COVID-19: BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE WITH OUR COMPREHENSIVE COVID COVER. Learn more
Welcome to my monthly showcase where you get to see the musicians behind the wedding acts here at Seventh Second. Today you get to have a peek into the world of one of our most experienced, talented and in-demand solo wedding performers Rae. Armed with an acoustic guitar and stunning voice, Rae has been providing newlyweds all over the globe with the perfect soundtrack for special moments during their weddings for years.
Rae is a globe-trotting solo wedding performer based in our capital London. Over the years she has developed her craft by combining her soulful voice, acoustic guitar wizardry and loop pedal skills into one sublime live show which can be heard lighting up your outdoor drinks reception or melting into the background providing the perfect musical romance during your wedding ceremony. There are many musical aspects to this one-woman wedding powerhouse and today, Rae had a lovely chat with me all about it and much more!
I grew up listening to a lot of pop, rock, old jazz and 70s rock n roll. Led Zep, Linkin Park and Dinah Washinton are particular highlights of my teen years. I was a moody goth back when I was a teen but when I moved to Leeds for University, I was introduced to Neo-Soul and never looked back! Jill Scott and Erykah Badu are queens. Laura Marling is the reason I taught myself the guitar. I’m pretty sure one of her first songs from ‘I speak because I can’ will have been the first song that I learnt. She is still my favourite artist. When I’m playing a solo show I love to get the audience involved. Music is all about making people feel good and what better way to do that than having them sing, dance and clap along! I try to create my own interesting take on the songs I cover by incorporating backing vocals and voice/body percussion via my loop pedal!
Due to the pandemic, I’ve had to change course a little with my career. One year ago a typical day for me would have been waking up on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, practising and then playing shows. These days a typical day is a slow morning of Yoga and a nice breakfast followed by work. I currently work with Autistic Adults and Children as a support worker and music tutor so every day is very different depending on who I am working with that day. I start late in the morning but usually work into the evenings. A family dinner is always on the cards when I get home (my boyfriend is a chef, I’m very lucky!).
I love making people feel good and experimenting with my sound. It may sound odd but every time I play a song I do something a little different, be it a different vocal run in the chorus or choosing a different rhythm on the guitar. The bigger the crowd the better I perform as I love feeding off of everyone’s energy. There’s nothing quite like it.
It’s just what I have always done, singing is my thaaaang! My long-term goal is to train as a music therapist, something I am currently working towards.
The best aspect is how different each day can be. The worst aspect is people who get too drunk and make me feel uncomfortable or those who are just too rude! These incidents happen a lot less when Louis (my boyfriend and musical duo partner) is on the gig with me.
I played a fantastic gig for Sofar Sounds way back when I was still at university. I supported JP Cooper and played the gig with my then trio of double bass, drums and me. It was super intimate but so much fun. The audience had no idea who they were there to see and the vibe was so supportive and chilled. We played acoustic/jazzy versions of my original music and it was lovely.
Definitely, anything involving my mic stand and my face… the amount of times it has either keeled over (hitting me in the mouth) due to the weight of my vocal pedal or when someone drunkenly walks into it. Frustrating and embarrassing in equal measure.
Anything by Sister Sledge or any of the country tunes we play. I love playing Fleetwood Mac too.
Funnily enough, Fill Me In by Craig David haha.
Studying as a music therapist, performing and also getting back into songwriting. I recently had my first songwriting session in years and it was a massive success. It made me feel so good.
Fashion stylist. I flirted with it during my 3rd year at uni as another creative outlet and absolutely loved creating concepts and bringing them to life.
Chocolate
Antigua or Japan. Both places I have visited and fully fell in love with. One for its beaches and chilled locals and the other for the culture, food and street style.
Yoga, mindfulness, an outdoor walk and something crafty like embroidery or clay making. This makes me sound very Zen but I’d probably just end up watching trash TV like Selling Sunset or Don’t Tell the Bride otherwise lol!
