Besides choosing me as your wedding photographer, hiring the right band for your reception is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in creating an unforgettable experience for your guests. In fact, it’s the music that will make or break your party. Now I’m not going to tell you how to go about choosing the right band for your reception – there are countless articles online for that. I’m simply going to introduce you to one of my favorites – the Adrian Duke Project. They not only know how to start a party, they know how to keep it rocking. All. night. long! I mentioned them briefly in this post about Anne & Brian’s wedding and so now I want to tell you all about them with this one!
The Adrian Duke Project is a full seven-piece band, including trumpet and sax as well as the soulful stylings of female vocalist Theresa Richmond. (Her rendition of “At Last” rivals anyone, including Ms. James herself! Seriously.The gal can WAIL!) They play a funky mix of motown and soul, jazz and swing, and good ol’ rock-n-roll, with a vast repertoire of music ranging from The Beatles, Van Morrison and Elton John to Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles to Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra – perfect for dancing the night away! Adrian is also capable of playing any number of classical pieces for the ceremony, performing solo or as a combo with other members of his band for cocktails, and playing a relaxing set of jazz and swing standards for dinner sets.
Though the group is based inVirginia, Adrian often plays in North Carolina and can be booked with lineups ranging from solo to a full seven piece band with the female vocalist, saxophone and trumpet.
Here’s what folks are saying about them:
“Thank you so much for recommending The Adrian Duke Project! They were fantastic! They kept up the energy throughout the night and did great renditions of the songs we requested, especially our first dance and then a truly epic Hora and Hava Nagila (guests said they had never seen anything quite that incredible before). They played a great mix of slow and fast, older and even threw in some newer. The female vocalist (who’s name escapes me at the moment) finished the night off with a very memorable “At Last,” capping off a great night of music. We owe much of our party’s success to the constant energy and party vibe that Adrian and the band provided. Guests remarked to us throughout the night, and frequently since then, how great the band was and we couldn’t agree more. We could not imagine hiring a better band to have played our wedding and they provided everything we had hoped and more.” ~ Saul and Jenn
Here are some photos I took of Adrian and his band in action at Anne & Brian’s Outer Banks wedding last fall.
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Guests of all ages love the Adrian Duke Project!
I just cannot say enough about their awesomeness! But, sometimes the proof is in the pudding, as they say…so here’s a little promo video so you can see for yourself.
