When your band hires a new singer... and she friggin sucks?

We only made a $100 deposit and it might not be too late to find a decent DJ… However, this was FH's ONLY wish for the wedding. He wants a live band.

This band has been around for 30 years (with the exception of the lead singers—the lead male singer is actually phenomenal). I know the owner/founder/drummer of the band and he is a very nice and usually professional guy but this whole experience did not sit well with me. I was mortified. I don’t know what to do!!

RUN! We had the same exact situation. We "hired" a band and then changed our minds to a different one. We never gave them a deposit or signed a contract but they changed their lead singer and we hated her. So we just found a different band and I feel 100% better about it. FH really wanted a band too so we just found a new one. You still have plenty of time, could you keep searching around?

Ahhh! That's what sucks.. it says right in the contract that they can't promise the lead singers on the date of the wedding because sometimes they make changes--and that's what I keep saying to FH and he is trying to convince me that "it will be fine" and "there is no way they are going to keep her".

Do I override him on this one?

Hell no! Nothing worst than a bad singer. That would ruin everything. I would talk to them and go another route. Seems like they are having internal issues.

Get outta dodge. Now.

The chances of us finding another band within our budget is very VERY slim. This is actually one of the more expensive bands in our area but we were able to get a deal since we knew the owner.

There are a couple of other bands that I've heard really good things about that I guess we can try to connect with and see their availability and pricing. Ahhhhhhh

@VM--that's what FH and FBIL said. That it was probably just a test run.

The lead male singer is so amazing but there is no guarantee that even he will be there by the time the wedding comes. It just seems so risky.

I think you should reason on getting the deposit back because you booked them wanting the original female lead singer, and with this new one they are no longer the band you'd like to have play at your wedding.

Maybe search for other live bands?

Was this at another wedding??

@Rosemary - I agree with having to approve of the singer the day of.. but if they have a terrible singer the day of, the chances of them being able to find someone else who knows all of the songs they will be playing are very slim. I JUST WANTED A DJ DAMMIT! ughhhhh

@Ally -- the only problem with that is it says in the contract that they cannot guarantee their singers. The lead male singer has been with them for like 5 or 6 years but he is AMAZING and I wouldn't be surprised if he moved to NYC or another big metro area to get a better gig.

@Raelyn -- no (thank God). It was at a restaurant/bar in our neighborhood.. they have live bands every Saturday and they were playing last weekend. FH thinks that maybe they were just trying to test her out but I don't know why they would be willing to risk their reputation with this woman.

Ugh - maybe hit up the next time they play and hope it's better??? sorry, this sucks!

ETA - you could always change the plan and go with a DJ? They tend to be cheaper.

I agree with Rosemary. Speak with your contact and tell them how appalled you were on Saturday. If they can't come back and guarantee the singers you want, I agree with Celia "get outta dodge!"

That's what FH wants to do.. I would honestly be fine if they didn't have a lead female singer for the day of our wedding and just had the male singer.. It just sucks that they can't guarantee us that he will stay with the band! sighhhh

@Raelyn -- that's what I want to do! I'm going to try to convince FH to do this..

Can this band now. Maybe there is a really good reason the lead singer left!

You've still got plenty of time! Maybe let them know you don't feel comfortable paying any more until they finalize their lead singer? Tell them their concerns, I know I'd want to know if people thought my new lead singer was crappy, and hopefully it was a test run/a random sub for a gig they already had.

Not that this helps, but I know at the bar I used to work at the bands wouldn't really get paid much, maybe $100, if anything. They would get like a $150 bar tab though so maybe that explains what went down with the keyboardist?

Can you speak with the owner and let him know your areas of concern?

I would start looking around for other bands, just to see their pricing and availability. Obviously in the time till your wedding she can learn all of the song lyrics and you can have a talk with the company to make sure they are professional on your wedding day, but you can't fix a bad voice!