Ever been to a wedding with bad music and vowed you’d do better with your own? Here’s a list of trending bands and DJs to choose from.
Written by Zainab Faizal
What’s a wedding without good music? Music happens to be the soul and life of anything and of any occasion, it’s what brings out a great ambience, colour and complements the event itself and keeps the guests entertained.
This however doesn’t mean you can simply play your iPod playlist of 'Blurred Lines', 'Cake by the Ocean' or 'Moves like Jagger' and dance to your own tunes at the wedding, especially if you have older relatives, little kids and your boss in the crowd!
That’s why it’s important to leave this to the professionals and a carefully selected playlist. You can have a personalised playlist that flows well from the procession at the church/poruwa to the bridal dance at the reception. The music should set the mood and go in line with the sort of celebration you’d be having.
Sri Lankans are generally into live bands. There is never a wedding reception without a good DJ or a live band to keep you on your toes.
*These statistics were published in St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine in 2003. Sources : Simmons, 2001; USA Today, 2002; National Bridal Service, 2001; The Knot, 2002; Brides Magazine, 2001.
Magic Box Mix Up
“What we play is alternative rock and pop and we usually play at regular venues. As of
now, you can catch us at the Long Bar at Waters Edge and we also do weddings. Our only focus is English music, we don’t do baila or other languages, therefore we play for a lot of foreign weddings. Our music ranges from the 80s to the newer tunes.”
– Shameen
Price - LKR 150000 upwards inclusive of sound and transport
Contact number – 0774457383
Lunatics
“Basically, we are people who play for the crowd, the kind of music people enjoy and listen to. We play new music and the kind of music that get you nostalgic and bring out the good memories. We also play RnB, commercial and progressive alongside the 90s hits.”
– Dawood
Price – LKR 25000 upwards
Contact number – 0776222236/ 0775287394
Sohan and the X- periments
“We do a lot of weddings at five star hotels and we focus on a complete mix of music especially since we get different crowds at the wedding - from the young to the old therefore we play a mix of English, western, oriental, baila. We cover the whole event, from the beginning where it's required to play light instruments and then eventually move on to western. All sorts of genres are covered depending on the crowd and the clients' requirements. There are times when clients want a few artists too, or a DJ and we can arrange that as well and we also pay special attention to music when it comes to the couple’s first dance and the father daughter dances.”
– Sohan
Price – LKR 100000 upwards
Contact number – 077 736 3416
Gypsies
“When it comes to weddings, we do all sorts of music from Sinhala, English, Tamil or even Hindi. It’s all up to the clients' requirements and sometimes we also include old Sinhala favourites.”
– Sunil
Price – LKR 325000 upwards
Contact number – 011 2 605969
Marians
“Nalin and the Marians is a 9 member band and we normally play 70s, 80s retro music and we also bring in modern music. We use acoustic instruments and do a variety of songs in different languages."
– Nelum
Price - LKR 300000 in Colombo limits
Contact number - 0717 316 216
Cosmic Rays
“We are a dance and a wedding band and we play music like Tom Jones, James Brown, Gypsy Kings and any top singers who are retro, also a little bit of pop like Michael Buble. We also focus on oriental and are a five piece band.”
- Tyronne
Price – LKR 90000 upwards
Contact number - 0777762520
Nalin and the star combination
“We are very versatile with lots of experience and we mostly play sing along songs. Our focus is on 60s, 70s music and yet we also cover the new ones.
There are times when the clients prefer to have the full band or little of it as well.”
– Nalin
Price – LKR 45000 upwards
Contact number – 0777611037
DJ ASH
“We play all kinds of music - from the latest to both old and new Sinhala, English as well as Tamil music.”
– Ash
Price – LKR 12000 upwards
Contact number – 0778070002
Ultra Vibes entertainment
"We play music depending on the crowd. We've got RnB, hip hop, trap, tropical, EDM and even Baila."
- Tharindu Dayamantha
Price range - LKR 15000 upwards
Contact number - 0712345150 / 0754929810
Cool Jays Entertainment
“We generally do all types of music, however it depends on the crowd and the playlist is decided after identifying the crowd – if they’re young or old. We do have wide selection to choose from.”
– Chamila Perera
Pic courtesy - www.cooljays.lk
Price range – LKR 15000 upwards
Contact number – 077 768 0366
Glory
“We are known for a musical style that combines elements of Pop, Classics, Rock n' Roll, Soul, Funk, Classic Rock, R&B, Reggae, Country, Rumba Flamenco, Blues and Jazz. We equally associate all music genres and styles. We also cover songs in acapella form, something that is not seen in the Sri Lankan band culture.”
– Glory
Pic courtesy - www.facebook.com/getgloryfied
Price range – LKR 145,000 upwards
Contact number – 077 6116670
Doctor
“We play mostly pop music, and towards the end, we add the Sri Lankan element of baila. It’s usually pop, but then again, this depends on the crowd. As for the classics, we play 80s, 90s as well as the newest songs.”
– Lanthra Perera
Pic courtesy - www.facebook.com/Doctor.SL
Price range – Price on request
Contact number – 077 388 5060
