What Styles Of Music Do Wedding Music Bands Perform?
February 2023 | Matt Oats
Music Repertoire
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Picking A Band
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Tips and Tricks
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Wedding Music
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Wedding Setlists
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Wedding Styles
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What styles of music do you want your wedding music band to perform and what can they perform?
Live wedding bands can perform all styles of music from rock, pop, folk, funk, soul, RnB, blues, jazz, metal, and Motown amongst many others. They can also perform specialist music for Jewish weddings, unique celebrations, or other religious or church ceremonies. Hiring a wedding music band that has the experience to perform the styles of music you like is an important consideration when choosing a live band.
Live wedding band setlists
In previous guides, I’ve spoken a lot about picking a first danceand whether you even need a first dance. We even have guides on the bestfirst dances, wedding songs,andlast dancesbut what about all that other music wedding bands perform while with you? Their live setlists! What styles of music do they perform during those 2×60 minute or 3×40 minute sets and more importantly, what do you want them to perform?! I will mainly speak about weddings in my guide but today’s advice is relevant if you are looking to hire a band for your party or function too.
The all-important wedding music band setlist!
Aside from obvious special and ceremonial dances at weddings, the type of music a wedding music band performs at your evening celebrations is pretty bloomin’ important! It can really enhance the atmosphere you’re trying to create and either get your guests dancing like loons or covering their ears and heading for the bar.
Hiring the right wedding band
This is where choosing the right wedding band and styles of music come in. Cost and availability are really important of course but if you can pick a wedding band because they perform the music you and your guests will love you will have an awesome wedding party. Some live wedding bands are quite musically specific like Knight Riders and some cover all styles under the musical sun like The Usual Suspects so don’t panic, there’s plenty of musical fish in the sea for you to choose from!
Award-winning wedding bands for hire
Speaking of diverse wedding bands, (hey Motown Boys above!) why not have a look at some of our hugely popular and award-winning ones below?
If you want the most out of your wedding music band and wedding, choose a band that suits you, your guests, and your wedding theme. You wouldn’t book a Mumford and Son’s wedding band like Paper Boats (above) only to ask them to perform 80’s disco hits! You want to create that perfect atmosphere at your wedding so as well as delving into today’s guide, make sure you read our popular guide on how to choose the perfect wedding musicplus if you simply want to learn all there is to know about live wedding bands, clickhere!
What’s on today’s setlist?
Anyway, to help you on your wedding journey, today’s setlist will include a bucket load of setlists from a whole host of professional wedding bands. These are popular setlists that have stood the test of time and continue to be updated and popular with wedding crowds across the county.
Oh, there’s more?
I’ll also show you some acoustic band and daytime-specific setlists and let you in on some secret tips and tricks so you leave knowing exactly what live wedding bands can perform, what you want from your live band, and how to get it! Armed with this information, you can then either delve into our other helpful guides or enquire about the perfect wedding band right here because right now, we’re offering 15% off all bookings!
Let’s see some setlists then!
Let’s take a peek at these setlists and styles of music bands perform, shall we? Keep scrolling to see them all or click on any band/genre name below to be whisked to that acts setlist and see what they typically perform week in week out to dance-hungry, foot-stomping wedding crowds!
Oh, and by the way, live wedding bands generally perform 2×60-minute sets so that’s how I’ve displayed all the setlists today. However, there are plenty of options when it comes to setlist lengths and timings. These can make a big difference to your wedding party and you can read all about them here if you’re curious.
As mentioned, click on any band/genre below to see their popular wedding setlist, or keep scrolling to see them all!
Paper Boats always add a unique festival-inspired folk and bluegrass spin on any tune they turn their hand to. Here’s a great selection of what’s usually on offer. Folk music for the masses!
Set 1
Shut up and Dance – Walk the Moon
Bad Moon Rising – CCR
I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons
Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons
Heroes – David Bowie
Paint it Black – Rolling Stones
Dreaming of You – The Coral
Valerie – Amy Winehouse
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
Stuck in the Middle with You – Stealers Wheel
Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Not Fade Away – Rolling Stones
Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Hey Ho – The Lumineers
Riptide – Vance Joy
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
Set 2
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Mr Jones – Counting Crows
Honky Tonk Woman – Rolling Stones
Losing my Religion – REM
Take me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns n’ Roses
20th Century Boy – T-Rex
It Must Be Love – The Beatles
Saw Her Standing There – The Beatles
Help – The Beatles
Get Lucky – Pharrell Williams
Disco 2000 – Pulp
Hey Ya – Outkast
Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry
She’s Electric – Oasis
Sunny Afternoon – The Kinks
Fade Away – Oasis
Acoustic Captain – Acoustic and Roaming
Acoustic Captain’s large roaming acoustic set is really varied so everyone can enjoy it as they roam around weddings and events! Acoustic music at its best.
