Why Book A Soul Party Band Or Soul Singer For Your Event?

If you're looking for live music that will radiate good vibes and the feel-good factor at your party, then soul bands and soul singers are the ideal choice for you! Expect to hear smooth, uplifting soul, motown and r&b classics, as well as the new modern soul chart hits when you book any of Alive Network's soul bands and soul singers - they're best in the UK!

Give your party the feel good factor with a live soul band, the ideal party band to give your guests a great evening of smooth moves and fabulous songs. From the music of Motown to the soul of the Southern USA, soul bands play timeless hits and modern classics that always share the luurve!

What is soul music?

Soul music blends the vocal of gospel, the infection beat of RnB, and adds the excitement of jazz into what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame calls "a form of funky, secular testifying"! At Funky Buddha Band we can testify to soul music's unique effect to get everyone up and dancing, regardless of age or talent. As one of Funky Buddha Band's most talented soul singers Lady Motown says:

"Motown music truly has that 'feel good' factor and gets all ages dancing - from 5 to 75!"

Sizing up to soul

Soul bands come in all sizes, from Lady Motown's acclaimed solo performances, to a versatile and 5 piece line-up who "Play That Funky Music" with style and energy. Many smaller soul bands can expand their line-up for larger venues and parties, usually adding extra vocalists, a brass section or a sax player. Regardless of their line-up, soul bands will prove irresistible, as Chris from soul and funk band Informer explains:

"An awesome live band performing great Soul and Funk music is a formula guaranteed to make your guests hit the dance floor. Old classics or modern hits, this is funky music that everyone will want to dance to!"

And it's not just parties; soul bands are ideal entertainment for all kinds of events, as Amy from popular band, Soul Education suggests.

"Soul bands really do seem to be the ultimate answer for top quality evening entertainment; they are the 'go-to' option for most high profile/top end events for clients around the world. Soul bands are the best crowd-pleasing solution when catering for audiences of mixed tastes and generations."

Soul music and beyond

Soul party bands for hire don't just play soul music; they also play the greatest hits from all sorts of other musical styles, including chart classics. For example, Birmingham-based soul band After 8s performs an awesome mix of modern and classic funk, soul, Motown, disco, Rock ‘n Roll, RnB and even house anthems! Amy from Soul Education agrees that this mix of music is key:

"Although most bands have their roots in soul and disco, nearly all of them will branch out and cover a huge amount of top 40 hits, as well as other legendary classics from different genres. It's all about pleasing as much of your audience as possible. Our standard Saturday night set includes anything from Chic to Michael Jackson to Katy Perry to The Killers, so it's a real mix!"

Soul bands: from Wembley to your wedding!

Many of the party and soul bands at Alive Network are actually made up from top session musicians, who work alongside some of the greatest names in the music industry both in the studio and live on tour. Soul bands are therefore a superb choice for weddings where you want the very best music played live for your guests. What's more, the band can play you an absolute barnstorming classic for your first dance together; wedding soul band, After 8s suggestion list includes:

Al Green – Let’s Stay Together
Ben E King - Stand By Me
Bill Withers - Lovely Day
Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are
Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacher Man
Otis Redding - [Sittin' On] The Dock Of The Bay
The Temptations - My Girl

And there's more…

Why not make the most of your soul band by adding a few extras? Some soul bands such as Informer offer a live 60-minute lounge set, perfect for your drinks reception or cocktail hour, before they appear again with the rest of the band for the evening party. Soul Education offer free music played inn between their performance sets, so the party atmosphere never dips. Lady Motown is available as: a solo artist with her own high quality backing tracks; a live duo or trio, or with a four-piece band; a Motown Era or Diana Ross tribute and as a James Bond theme music singer. She even offers an add-on Motown Diva DJ Service - now there's a talented lady!

Booking your soul band with Funky Buddha Band

Hiring a soul band like Funky Buddha Band for your event, party or wedding couldn't be easier. Simply click on the contact page, watch our videos and be amazed by the sheer variety of songs in our set lists.

And if you're still unsure of soul

We couldn't resist finishing with this story of soul music reaching out across the age divide, as told by soul diva Lady Motown:

"A mother come to me in tears once at a wedding. Her 18 year old son had been making some moves on the dance floor to a Marvin Gaye song. She told me he was usually very shy and it was the first time since he was 6 years old that she'd seen him dance in public! She was so happy"

HOW LONG SINCE THE LAST BLOG!!!!? ... well take it as a sign that we have been really REALLY BUSY!

It is true, we have been busy gigging all over the country playing at weddings, functions and corporate events these last 6 months.  I've taken a load of photos on gigs and will include some in this update.

So, throughout December we were the host band for Best Parties Ever.  We were based at Syon Park and London Docks; two great bands got the party going every night starting off with a combination of cool jazz and chillout music followed by our new party set. 19 gigs in 24 days was hard work, we played our socks off, but it was great!  

