Our Expert Advice
Having performed at thousands of events, we are good at identifying what makes a party rock…
Avoid venues difficult to access
Try to book a venue that has good access, particularly the performance area. Being able to park our van close to the venue entrance would be a great start. However, If we have to carry heavy equipment up a dozen flights of stairs and along miles of corridors to get to the stage, we will be knackered even before we start. If your party is on the seventh floor it is not a problem, providing there is a large enough lift with an adequate weight loading.
Avoid venues with a sound limiter
Some venues are near or in residential areas. In order to keep their music licence, they have to keep the noise levels down. Many venues will not tell you this until after you have booked the hall. Very often the disco and even a crowd cheering can trigger these sound-limiters, automatically cutting off the electricity to the disco and bringing the party to a grinding halt. If this happens, the dance floor will be plunged into darkness and many DJs will have to re-boot and re-program their music system. This could possibly damage our equipment, meaning we may not be able to carry on. If we have to hold-back and soft pedal to avoid triggering the sound limiter, you will not be getting the best value out of us.
Try and find a hall/room that sounds good
A nice cosy sounding room (for instance with carpets, and soft furnishings) makes the music sound better and is generally conducive to people being able to dance, talk and laugh more easily. A big, echoey room (for instance hard floors, bare walls and very high ceilings) makes the music sound chaotic and echoey and makes dancing, talking and laughing together less comfortable. If the room sounds like a big, echoey nightmare, so will your party
Make sure the hall/room isn’t too big for the number of guests you have
If you have invited 100 people, a room designed for 75 people will feel full, atmospheric and exciting, a room for 200 people will feel half empty and lifeless. Go small or go home.
Make sure the bar and dance floor are in the same room
When the bar is separate from the dancefloor, people tend to linger in the bar area, leaving the dancefloor empty. However, when all guests occupy the same space, a livelier atmosphere is created, as dancing becomes infectious. This is especially evident in summertime events held in venues with outdoor areas. Despite the DJ’s skill, their ability to engage guests is limited by spatial dynamics.
Don’t over-manage the music
While we prioritise playing your favourite songs, we also consider the diverse preferences of our guests. If the dance floor is filled with fans of older classics, we may spontaneously add a few additional older songs to accommodate their tastes, ensuring everyone enjoys the music.
