan Hobbs in 2008, this talented company of full-time professional musicians has set the tone for countless wedding ceremonies and receptions. With a choice of musical ensembles from jazz to string groups, couples can add a touch of sophistication to their special day.

Services Offered

The Northside Brass Music Co. brings a distinct wow factor to your special day. For those who seek a delicate ambiance, the company’s popular string quartet delivers a beautiful sound in any setting. Couples can choose between the jazz trio and jazz quartet for smooth tones that will blend seamlessly into cocktail hour. When it comes to covering every aspect of your wedding day, the company’s brass quintet fills up any room with their signature sounds. This five-piece ensemble performs a variety of genres including classical, jazz, and New Orleans-style brass band music. Keen to deliver you music that is in harmony with your special day, Northside Brass Music Co. services also include:

  • Seven-piece dance band
  • Lead vocalist
  • Learn-new-songs option
  • Instrumentals
  • Music during breaks
  • Reception music
  • Rehearsal-dinner music
  • A Sound/pa system and microphones

  • Black-owned
  • Asian-owned
  • Hispanic or Latinx-owned
  • LGBTQ+-owned
  • Native American-owned
  • Pacific Islander-owned
  • Veteran-owned
  • Woman-owned
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Frequently asked questions

Which of the following are included in the price of your most popular wedding package?

Ceremony Music
Cocktail Hour Music
Microphones
Sound/PA System

What ceremony music arrangements can you provide?

Brass - Trio
Brass - Quartet
Brass - Quintet
Instrumental - Solo
Instrumental - Duo
Instrumental - Trio
Orchestra
String - Quartet
String - Quintet
Soloist / Vocalist

How many musicians are in your band(s)?

4 - 6

What instruments does your group play?

Cello
Drums
Piano
Trumpet
Viola
Violin

What services do you provide?

Ceremony Music
Cocktail Hour Music
Instrumentals
Learn New Songs
Liability Insurance
Microphones
Music During Breaks
Reception Music
Rehearsal Dinner Music
Sound/PA System
Vocals

Reviews of Northside Brass Music Co.

S
Steve Sent on 09/24/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Northside Brass: an awe-inspiring component of our daughter's wedding

My daughter asked me to look into live music for her outdoor wedding in the loggia at Cafe Brauer. I cold-contacted Ryan Hobbs at Northside Brass and was immediately hooked. Ryan was responsive, pleasant and professional at all times. NSB has samples of its wide-ranging ceremonial repertoire on its website, so the wedding party was able to get a true sense of what we actually would be hearing at the wedding. On top of that, NSB is flexible: I was looking for the depth provided by the brass quintet, but my daughter wanted a trio piece as her processional; no problem, they arranged it for the quintet. The bride and groom wanted "their song" for the recessional; no problem, NSB found an arrangement and learned it. Another flexibility advantage of a brass choir (compared to strings): it's not fragile. While exploring our music options, we learned that the violins get put away pretty quickly if the weather is not to their liking, but the trumpets and tubas keep on playing. Also, brass instruments have the ability to increase the volume if necessary: we had a windy day, but every guest heard the music. It is hard to do justice in words to the joy and majesty that Northside Brass brought to this wedding. These guys simply knocked it out of the park. That was just part one. Part two was the cocktail hour for which they unobtrusively filled the loggia with a mix of jazz, standards and Motown. It's not like the UW Marching Band playing Sousa marches: these musicians are seasoned professionals who know how to set the right tone. The bottom line: a brass choir at a wedding takes everything to the next level, and Northside Brass exceeded our already-high expectations.
N
Nora Sent on 08/21/2018
5 out of 5 rating
Northside brass were so great to work with, and provided such wonderful service. They provided a string quartet for our ceremony and a jazz combo for our cocktail hour. Our guests raved about both groups of musicians. Everyone arrived early, handled set up and break down efficiently, and were just outstanding musicians. I would recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for just the right touch of live music for any part of their wedding.
D
Dawn Sent on 07/31/2018
5 out of 5 rating
Northside Brass and Strings did my daughter's ceremony and cocktail hour on 7/21/18. Extremely easy to deal with, reasonable price, and completely professional job. Not a moment of worry with them and the music was flawless. Highly recommend.
N
N Sent on 01/08/2018
5 out of 5 rating
Northside Brass was great, very easy to work with!
K
Kevin Sent on 12/02/2017
5 out of 5 rating
We had a brass quintet from Northside Brass play for our outdoor wedding ceremony at the Wilder Garden in Elmhurst. Ryan Hobbs runs Northside Brass, and he was also the lead trumpet player/director of the quintet at our ceremony. I dealt with Ryan throughout the planning process, primarily through e-mail, and he was always highly responsive and helpful in answering my questions. We chose specific tunes from a brass quintet wedding repertoire that Northside Brass has. Their repertoire was broader than other brass groups that we looked at, and pricing was also reasonable. Those factors, along with Ryan's responsiveness, helpfulness, and professional experience were the reasons we chose Northside Brass. We were very pleased with our choice!

When watching our wedding video, the brass music is one of the highlights, as it added joy, beauty, and class to the entire ceremony. We chose 5 tunes that were played as guests were arriving for the ceremony; a couple of tunes for the wedding processional; one for the bride's entrance; one during the ceremony; one for the recessional; and two for postlude music as guests left the ceremony. The wedding day went very smoothly as Ryan's group arrived promptly and set up efficiently in the perfect location for our specific wedding venue. We dreamed of having beautiful, uplifting brass music at our ceremony and Northside Brass made our dream come true!




T
Troy Sent on 11/22/2017
5 out of 5 rating
Amazing talent and very flexible to work with!
C
C Sent on 11/15/2017
5 out of 5 rating
Awesome group! Guests enjoyed the beautiful processional music at the ceremony and raved about the wide variety and top-quality songs played during the cocktail hour. We were very pleased with their talent and service!
W
Wendy Sent on 06/01/2017
5 out of 5 rating
We were absolutely thrilled with the music at my daughter and son-in-law's wedding. Sarah on trumpet and the string quartet all did a superb job! We are so grateful for their outstanding skill and artistry. And Ryan, you were the most wonderful person to work with on the music...you were responsive and flexible and SO fun to work with. The music really was flawless...we were overjoyed. THANK YOU.
M
Maria Sent on 09/24/2016
5 out of 5 rating
Northside Brass played at our outdoor ceremony in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Ryan was phenomenal to work with; they were also very flexible on our wedding day. Despite the rain, everything turned out perfectly. I walked down the aisle to Trumpet Voluntary; and it sounded so regal, just how I imagined. It truly blew our guests away. My husband and I received so many compliments on our ceremony as well as our cocktail hour. They played at our outdoor cocktail hour for an additional two hours, and our guests enjoyed every second! Thank you Ryan and Northside Brass for making our wedding day so beautiful!
K
Kora Sent on 09/15/2016
5 out of 5 rating
We booked the trio. They were very easy to work with and the music was beautiful!
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Awards

42
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2012 Winner

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