Wedding Bands including Traditional & Modern
A list of wedding bands in Northern Ireland 2024 who have hit the high notes and got the guests up dancing that have been at a wedding I've worked at.
Photo and screen grabs from videos. Keep in mind this isn't a best-of list or anything like that. A bit later in the evening the Kim and Charlie’s Lough Erne wedding's first dance started with the live band Atmosphere Wedding Band playing some class music, with the bridal party and families joining in afterwards which was great to see. I may write up a top 10 wedding band in the Northern Ireland section at a later date so stay tuned. If you are looking for a photographer for your wedding contact me.
Table of Contents
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Wedding Bands Northern Ireland
Many great wedding bands could be included in the top 10 wedding bands in Northern Ireland list so it would be impossible to go through them all on this blog.
Traditional Wedding Bands
A traditional wedding band gets the guests up dancing as they generally play traditional music which everyone knows. I would say if you are not sure what style or type of band to book then book traditional. Some wedding bands are Atmosphere Wedding Band, Mothers Little Helpers, The Untouchables and Fusion Band.
Atmosphere Wedding Band
Atmosphere Wedding Band was booked for the couple’s wedding in Lusty Beg Island in Kesh and they were fantastic from start to finish. The band is a three piece so not a massive band but any more than three band members gets a bit too big. They are located in Dungannon but travel all over NI.
From Atmospheres website …the perfect dress, the perfect venue, the perfect flowers, the perfect day with your nearest and dearest. So why should the night be any different? The greatest day of your life deserves the best entertainment so sit down and have a look through our website because your search has come to an end.…
As well as your wedding band have you booked your photographer or videographer? Contact me for any enquiries.
Mothers Little Helpers
Mothers Little Helpers was hired for the couple’s wedding in The Mill Ballydugan in Downpatrick, County Down. The best wedding entertainment in Newry was a surprise pre-recorded video on the projector by famous Irish celeb Nicky Byrne from the super Irish group Westlife at The Mill Ballydugan as Linda is a massive fan. Some great advice from the big man himself! Mothers Little Helpers was the wedding band and they didn’t disappoint as the first dance started with the bridal party and other guests joining in afterwards which was great to see.
From Mothers Little Helpers facebook page …are a four-piece live band, specialising in weddings, parties and corporate functions. The band name and business are owned and run by Shane and Brian Forsythe. The band has been entertaining audiences all over Ireland for many years and continues to grow in talent, repertoire and popularity… PLAY VIDEO below featuring Mothers Little Helpers playing and some of their music too.
Brian Giffen
The Untouchables featuring Brian Giffen is a five-piece wedding band performing all over NI and they have packages to suit all occasions from small to larger venues. I am not too sure if they have a reduced number of band members for smaller venues and then more members for larger venues so visit their website for more info. The band’s lead is Brian Giffen. Here’s some text from my blog post…
It was a great night’s craic as they also had a photo booth, DJ Startrax Disco and one of the best wedding bands The Untouchables featuring Brian Giffen. I was only there for a bit longer at Nicola and Phillip’s Crowne Plaza Belfast Wedding when the band started but what can I say wow! Had everyone up on the dance floor. From The Untouchables Wedding Bands website featuring Brian Giffen… Planning your wedding? Are you in charge of your company’s big event? Or maybe you want to bring the best band in Ireland and the UK. If so, then Brian Giffen and The Untouchables will ‘make it a night to remember!…
Fusion Band
Fusion Band is an exciting traditional wedding band. They perform a varied range of music for the evening reception from Rihanna to Dolly Parton catering for both young and older guests. The usual decades you’d expect aimed at this age group 1970s, 1980s, 1990s up to current.
Infinity The Band
Infinity The Band sometimes known as Infinity Wedding Band is an upbeat Irish band. The group started with Rory Madden on keyboards. Inspired by The Boogiemen Rory created Infinity and it didn’t take that long before the band achieved a top spot as Northern Ireland’s premier live 3-piece Wedding. Below are some photos of a wedding in Newry. As well as Northern Ireland they also play in Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Sligo, Louth, Leitrim, Meath and Roscommon.
