Live Acoustic Folk Wedding Band For Hire Showcase – Paper Boats

October 2023 | Oana Gheorghiu

  • Acoustic Wedding Bands
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  • Band Interviews
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  • Booking Options
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  • Customer Reviews

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All eyes on live acoustic folk wedding band Paper Boats!

 

Hello again! For this month’s band showcase, I thought I’d introduce you to some folk wedding band royalty! If you like your wedding entertainment to be foot-stomping, festival folk and bluegrass-infused musical fun and frolics, this 3 to 9-piece expert acoustic folk band are right up your street. Learn all about them in today’s showcase and see why they are perfect for your wedding, party or event!

Paper-Boats-Acoustic-Wedding-Band-For-Hire

 

“Performing with Mumford & Sons at the end of a UK tour at Glastonbury has to be one of my highlights.”

 

Who are Paper Boats?

Paper Boats have been performing their fun-filled brand of folky, festival music goodness for years with the lead singer being a respected folk musician in his own right and the drummer having performed alongside Mumford & Sons on a UK tour which included shows at Glastonbury. During all this time, Paper Boats have also been busy perfecting their perfectly musical and unique live show for the hundreds of weddings, parties and functions they have performed at over the years. They are one of our finest and most popular folk wedding bands for hire.

 

Interview time!

Today, I spoke via zoom with James, the drummer from Paper Boats and learnt all about his and his band’s world. Enjoy!

 

1. Tell us a bit about your background and Paper Boats

I started playing the drums quite late but once I graduated from music college I knew I wanted to become a professional musician. Lots of gigs, tours, recording sessions, late nights and hangovers later I’m still doing it! Paper Boats formed after I shared a stage with Tali our lead singer and we spoke about forming a festival-styled, folk and bluegrass band for weddings, parties and events so regardless of the event, people got to enjoy a genuine festival folk band. It’s been a great laugh ever since and people seem to love what we do!

 

2. What’s a typical working day for you?

Well, pre covid, I’d usually have a lie-in after a late night’s performing and then get some breakfast while checking emails and looking at what I need to learn, practice and rehearse with the Paper Boats boys that week. Then it’s all about practising for the week’s shows and chatting to our wedding couples about their ideas and how we can deliver them on their wedding day. I really enjoy speaking to couples and designing their wedding party for them. I’m excited about the wedding gigs, festivals and tours we have for 2023 and 2024!

 

3. What do you love about performing in Paper Boats?

I love performing live and I especially enjoy performing with my friends in this band. They are some of the best folk musicians I’ve ever played with and we have a lot of fun together, especially at weddings where the guests are really up for a good time. It can be a riot and we’re lucky enough to get paid to join in!

 

4. Why did you choose to become a musician?

I’ve played various instruments since I was very young and I was lucky enough to have very supportive parents who encouraged me to work hard and study music and once I got wrapped up in that world and the London music scene there was no turning back really. It was very hard work and you can face a lot of rejection in the music industry but it’s been all worth it.

 

5. What are the best and worst aspects of being a full-time musician?

There are so many great aspects of being a musician but being able to share a mutual love of music with a live audience whether it’s at a wedding or festival is a special thing. That crowd interaction and watching people dance and love music is amazing. Music is a huge part of our culture and so being able to perform it is very fulfilling. The worst bit? The late nights can be hard sometimes.

 

6. What’s been your all-time favourite show?

Performing with Mumford & Sons at the end of a UK tour at Glastonbury has to be one of my highlights. My first ever wedding gig was very memorable too because it was so different to what I was used to. It was fun in lots of different ways. 

 

7. Glastonbury is special for sure! What’s been your most embarrassing moment during a show?

I once performed a big show with a lot of my old schoolmates watching back in my home city of Leeds and halfway through a song, my drum stool snapped in half and I got flung backwards off the stage. Perfect timing, right in front of all my old schoolmates!

 

8. Typical. Haha! What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever witnessed at one of your shows?

It’s hard to choose just one thing but I think seeing Tali our frontman fall off the stage when getting over-excited with a wedding crowd was pretty funny. It was a fantastic wedding, really vibrant and happy and everyone there just gave him a big round of applause for his antics.

 

9. What’s your favourite song to perform?

I’m really enjoying performing Riptide by Vance Joy at the moment, we do a really fun version live.

 

10. Which song is a guaranteed dance floor filler?

I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons, Ho Hey by the Lumineers or our folk version of Mr Brightside always go down a storm. Sorry, that’s three songs, isn’t it?

 

11. I’ll let you off, they are all good tunes. What are Paper Boats future plans?

We are planning to really work on developing our live show, film some more videos and hop back into the studio to record some new tunes!

 

12. If you could do anything, what would you do if you weren’t a musician?

I’d be an explorer or astronaut if it was possible.

 

13. What’s your favourite food?

Any Italian or Sri Lankan food hits the spot for me. If I had to pick one meal it would have to be authentic Italian pizza.

 

14. What’s your ultimate holiday destination?

Oh man, so many places. I’d really like to visit Canada more. I’ve seen a little and it seemed amazing.

 

15. What’s your ideal way to spend a day off?

If I can, I like to get out and play sports, go kitesurfing, snowboarding or just the complete opposite being totally lazy, chilling out with movies or a book. I’m not very good at doing it but sometimes I just need to do nothing and relax.

 

16. If you had the chance to go to any music festival ever, which one would it be?

I think one of the big Woodstock or early Glastonbury festivals would be pretty amazing to witness. Otherwise, EXIT festival in Serbia would be really fun to be at again.

 

17. What’s your top tip for couples planning their wedding?

Pick a band you and your guests will love to dance to. Then you’ll have a busy and fun dance floor all night and that makes for an awesome wedding party, promise!!

