A Complete Guide to Live Entertainment for Gala Dinners

For an event planner, there are very few decisions that matter as much as the decision about what type of live entertainment for gala dinners they should hire, especially since the performer or live corporate band will be responsible for the evening’s success or failure.

Liquid Blue Corporate Party and Dance Band Performing at a High-End Corporate Event

Green Light Bands has worked with the best corporate event bands and can say that when you hire the right act you can turn a ho-hum affair into something your guests will continue talking about for years. Then there are high caliber bands like Liquid Blue and Metro Music Club, a couple of the finest in the music business. In the pages that follow we’ll take you through the process of vetting and booking entertainment worthy of a standing ovation, getting into the contractual and technical specifics that other guides tend to overlook.

Metro Music Club: Quality Gala Dinner Music Followed by High Energy Dance Entertainment

The Tone is Set by Live Entertainment

The live entertainment is the first thing a guest will notice when they come to an event. And it’s also the thing from which all subsequent socializing will flow. A jazz trio in cocktail hour produces a sophisticated atmosphere, allowing everyone to feel comfortable. When a cover band starts playing after the meal they’re telling the room to get celebratory. The music can change people’s behavior, not merely stave off the quiet. An inexperienced event planner that hires the wrong type of music performer or band yields the atmosphere of the room to chance.

Corporate Party and Dinner Music Provided By Modern Retrospect

Eventbrite’s event industry research would tell you that live music is invariably one of the top things guests rate highest in an event experience. And the format says something about the brand: ambition is conveyed by a Top 40 band such as Modern Retrospect, while the tribute act Motones brings a certain warmth. The experienced event planner makes these calls with purpose.

Motones: Motown Band for Corporate Parties

Entertainment for a Gala Dinner That’ll Make an Impression

Corporate planners often just book what was booked last time. And this is certainly a good idea when the crowd went wild for the band or entertainment the previous year. However, if you’re looking for a live corporate band, and the one you hired the previous time didn’t keep the dance floor full, it’s time to switch things up this time.

Cover Bands: the Surest Way to Please

There’s no more dependable entertainment for a corporate gala than a good cover or party band. A DJ is no match for a well-drilled party band like Red Hot Revolution in terms of reading a room and making adjustments on the fly. They have a setlist that has enough range to put both the 28 year old in marketing and the 60 year old CFO at ease, the best of them have a repertoire from several decades.

Red Hot Revolution Delivers Dinner Entertainment and Corporate Event Dance Music

Green Light Bands has experienced cover bands made for this kind of environment, with professional presentation and a setlist of classic rock, Top 40 and more. At a corporate event with a multigenerational list of guests a band confined to one style is a risk. Take Rhinestone Rodeo who has played their country, pop and contemporary dance music to thrilled audiences the world over.

Rhinestone Rodeo: Providing Gala Dinner Music and After-Dinner Dance Music

What about Genre? Jazz, Motown and Yacht Rock?

Jazz ensembles are refined and should provide background music during the dinner and cocktail hours, leaving guests the ability to converse without having to raise their voices. For a corporate event a Motown act can be a great choice, the setlist being as familiar to one age group as another and putting a positive spin on the room. Yacht Rock can also be a solid pick for entertaining clients in an upscale setting – accessible yet polished.

Other Formats to Put on Your Radar

While music is the centerpiece of entertainment, it doesn’t need to be the sole live offering. You’ll find additional entertainment at many a high-end galas:

An acoustic duo or string quartet for the pre-dinner cocktails, giving way to a full band later on
A caricature or portrait artist during the cocktails
A mentalist or magician at the tables while dinner is being served
Something from a live painter who will unveil his work at the close of the evening

Making a Program Flow

Your program flow is the architecture of the event and the live entertainment should be its load-bearing wall. Too often a program is put together in isolation and the result ends up being lackluster. A proper gala dinner will run something like this:

Cocktail hour (45-60 minutes): a jazz trio or string quartet providing background music at a volume that’s inviting rather than imposing.
During dinner service (60-90 minutes): the soft music may continue or be put on hold for speeches, but the volume should be kept at a conversational level.
Program segment or awards (20-40 minutes): the music is paused and all eyes are on the stage. Make sure you have an explicit plan for this change with your band.
After-dinner entertainment (60-90 minutes): the dance floor is open and the full band brings up the energy.

