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Award winner
Award winner thanks to recommendations from couples on WeddingWire.com.
  • 2025

The Brooklyn Beats

Spencer
Amanda
Roy
A
J

Recommended by 100% of couples

About this vendor


The Brooklyn Beats is the premier event and wedding band based in Brooklyn, New York, founded by music industry veteran Jon Shiffman. From 2005 to 2015, Jon spent most of his career on the road with Grammy winner Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde).

During this period, Jon played drums with Antonoff's band Steel Train, recorded with the Platinum-selling band Fun, and served as Music Director and Drummer for Antonoff's Bleachers. Jon's extensive experience includes worldwide tours, performances at festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, and appearances on late-night shows such as David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. His drumming is featured in various national TV commercials and the 2024 release of Paramount Pictures' Mean Girls movie.

Before leaving the touring life in 2015, Jon had already become a fixture in New York's private event and wedding band scene, working as a drummer, band leader, talent booker, and event producer for the region's top agencies and bands.

After more than a decade of collaborating with other bands and agencies, Jon realized he could offer clients top-tier musical performances with personalized "Mom and Pop style" customer service. His talent scouting and unique experience in mainstream music and private event production ensure that The Brooklyn Beats stands out as one of New York's premier event bands. The band features the most skilled and experienced performers from the New York area.

"I promise to treat every client and event as if it were my wedding or party. I understand the importance of music for clients, especially on one of the most important days of their lives." - Jon Shiffman, founder of The Brooklyn Beats.

Jon lives in NYC with his wife Abbe, their daughter Joanna, and their dog Bowie.

Links

Visit website

FAQ

Which of the following are included in your wedding reception music package?

Ceremony Music
Cocktail Hour Music
Learning New Songs
MC
Music During Breaks
Reception Music
Sound/PA System

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

Ceremony Music
Cocktail Hour Music
Learning New Songs
MC
Music During Breaks
Reception Music
Sound/PA System
Travel Expenses

Are you an agency or a band?

Band

How many musicians are in your band(s)?

7+

What genres of music does (do) your band(s) play?

Acoustic
Big Band
Blues
Classic Rock
Classical
Country
Dance
Folk
Funk
Hip Hop
Jazz
Motown
Oldies
Pop
Punk Rock
R&B / Soul
Reggae
Rock
Strings
Swing

What music services do you provide?

Instrumentals
Ceremony Music
Cocktail Hour Music
Learning New Songs
MC
Reception Music
Music During Breaks
Rehearsal Dinner Music
Vocals
Liability Insurance
Willing to Travel

What items are available?

Lighting
Microphones
Sound/PA System

Still have questions?

Reach out about anything you didn't see answered here—no question is too small!

Wedding couple

Reviews of The Brooklyn Beats

This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

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The Brooklyn Beats is highly praised by multiple reviewers for their exceptional performances at weddings and events. The band, led by Jon, impressed guests with their dynamic and energetic music, seamless planning, and professional communication. Reviewers commended the band for their talent, cooperative attitude, and ability to keep the dance floor packed all night long. Highly recommended for those seeking a world-class music experience at their event or wedding.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

The Brooklyn Beats is highly praised by multiple reviewers for their exceptional performances at weddings and events. The band, led by Jon, impressed guests with their dynamic and energetic music, seamless planning, and professional communication. Reviewers commended the band for their talent, cooperative attitude, and ability to keep the dance floor packed all night long. Highly recommended for those seeking a world-class music experience at their event or wedding.

Spencer
Spencer Sent on 07/18/2024
5 out of 5 rating

This band delivers!!!

We hired the Brooklyn Beats for our event after seeing them two weeks prior at another event. They were FANTASTIC. Great playlist, amazing arrangements, the band dressed to match the vibe, and they were very helpful during setup. Real professionals. We got a ton of notes the following day calling them out as being awesome. This band is a HIGH recommend for any event. Oh yeah... they brought us a bottle of champagne as a thank you for hiring them. Above and beyond!!!
Amanda
Amanda Sent on 01/16/2026
5 out of 5 rating

Best NYE Wedding Band

The Brooklyn Beats & working with Jon was the best decision we made as an add-on to our wedding on New Year's Eve 2025. We had a trio (singer, keyboardist, saxophonist) perform at our Cocktail Hour and they played throwback hits that performed so well and set the tone for our event. Sean crushed every song from Billy Joel to Jay-Z to Michael Jackson to Bruce Springsteen. The music was such a fun component to our beginning of the night. Then we had Matt on the saxophone come up to the reception and perform during the entire reception during select songs which he absolutely blew everyone away with - it was the talk of the night and one of the most talked about moments of the event, it was the perfect add-on with our DJ who played mostly hip-hop and EDM hits. The team was so willing to work with our DJ to integrate the saxophone and worked perfectly in the venue setting up the most amazing position next to the bar during Cocktail Hour. I could not recommend The Brooklyn Beats more for dynamic, fun, energizing and soulful performances for your NYC wedding!
A
Anna Sent on 11/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Best wedding band!!

