I need to hire some musical talent for a private party in a couple months in the Phoenix area.

What kind of group can I get for $20k?
Any suggestions on talent booking groups?

Any thoughts or help welcome. Thanks.

Most bands charge way more for a private event than they would a normal club show. You're not going to get a big name for $20K. What type of music are you looking for?

Buddy had a band out if Austin called 3 Chord Rodeo that was pretty good little band. Cost was about 1k.

my buddy new inlaws flew REK and band to Ohio for his wedding- just a tad more than 20k

you can get the Dan Band for 40k which would be cool

Was his fee $20K? Did they have to pay travel expenses on top of that? Curious because that number seems pretty low for REK.

Nom de Plume said:

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I need to hire some musical talent for a private party in a couple months in the Phoenix area.

What kind of group can I get for $20k?
Any suggestions on talent booking groups?

Any thoughts or help welcome. Thanks.

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This was ages ago, but I could book a regional headlining act for a $10k guarantee and nothing else when I was booking NXNG/NGMF.

$20k should get you plenty. If there's anyone you're thinking of in particular, just try reaching out to them on social media and they'll likely refer you to their agent.

I would love to book Old 97s for my 10 year anniversary. Our first dance was to Question.

This was 18 years ago, but we booked a well-known Texas act with songs currently on the chart for around or less than 10k for our wedding. I figure with today's cost you could get a pretty great band for 20.

Georgia Sattelites sounds like a total blast.

Independence H-D said:

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I booked the Georgia Satellites at the Hall of Fame 15 years ago or so for a Harley Davidson event for 10k.

Still had a little change in my pocket.

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Going jing-aling-a-ling?




Edited because I got excited and posted immediately without seeing I was beaten to the punch. That had to be an intentional set up!

How do you actually contact the artists though? Just through their websites?

Isn't this what the Fyre Festival guys were trying to solve originally? Maybe they released their app...

Through their management and/or booking agents.

I'm always curious as to how much completely washed-up, but still widely-known bands/singers make annually (someone like Air Supply or The Bangles, for example)?

You probably won't be able to get a band you've heard of, but you can get someone pretty good. I'd just look for some good local cover bands. Also when booking you need to see if they have their own sound equipment or if you need to provide it.

We hired the 12 South Band out of Nashville for daughter's wedding a few years back. They were entertaining and got several return engagements for member-guest tournaments based on that one performance. At the time they were well less than $20,000.

We looked into this - try these sites

https://www.celebritytalent.net

https://www.aaemusic.com/lists/hottest-country-artists/

Flatland Calvary you could get $15K to $25k

I think corporate events is pretty much all Train does anymore.

I'm curious, what kind of band do you want? Seth James is a Aggie you might hire. Great artist. Great band at the moment. Just depends on the style of music you want, and or if you just want a cover band. You can get a heck of a local cover band for 20k, or a great artist playing their original music. Kinda depends on the vibe you're looking for.

If the money is right, you can get the Elton John. He played at a house in the Woodlands a few years ago.

I know of a guy who hired ZZTop for his birthday.

Ye is probably good for twenty

My elementary soccer coach had Johnny Cash play at his wife's bday.

Aging rappers can be had for way less than $20k. Coolio was surprisingly cheap to hire for a fraternity party a few years ago.

Did he have any crazy demands for his performance?

Definitely Not A Cop said:

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Did he have any crazy demands for his performance?

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Not really, cover bands like LC Rocks were much more demanding.

Follow some bands/musicians you like on facebook and instagram, they talk about their booking agents some.

Call the booking agent and tell him what you want/have to spend.

If the band/musician has a booking agent, you still end up having to go through them to get them to play and the agent directly might be a bit more help on sourcing the music you're looking for.

We booked Mark Chesnutt seven years ago for a private party at $15k. Acoustic with band, no drums, but still fun.

The Internet says you can book the Dan Band for $15,000 + travel expenses. So there's your answer.

malenurse said:

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Independence H-D said:

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I booked the Georgia Satellites at the Hall of Fame 15 years ago or so for a Harley Davidson event for 10k.

Still had a little change in my pocket.

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Did it go jing a ling a ling?

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Keep yo hands to yo-self.

If I'm in your shoes...

I'm looking for concerts that are happening in your general locale. Most bands contracted have terms that prevent them from performing within 50 etc miles within days of their performance. So... look for shows happening a fgew days before... a few days after your event.

Likely the band's costs are reduced when they play a number of local shows. They're already near you... so transportation costs should be very minimal.

Once you've found a band that could venture over to your event, between other local (Think: SoCal-ish... an dneite region) shows... reach out to their management for the fee and rider.

Good luck.

Who was it that brought Kurtis Blow around that time frame? Maybe like 04? He had a couple of break dancers with him and he did The Breaks and Basketball for a small crowd over by the MSC fountain. It was pretty awesome but the only reason I knew about it was because I happened to be walking by.