Matching Music to the Moment: Cocktail Hour, Dinner and After-Dinner

It’s seen as the cardinal sin of scheduling when an event planner hires a high-energy band and then has them play softly at dinner. A party band can do this, but it’s not the best use of the band. A better way is to engage the full band only for after dinner and having other performers entertain for cocktail hour and the meal, say a jazz trio. This two-phase arrangement, which many bands are set up to do, gives the event a far superior feel.

Vetting Live Entertainment for Gala Dinners

It’s extremely easy to find live entertainment for a gala, but it’s very important to vet them properly. There’s a world of difference between a weekend hobbyist and a polished act with top notch music production; you won’t see it in a promo video. Green Light Bands has the kind of seasoned options that know how to put a crowd at ease.

What to Look for Before Signing a Contract

Social proof is the best filter there is. Here are a few things you should do before booking music entertainment:

Make it a point to read reviews from corporate event planners. The kind of band that’s good for a bar will in all likelihood not be the best choice for a black-tie occasion.
Put in a request for a couple of references from like events. Any band worth its salt will oblige. Hesitation should be viewed as a red flag.
Liability insurance is a must. If they can’t put a certificate on the table they’re not ready for professional work, and most venues will insist on it.

Planners with a more methodical approach to vetting will tell you their satisfaction levels are much higher than those who book on price alone.

Red Flags in the Contract

Don’t be one of those planners who skims over the contract in favor of availability and cost. Be on the lookout for:

Substitution language that’s open to interpretation: Insist on notification for any lineup changes due to illness, etc.
An unspecified overtime rate: This will make for some uncomfortable negotiations on the big night.
No technical rider attached: That points to inexperience or an act that might turn up unprepared.

A Question of Cost

When it comes to what a corporate gala band costs, market demand, travel, accommodation, the size of the ensemble and length of the sets are the determining factors. A three or four piece ensemble for the cocktail hour is at one end of the scale, a seven to twelve piece party band at the other. An agency such as Green Light Bands has already done the due diligence for the corporate environment and their pricing is transparent.

Insist on itemized quotes. You can’t make an apples-to-apples comparison with a quote that lumps overtime and production in with everything else.

Venue Logistics and the Technical Rider

There’s no getting around the technical rider. It’s not a list of wants but a requirement, detailing sound system specs, monitor needs, and load-in times to name a few items. Overlook the tech rider and you’ll have trouble when you least expect it.

Prior to the event, get the following in order:

Stage dimensions: is there room for the entire setup?
PA system: if the venue is providing an in-house unit, see that it’s to the band’s spec.
Sound check timing: for a professional event this is non-negotiable, so schedule it before the doors are opened.
Load-in and load-out windows: work with management on the timing of these things.
Power supply: you need dedicated circuits. Relying on shared circuits can cause them to trip in the middle of a performance, meaning no more power.
Noise ordinances: put in writing the cutoff time for the band.

Event safety guidelines say that the technical coordination of performers with venue employees is paramount to staving off any kind of disruption. Then there’s the matter of the technical rider; a document that lays out exactly what the band or entertainers need in the way of speakers, amplifiers, monitors, etc., which speaks volumes about their professionalism. If a band doesn’t have an organized and clearly written rider, it shows their inexperience.

Stage Etiquette, Professionalism and Dealing with a Mixed Audience

To be professional in live entertainment is more than hitting the correct notes. It’s how a band presents themselves on stage, manages transitions, reads the room and responds to it, as well as how they deal with the event planner.

There are no phones to be seen between numbers and no off-brand humor that might turn guests off. Such details are what’ll make a band an asset to your brand or, conversely, leave you having to account for an awkward situation to your CEO come the next morning.

