Inspiration Nation: #SMPWedding101 – How to Get – and Keep

Friday, February 26, 2016

#SMPWedding101 – How to Get – and Keep – Your Guests on the Dance Floor

I look forward to hitting the dance floor at every wedding I’m lucky enough to attend and there are certain songs and artists (I’m looking at you Bruno) that never disappoint. But when putting together your playlist, how do you ensure those tunes get your guests going and keep them entertained all night long? That’s where Guy Avalon, director of SALUT, comes into play. With his tips and insight on how his band rocks weddings, you can pick the entertainment that guarantees swinging success.

SALUT saw a gap in the wedding band market… bands would play each song the whole way through exactly as the original, and guests would often lose interest after only a short while into every song, so SALUT set a rule.. no boring bits! We craft an entire set out of 10 medleys each containing two to five songs (only verses and choruses) – for example, one of our Michael Jackson medleys covers two of his biggest hits succinctly but without losing interest or energy.

With this approach, the set becomes a slick show full of choreographed dancing, and the dance floor is filled for the full two hour set, without any lulls. We find that carefully placing these classic hits with current chart songs is the best way to please an eclectic wedding crowd.

Our current party favourites include:

Jackson 5’s “Want You Back” is what we love to start our set with.
The Weekend’s “Can’t Feel My Face” has been a huge hit around the world and always does well in the Middle East.
Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” (Live Tour Version) is fantastic for the last dance with the bride and groom in the middle of the dance floor with the rest of the wedding party forming a large circle around them
Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” – We very often finish our sets with this smash hit as our encore.

Five secret SALUT songs (less popular tunes but they always go down amazingly well):