There’s nothing quite so depressing at a wedding as a rubbish DJ or a lackluster wedding band. On such a celebratory occasion, you want to make sure you’ve got music your guests can dance to – not a DJ making cheesy interjections every couple of songs.
A swing band could be a perfect – and memorable – way to add some fun entertainment and something a little bit different to proceedings. It’s a type of music that it’s easy for even the most rhythmically impaired to dance to, and will go down as well with younger cousins as it will with your grandma.
Swing music dominated the US charts between 1935 and 1946 and was played by big bands led by some of the most famous bandleaders ever – think Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. It’s defined by an emphasis on the off-beat (the weaker pulse) of the music and finds its roots in the jazz music of the early 20th Century.
The style saw a resurgence in popularity during the 1950s and 60s, with artists like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole developing a style often called ‘swinging pop’, a more mainstream variation on the original sound.
In recent years, several new sounds in the swing genre have emerged, fusing contemporary sounds with the big band style. These include things like gypsy swing – a variant in which the band has no bass or percussion section, electro swing – which incorporates tango and electronic music influences and house swing, which was particularly popular during the 1980s and 1990s.
Dances, too, like the Lindy Hop have seen a popular revival, with classes and dances taking place in most major cities around the UK, as a social activity and a good way to get some exercise.
If you’re thinking of planning a swing band for your wedding, it might be worthwhile attending a few classes with your intended and getting the feel of the dance. If you’re going all-in on the theme, you could even engage a dance instructor to give your guests some brief lessons – but probably before the bar has been drunk dry!
It could be a fun way to break up a long evening reception and get all of your guests up on their feet and dancing.
For a modern feel to this style of music, why not look into the work of Swing Republic, available through their music agent MN2S. The group skillfully manipulates live and recorded sounds to create swing tracks unlike any other – they first started out remixing old swing tracks, but have since released their own original material.
The Danish band has sold tens of thousands of records around the world, and their fusion of modern looks with vintage and modern sounds makes them the kind of band your guests won’t forget in a hurry. Contact their booking agency, MN2S, to find out more about booking them.