Glasto, I wanna go for my 30th in a camper with a crew of pals.
Less is more. Concentrate on the food, music and venue and don’t go too overboard with the extras. If you have great music and food the vibes will follow.
DOG DOG DOG. Although I also love cats. We currently live with my partner’s family dog called Finn. Here he is taking the place as honorary reindeer at Christmas.
A huge thank you to Rae for sharing with us today and showing us the person and musician behind the music. If you want to know even more about her, read on.
Rae has plenty of booking options including extended sets, specially tailored live sets and will happily play songs special to you. She can play background music perfect for any part of your wedding day whilst not performing and all this and more can be offered in an indoor or outdoor setting. Her super-compact setup means she can perform virtually anywhere!
You may think Raes lineup options would be a bit scarce considering she is primarily a solo wedding ceremony performer but she can add her excellent percussionist/backing vocalist to create her stunning acoustic duo act, Talking with Fireworks (above). Perfect if you want a bit more oomph from your wedding musicians.
Prices for Rae’s solo show start at £400 and not only includes her 2×45 minute solo performance but also free background music, PA and stage lighting, all travel expenses, your booking deposit and PLI and PAT certificates. Rae is always happy to discuss playing certain songs that you just have to have performed on your special day free of charge too.
Your Song or How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding are always very popular first dance requests and songs such as Kiss by Prince, Set Fire To The Rain by Adele, Believe by Cher, Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac and Dog Days Are Gone by Florence and the Machine are super popular with newlyweds.
See what all the wedding fuss is about with some glowing reviews for Rae below. You can see all our reviews here.
“We fell into Rae’s music while browsing Seventh Second and she did not disappoint during our wedding. She had a beautiful voice and style, everyone loved her. Thank you so much for performing and helping to make out day really special.”
Sana Gull – Bristol, 2019
“Rae sang at our wedding reception. She was fantastic!! Everyone was saying how great she was and asking where we had found her! She was simply perfect in singing our first dance song also. A beautiful voice & tone for our wedding reception music. We couldn’t ask for more. Thanks so much everyone!”
Lisa James – Huddersfield, 2018
“Apologies for the late email we have just been so busy after the wedding!! We wanted to say a huge thank you! You were literally amazing and you completely set the scene, chilled and laid back! So many people commented on how fantastic you are! I hope that you enjoyed it as much as us… Thank you for being the best wedding musician we could have ever thought and bringing our favourite songs to life on our special day!!”
Amy and Wayne Esther – York, 2017
“Excellent wedding reception singer, would totally recommend anyone to book her, was very flexible on the day. Played our song list and even did some requests, great voice! We got some really great feedback from our guests. Thank you so much!”
Martyn Gregory – Brighton, 2017
As well as our 15% off booking offer, covid cover, detailed booking contracts and 24-hour support you always get everything listed below and more with any wedding, function or party solo act or band (including Rae!) you hire with us. Grab those freebies while you can.
Have a look at all our live bands and solo acts in our bumper big guides below. You will find something perfect for your wedding.
A big thank you to Rae for taking the time to chat with me and share. If you, like many other newlyweds, think Rae would be perfect at your wedding, why not have a look at her full profile here or click that big enquire button in the top right-hand corner to see if she is free for your wedding day!
With our years of experience in our wedding music bands and our comprehensive covid cover and 15% off any booking right now, we’re sure we can design the perfect live wedding entertainment for you here at Seventh Second. Come and speak to our wedding experts via phone, email, text, the usual socials or instant live chat right now and they will help you in every way possible obligation-free. We’re here 7 days a week, 10 am to 10 pm designing live entertainment for all sorts of people.
I hope you enjoyed today’s showcase with Rae as much as I did and if you like what you read or know someone who would love to have Rae at their wedding, please consider sharing.
Next month, I’ll be chatting with our fantastic little acoustic trio Encore.
Bye!
Oana and the Seventh Second family