2 Musicians for your Wedding
Some wedding bands only have two musicians in them so I assume they have backing tracks to accompany them
Justin McGurk and The Boogie Men
Justin McGurk and The Boogie Men are 2 piece live bands located in Cookstown but working all over NI and further afield. The lead is Justin McGurk who's a seasoned performer and the front man. Justin has recorded many albums and his music has been described as blending old with a new twist. They certainly had the guests up and dancing all night long at Katherine and Damian’s wedding in Glenavon Hotel as I filmed there. Very impressive indeed. PLAY VIDEO below featuring Justin McGurk and The Boogie Men playing and some of their music too.
Wedding Bands
Other notable wedding bands to consider are Infinity Wedding Band, Klass Wedding Band, Bitz n Pieces Wedding Band, Smooth Wedding Band, The Reckoners Wedding Band and Peach Wedding Band.
Wedding Band and DJ Package
These are wedding band and DJ packages in that perhaps a member of the band is also a DJ so they can stay and the rest of the group go. More information coming soon.
Wedding Bands List
So to summarise a list of traditional and modern wedding bands in Northern Ireland in no particular order are
Atmosphere wedding band
Klass wedding band
Bitz n Pieces wedding band
The band is a 3 piece made up of Barry Devlin as the lead also playing guitar and saxophone, Gerard Devlin on guitar and bass and lastly Niall keyboard and banjo. Barry and Gerard are father and son and have been performing for over 18 years
Smooth wedding band
The Reckoners wedding band
Peach wedding band
The Nooks band
The Just Adam band
The Collective wedding band
The Professionals
Wedding Band Guide
Some wedding band Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and a wedding band guide are listed below.
Is a wedding band worth it?
It is 100% without a doubt worth having a band at your wedding for various reasons. One of which is because there is great interaction between a live band and your guests. This can’t be replicated anywhere close by simply playing music through a laptop, CD or digitally. There is no comparison. If you can’t afford a five-piece wedding band that’s fine, what about a two-piece band?
What makes a modern wedding band?
There are a couple of things that make a modern wedding band. They need to be contemporary and modern (of course) playing up-to-date music possibly throwing in some old hits too. Maybe less of the piano organ type sound which NI and ROI seem to like although this is more for the older types rather than the younger people. The younger generation want modern not old fashioned.
How many pieces are good in a band?
It depends on how many guests you have at your wedding and how many pieces of wedding bands are good, it just really depends. For a smaller crowd, a two-piece may be ideal and would be cheaper and for a larger number of guests, a five-piece may be better. I’ve worked at a couple of larger weddings and a two-piece have played.
Wedding bands, a DJ or both?
It’s worth noting wedding bands usually play from 8-10 pm which is about 2 hours and then you have to source some sort of music for the rest of the evening with bands costing about £1,000 or more. So if you book a DJ afterwards from about 10 pm-1 am they play for that duration. Some bands have a DJ in the band that can stay so worth enquiring about this.
Wedding Entertainment
Wedding entertainment in Northern Ireland can vary depending on what kind of atmosphere you want to create ie fun, laid back, quirky, or something a bit different. Some ideas could be…
Waiters
Waiters are still a great form of wedding entertainment that can often surprise your guests and also get everyone up dancing and enjoying themselves.
Swing ie as in Frank Sinatra-type
A slightly older crowd might enjoy a swing and there is no better than Frank!
Music ie saxophone, harp
A bit less likely to get the guests up dancing but still quite enjoyable is a saxophonist
Fish and chip van
Hypnotist
There are a few hypnotists available and this helps fill in time and entertains too.
Caricature
Irish dancers
If your guests are mostly Irish they might enjoy Irish dancers.
Magician
Children’s magic show
One for the kids.
Cocktail making
Casino
This could be a lot of fun.