2014.... Happy New Year! yes I know it is rather late.  On January 4th we got straight back to it and played at Finsbury Town Hall, what an amazing stage it was... see photo below.  We've been to Dartmouth, London, Chichester, Essex, Hitchin and our wonderful hometown BRIGHTON!  I don't have all the photos here and now but I will look them up and add them on.  We've added in a few new songs too including: Happy, Lose yourself to Dance, Get Lucky, Lets dance, Everybody Dance, Waiting all night plus a few more I can't think of here on the spot!

I've been busy on the piano too, playing at weddings and functions, check out the mirrored piano at The Dorchester

The stage at Finsbury Town Hall

The dancefloor at Syon Park

Our home for December - stage at Syon Park

The London Docks band

A piano fit for Elton John (The Dorchester)

Wedding party goers!

Funky Buddha get the party going at the 2013 Print Awards in London!

We were delighted to be invited to play at the 2013 Print Awards in London this week.  Our 7 piece party band did an hour of cool jazz and chillout music over drinks and canapes as well as 2 hours of full on party music.  Special thanks to all the staff at The Grovenor Hotel in Park lane for looking after us so well throughout the evening.

The ceremony

Enjoying a boogie after

Funky Buddha Adventures...

We've been busy playing a a great set of weddings and parties since the last blog, and have met so many lovely people and seen some great places too!

There were great views playing at the walled garden in Cowdray park

Cowdray Ruins

And Josie and Mark got married at the Dome theatre in Worthing, what a great venue looking out to the sea and full of character.

Buddha boys at the Dome before playing

There were fantastic views at Lyme Regis!

Lyme Regis - a walk before playing at the theatre.

Abi gets the party going at Lyme Regis theatre

Hot Hot Hot! an amazing summer of gigs

I know the purpose of a blog is to keep everyone up to date with what we've been up to, but my blogs are a bit like my diary ... occasional!  I'll work on it :)

So then, what's been going on? we have played at 40 weddings and events since my last blog in June (which may account for the absence of updates here).  It's been a great year, but this summer has been my favourite, we have met so many great people and played at some wonderful locations, how about this for a view...

Studland

And here are the guests enjoying a boogie to Funky Buddha - this looks like a slow dance!

There has been a lot of traveling around the country, and it does sometimes feel like a bit of a road trip, but as long as there are rewards along the way we are happy...

Huw and Kelly

You may know that Funky Buddha comes in different sizes, mostly people opt for the 7 piece band, but this summer the 10 piece band has also been popular.  It's a GREAT sound with 3 singers and 3 horn players.  We had a fabulous night at Hendon Hall

Hendon Hall

Richmond Hill Hotel

Tithe Barn - Ditcham

Buddha Ladies

I have so many photos - but alas I can't always remember where they were, so if by any chance you read this blog and recognise yourself or your friends then let me know.  Here are a few to get started with...

Busy Busy Busy Buddhas!

Well a lot has happened since the last blog - it's been a long time, we have been playing at weddings, parties and functions every weekend since January - honestly.

In between performances we have rehearsed up some great new songs that are now included into our party sets; they have had audiences jumping up and down, dancing the night away and shouting 'More More More!' when we finish.

We've been playing all over the place, there have been weddings in Norfolk, Derbyshire, Cornwall,Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Northampton, London and a few performances in our home city Brighton.  It's been great fun and we've met so many lovely people on the way. We also played at Epsom races for 2 days last week - already booked us for next year! Thanks to all the staff for looking after us so well and to the guests for their endless enthusiasm.

I've been busy playing solo piano for wedding ceremonies and over drinks/dinner, and have a chance to play on some wonderful pianos too which has been a bonus!   Our jazz option is turning out to be very popular - we included this last summer at a discounted price when people book us for the evening and I'm pleased to say that we will be continuing to offer this for the foreseeable future.  Our options are very flexible, Kelly and I have been performing solo piano and voice at weddings and Mark is busy playing guitar for weddings too.  Buddalicious has been busy too - this option is great for smaller venues as it's a 3 piece band, but still has all the great Funky Buddha backing playing along with the live music.

I've taken a lot of photos on the way which I'l attach to this blog - you may see yourself dancing in them!

Happy New Year!

Mark

Jim - roamed around Battersea power station playing solo sax to arriving guests

Happy New Year!

so it's been a very very busy time... LOTS of parties and even a few Christmas weddings.

Huw (and drums!)

Throughout December we played at parties and weddings - including a contract with Best Parties Ever at Battersea Power station.  The theme was 1920's (as you can see from our outfits!).  It was great fun - playing jazz as guests arrived, throwing in a couple of cheeky Christmas classics during dinner and finishing off with our much loved party set!  

We also played at the Royal Holloway University - photos to follow.... beautiful beautiful wedding and some VERY good dancing too!  




AND weddings in.... Cornwall... Kent.... Sussex2012 finished in style playing to a great audience on New Years Eve.... then REST!  But, not for long as we are preparing some new exciting songs for this year.  The next showcase is in March, you could come and have a listen for yourself.

View of the dance floor as we played

Abbie 

Looking up!

Me - given size 10 boots and a hard hat to wear as we load in..... 

View from inside

Looking good in 1920's dress