The Importance of Visual Presentation at High-End Events: Dress Code

Before the first note has been struck the guests will have formed an impression of the visual presentation. A black-tie gala calls for formal or semi-formal attire. A professional band will see to it that the dress code is confirmed in writing when you book them. The same applies to the stage itself where tidy cable management and equipment in good order add to the on stage aesthetic.

Engaging an Audience of Different Ages and Corporate Sensibilities

You’ll find all different types of guests at a corporate gala, some with ties to the host organization, others not, and from three or four different generations. The skilled corporate party bands worth their salt will create a setlist with this in mind, going from 1970s, 80s, and 90s classics everyone knows to the Top 40 heard today. You can usually rely on Motown to connect with any demographic given the universal appeal of their setlist.

What you’ll see from a truly capable corporate event band is an ability to respond in the moment as needed. They’ll let a song run its course if the dance floor is full, but make a quick pivot should it begin to empty out. In the case of client entertainment, any banter should be kept short and warm, long-windedness is the enemy of momentum. Medleys are preferred by the top corporate bands as they allow for an uninterrupted flow from one tune to the next, which keeps the energy high and the dance floor active. At the end of the day these bands understand the event is for the client. There’s a business case to be made for quality live entertainment for gala dinners: studies show a positive experience at a corporate function will do much to cement client loyalty and professional ties.

When it comes to sourcing live entertainment for a gala dinner the stakes are high on every level, creative and logistical. Green Light Bands has the answer with exclusive professional bands and musicians they’ve vetted for the caliber of act that a corporate event requires, whether it’s a jazz ensemble, a Motown group or a Top 40 cover band with plenty of energy. Their acts will deliver the polish your guests are after and have the dance floor full to boot. Get in touch with Green Light Bands and put together an entertainment program that best fits your next gala.

Questions that We’re Frequently Asked

What’s the way to go about selecting live entertainment for a gala dinner?

First understand your venue and its limitations, the event theme, and who will be in attendance. For a corporate affair where you have a mix of ages, a cover or party band with a wide repertoire that includes some Top 40, Motown and classic rock is usually the right call. Before putting pen to paper on a contract, make sure the band has experience performing at the type of event you’re planning, have a look at their demo video, ask for client references and see that their technical rider is something your venue can accommodate.

How much should I budget for gala dinner entertainment?

There’s no set figure because it’s dependent on the size and experience of the band, how long they’re scheduled to perform and any travel involved. You might pay a few thousand for a local inexperienced group, but a top tier, full production act can run in excess of twenty thousand. Then add to that sound and lighting and overtime. Many will use 25 per cent of the overall corporate event budget as a general rule of thumb when making these allocations, but some top bands are worth paying more for.

How much time should be set aside for entertainment?

One continuous block of entertainment is not the best approach for a gala; you’re better served by breaking it into segments. A tried and true flow would be a jazz trio or acoustic number for the cocktail hour (say 45 to 60 minutes), then let some background music underpin the dinner before bringing in a band for 60-90 minutes of high energy dancing once the main program is finished. With a good corporate event band the after-dinner dancing can be left to run for three or four hours, keeping the guests in the mood while not intruding on the more formal side of the evening.

Which live entertainment is most suited to a formal corporate setting?

Event planners usually find the most success when they hire versatile dance bands, Yacht Rock, jazz ensembles and Motown. They have the kind of appeal that works across different corporate cultures and age groups. With a live band, versatility matters; a band that can go from sophisticated music at the dinner table to rousing dance floor music for the after-dinner dance party provides the planner with flexibility and a superior experience for the guest.

How do you integrate live entertainment into a gala dinner program flow?

Plan for ambient music to accompany any networking and cocktails, something soft and not overbearing for the dinner service and speeches, and a proper live show following the formal proceedings. Make sure your booking agent has a copy of your timeline early on. Also coordinate with your production team on the sound check and transitions between sets and speeches.