Hiring a live band for your party

You can hire a band for your party in four steps: fix the date and the place, pick the kind of band that fits, ask for a proposal and agree the technical side with the venue. This guide goes through each step. Where we talk about De Peppers, we say so.

What does it cost to hire a band?

A band costs more than a DJ, because four to six people spend an evening on the road with their gear. A few figures from the market, with sources:

Read this table as a rough guide. These are indications from agencies and platforms, not rates. On what a cover band costs you can read which five things set the price of one band and how to compare two quotes fairly.

How far ahead should you book a band?

According to CBS, the Dutch statistics office, most couples in 2023 married in June (15 percent), September (14 percent) and May (12 percent). In those months many couples ask for the same Saturdays. That is why booking agencies advise booking 9 to 12 months ahead, and earlier for a popular band in high season.

A birthday in March or a company party in January leaves more room. Even then, send your request as soon as the date is fixed, with a few alternative dates if you can move. The full planning for a wedding is in booking a wedding band: timeline and choices.

Which band fits your party?

Broadly, you choose between three kinds of live music:

• An all-round cover band plays hits by many artists in one mix. Useful if your crowd wants everything from Dancing Queen to Mr. Brightside.
• A tribute band picks one artist and plays their songs as close to the original as it can. You know in advance what music you get. De Peppers is that kind of band: we play the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The difference with a cover band is in what is a tribute band?; more on De Peppers in booking a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band.
• A band with a DJ alternates live sets with a DJ in the breaks and after the last set.

Torn between live and a DJ? Read live band or DJ?, or take the quiz: which band fits your party?.

What to arrange with the venue

A band needs power, a level space, a loading route and an end time. Ask the venue in advance about a sound limiter: if there is one, it decides how loud the band can play. In what a band needs at the venue you can read why each point matters. The checklist for organisers lists every question for you to tick off.

By type of party

• Wedding: the couple picks the first dance and the songs that are off limits. See booking a wedding band and De Peppers at your wedding.
• Company party: the band plays around a programme of speeches and dinner. See a live band for your company party.
• Birthday or anniversary: a short surprise set or a whole party night. See a live band for your birthday.
• Village fete or fair: a crowd of all ages in a marquee. See a band for your village fete.

Hear them first, then book

A recording tells you how a band sounds in a studio. A night in a venue shows you whether the band can fill the floor. That is why we wrote the column don't book a band you haven't seen live. Want to see De Peppers before you book? Come to the show in Volkel.

More answers to single questions are in booking a band: the questions we get most. If you want to pick the songs that fill the floor, start with 12 songs that fill the dance floor.