The Brooklyn Beats is THE BEST wedding band you will ever work with. Seemless planning, thorough communications and the absolute best time on the dance floor. They navigated the venue and last minute setup issues with ease and brought the house down with their performance - not a lull in the dance floor for one moment, everyone was truly dancing the night away! Would hire them a thousand times over!
J
68E15F392A8790E6A14A78140Cc9507227B3919B Sent on 10/03/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic!

The Brooklyn Beats absolutely crushed it at our wedding last month. Jon worked with us to make sure the band played a bunch of our favorite songs and learned a few special requests for our formal dances, while also hitting a bunch of other classics that kept the whole family on the dance floor THE WHOLE NIGHT. I can’t even count the amount of compliments we received about them from guests.

The kitchen was a bit delayed for dinner, which ended up being a GOOD thing because we just got to keep dancing more before dinner!

Would hire them again and again to rock any party. Huge thanks to Jon and the rest of The Brooklyn Beats team!
A
Alex Sent on 08/19/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Best Out There!

The Brooklyn Beats were hands down the best party band I’ve ever hired. I produce a lot of weddings and events and this band stands out amongst the very crowded scene. The musicians are just amazing. Some of the most talented I’ve come across. Many of them have credits on major artists tours and albums. Some have performed on Broadway. Just an awesome group. They sounded great and play all the hits across every era of great music. They also have excellent medleys and set compositions, which creates a seamless flow and nonstop feeling to their performance.

They are not only incredibly talented performers, but true professionals. Communicative, flexible, and prompt. Jon was a pleasure to work with and made my life easy. I felt like they had everything fully under control which allowed me to focus on the other elements of the event.

All in all, I would highly recommend The Brooklyn Beats to anyone looking for a high energy, joyful, world-class music experience at their event or wedding.
A
Amy P. Sent on 07/06/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Best band ever!

The Brooklyn Beats were amazing. Jon was great to work with. Everyone was singing and dancing all night! Honestly they MADE the party! Run don’t walk to Brooklyn Beats! I would 1000 hire them again (and many guests asked for their information afterwards!)
Roy
Roy D. Sent on 06/26/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Jazz trio for cocktail party at home

Amazing job. used the Brooklyn Beats for cocktail hour and nice sit down dinner party at my house. We had a Jazz trio first played outdoors and then moved indoors and played on our piano. really made the entire event so special. perfect vibe setting by the band, great jazz and piano based classic rock which we requested. Would use them again and again. very reasonably priced as well. Highly recommended!
J
John Sent on 06/03/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Great Experience

Jon and the team were really great communicators. They helped us plan our wedding in May and made the process really easy, even traveling for the wedding and helping us get the timing right.
E
Erin Sent on 05/20/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing! What fun

The Brooklyn Beats were amazing at our upstate wedding in April! A family member connected us to Jon and he could not have been friendlier and more professional. We were blown away by their Demo video and instantly knew they had to be our band for our wedding.

To say that this was the best wedding band we’ve ever seen is an understatement!! The dance floor was completely packed all night and we just couldn’t believe the musical talent that was coming off that stage. Our guests couldn’t stop talking about them all night and still ask us about them to this day. Can’t recommend booking them enough!
B
Brian Sent on 05/01/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Best decision ever!

Do not sleep on booking The Brooklyn Beats! I’m positive this will be the most popular wedding band in NYC very soon! I was a big fan of Jon’s old band, Steel Train, and also saw him play drums when he was with Bleachers in 2015. Since then I’ve followed him on social media and when I heard he started his own wedding/event band, I couldn’t believe it lined up with me looking for a band for our big day! We debated a DJ versus a live band—but wow a live band is the way to go. They play every style of music which has everyone from your older relatives to your youngest friends singing and dancing for the ENTIRE night. The talent is unreal and the energy of a live band brings a night to a new level. Wish I could give more than 5 stars.
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Awards

11
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2025 Winner
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Team

Jon Shiffman
Jon Shiffman
Owner

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