 

18. Are you a cat or dog person? 

Oats-The-Cat

I’ve had both and love pretty much all dogs and cats, but I do have this little fluff ball at the moment. This is my very sleepy cat Oats!

 

What more is there to know about Paper Boats?

It was fun to chat with James after so many months and exciting to hear Paper Boats plans for this year. There is loads more to this exciting folk wedding band so why not find out all about it below?

 

Paper Boats booking options

Paper Boats aim to offer everything and anything you could possibly need for your evening’s wedding entertainment, so you can expect great deals on afternoon solo or duo acoustic sets, late-night DJ sets or their bespoke and pretty unique live folk bandeoke sets. It has to be seen to be believed! Like most of our live wedding bands here at Seventh Second, Paper Boats can mould themselves around your wedding or event so chat with us so we can design your dream wedding entertainment.

 

Lineup options for Paper Boats

Lineup wise, Paper Boats offer anything from a solo to 9-piece act which can be compromised of any group of musicians you desire including double bass, mandolin, banjo, drums, guitar, acoustic guitar, fiddle, keys, percussion, trumpet, pedal steel, female and/or male vocals and even washboard. Their very popular, core 3-piece lineup of lead male vocals/double bass/acoustic guitar, drums/backing vocals and guitar/keys/backing vocals creates a big vibrant sound at any wedding and is a great and affordable place to start.

 

Prices

Prices for the core trio lineup start from £800 which is a bargain for such an experienced and talented trio and like all of our wedding bands, all of Paper Boats’ prices include a booking deposit, a free DJ/background music service, top quality PA and lighting equipment, all travel expenses and associated costs plus those important PLI and PAT certificates. All our acts are always happy to discuss playing certain songs or first dances and catering a setlist just for you free of charge. What more could you ask for?

Popular wedding songs and first dance hits!

Ho Hey, I Will Wait, Riptide, Shotgun and their fun folk version of Mr Brightside are songs that are always loved and requested by couples and their wedding guests and first dances that are asked for pretty regularly are Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran and You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne.

Reviews

Why not see what all the fuss is about and read some of Paper Boats’ glowing wedding reviews below? You can see all of our happy couple reviews here as well.

 

“Really impressed and very pleased with Paper boats. They were very friendly and professional. This took a huge amount of pressure off me and made the evening and dance flow very well. They were very organised prior to the wedding and easy going. They played so well we would definitely recommend!”

Amanda Gomez – Brighton, 2019

“Paper Boats were incredibly professional in the way they conducted themselves, forthcoming with suggesting best possible set lists to got people involved on the dance floor from their extensive repertoire. They were happy including our “must-have” songs and sure enough there wasn’t a moment when the dance floor was empty. They were on time, very quick to set up after our prolonged speeches and it was a really great finishing touch to have the bride, groom and brother of the bride up on the stage all singing the closing song with the band.”

James White – Surrey, 2018

“Thanks for putting on a great show! You guys rock, the wedding wouldn’t have been the same without you. Great festival folk sound!”

Jeremy McNeil – Oxford 2018

“The band were amazing!!! They turned up on time looking folky, had learnt our first dance song and did a fantastic job of getting people dancing all night long!!! They played a really good mixture of songs and each and everyone was spot on! We would seriously recommend these guys for any function, wedding or party if you want the crowd dancing all night and to bring real energy and festival fun to the evening!!!”

Kayleigh and John Winterbrum – Dorset, 2017

 

Video 

“We love Italian pizza. Yummy!”

 

Paper Boats take a bow

A big thank you to James for taking the time to talk to us all about his live wedding band Paper Boats. If you’d like to see even more of this fun-time folk band click here and if you’d like to enquire about the band click the top right-hand corner button.

Paper Boats freebies!

As well as our 15% off offer, you always get everything listed below and more with any folk, wedding, function or party (including Paper Boats!) you hire with us. Grab those freebies!

 

  1. 2×60 or 3×40 minute live sets
  2. A comprehensive booking contract which includes covid cover
  3. Band arrival time of 5 pm or later
  4. Band set up time of 60/90 minutes
  5. Finish time of midnight or earlier
  6. *FREE* DJ laptop set in between live sets or as required (usually costing £150)
  7. A professional PA sound system, stage lighting and PLI and PAT certificates
  8. All transport and accommodation costs
  9. All our folk bands are happy to discuss playing certain songs/first dances and catering their setlist just for you

Award-winning folk, party, function and wedding bands

There are always more amazing live folk, function, party, and wedding bands plus so much more on offer with our full roster of live bands and popular guides below.

 

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  10. Award-Winning London Wedding Bands For Hire In 2023 and 2024
  11. How Much Does it Really Cost to Hire a Wedding Band in 2023?
  12. 8 Facts About Sound Limiters at Wedding Venues

 

Book the right live wedding band for you

If you are still searching for your live wedding band or acoustic folk act why not come and speak to us and our wedding experts? We have a fantastic offer running for any 2023 or 2024 weddings with 15% off all bookings right now so what have you got to lose? As well as Paper Boats we have some other great wedding bands on offer and you can see all of them here.

Otherwise, have a look at some more acoustic acts here or come and speak to us 7 days a week, 10am to 10pm obligation-free via phone, text, the usual socials, email or live chat. We are always here to design the perfect live wedding band for you at a price that can’t be beaten. Maybe it’s time you celebrated with Seventh Second?

 Thank you as ever for taking the time to read one of my showcases and if you liked what you read or know someone who would simply love Paper Boats, please consider sharing this with others.

 Next time I will be chatting with the wedding ceremony musician and all-around wedding gig pro Rae!

 Thanks and bye for now, 

 Oana and the Seventh Second family



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