Set 1
7 Nation Army – White Stripes
All The Small Things – Blink 182
Alright Now – Free
Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
Brown Sugar – Rolling Stones
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Muse
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
Closer – Neo
Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
Dakota – Stereophonics
Don’t Look Back In Anger – Oasis
Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing – Aerosmith
Don’t You Worry Child – Swedish House Mafia
Englishman In New York – Sting
Funky Music – Wild Cherry
Happy – Pharrell Williams
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys
I Feel Good – James Brown
Set 2
Johnny Be Goode – Chuck Berry
Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi
Locked Out Of Heaven – Bruno Mars
Lonely Boy – The Black Keys
Mercy – The Third Degree
Message In A Bottle – The Police
Mr Brightside – The Killers
Place Your Hands – Reef
Pompeii – Bastille
Sex On Fire / Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
Shut Up & Dance – Walk the Moon
Somebody I Used To Know – GOTYE
Song 2 – Blur
Stay With Me – Sam Smith
Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams
Sweet Child Of Mine – Guns ‘n’ Roses
Sweet Dreams – Eurythmics
Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus
Times Like These – Foo Fighters
Treasure – Bruno Mars
Under The Bridge – RHCP
Uptown Funk – Ronson/Mars
League of Gentlemen – Rock, Pop, and Indie
League of Gentlemen’s setlist hasn’t changed much over the years as it’s always incredibly popular year after year. Expect a full, bouncing dance floor with these songs.
Set 1
Valerie (Amy Winehouse)
Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
You really got Me (The Kinks)
Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)
Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)
Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones)
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealers Wheel)
Sex Machine (James Brown)
Happy (Farrell Williams)
Hippy Hippy Shake (The Beatles)
Billy Jean (Michael Jackson)
Alright Now (Free)
I’m a believer (The Monkees)
Everybody (Blues Brothers)
Set 2
Last Night (The Strokes)
Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis)
I Predict a Riot (Kaiser Chiefs)
Parklife (Blur)
Moves like Jagger (Maroon 5)
Get Lucky (Daft Punk)
Play that Funky Music (Wild Cherry)
I bet that you look good on the Dance Floor (Arctic Monkeys)
Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon)
Mr Brightside (The Killers)
Sweet Child O’ Mine (GnR)
Surfing USA (Beach Boys)
500 Miles (The Proclaimers)
Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)
Twist and Shout (The Beatles)
Wonderwall (Oasis)
Hey Jude (The Beatles)
Stan Darsh – Niche and Alternative
Stan Darsh are a truly alternate wedding band and their setlist shows that with some unique songs. Their setlist is a one-of-a-kind fun-filled event that delivers happy little surprises all night.
Night and Day perform all sorts of tunes in their unique crooner style but this jive and ratpack-focused setlist has always proven the most popular. You can’t beat the classic styles of music.
Set 1
Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra
Moondance – Van Morrison
My Way – Frank Sinatra
That’s Life – Frank Sinatra
Mr Bojangles – Sammy Davis Jr.
Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles
L-O-V-E – Nat King Col
Girl From Ipanema – Various
Summertime – Ella Fitzgerald
What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Hit the Road Jack – Ray Charles
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Andy Williams
Mess Around – Ray Charles
Everything – Michael Buble
I’ve Got a Woman – Ray Charles
Straighten Up and Fly Right – Nat King Col
Feeling Good – Michael Buble
Sway – Dean Martin
Fever – Michale Buble
Beyond The Sea – Robbie Williams
Set 2
Come Fly With Me – Frank Sinatra
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
These Are The Days – Jamie Cullum
It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World – James Brown
Papas Got a Brand New Bag – James Brown
Hound Dog – Elvis
Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
Sunny – Bobby Hebb
I Say A Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Hallelujah I Love Her So – Ray Charles
Just The Two Of Us – Bill Withers
Try a Little Tenderness – Otis Redding
Street Life – The Crusaders
I Feel Good – James Brown
Devil In Disguise – Elvis
Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield
My Girl – The Temptations
Stand By Me – Ben E. King
Johnny Be Goode – Chuck Berry
Heard it Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Southside Sparkle – Soul and Motown
Southside Sparkle add a unique “1920s goes pop” twist to anything they perform and their setlist is a sure-fire winner with wedding crowds. They always look and sound stunning with these songs in their setlist.
Set 1
(Oo-Be-Do) I Wanna Be Like You – Jungle Book
Ain’t Nobody – Chaka Khan
All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor
American Boy – Estelle/Kanye West
Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
Bills – Lunchmoney Louis
Blue Suede Shoes – Elvis
Crazy – Gnarles Barkley
Crazy in Love – Beyonce
Diamonds – Rihanna
Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend – Marilyn Monroe
Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones
Feel Good Inc – Gorillaz
Get Lucky – Daft Punk
Set 2
I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
Mambo Italiano – Rosemary Clooney
No diggity – Blackstreet
No Scrubs – TLC
Oops I Did It Again – Britney Spears
Put Your Records On – Corrine Bailey Rae
Rehab – Amy Winehouse
Rude – Magic
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Sky – Sonique
Sweet Dreams – Eurythmics
Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus
Toxic – Britney Spears
Umbrella – Rihanna
Valerie – Amy Winehouse
Volare – Gipsy Kings
The Usual Suspects – Multi-Genre
The Usual Suspects setlist is designed for those wedding parties that have all ages and musical tastes in their ranks. Their high-energy setlist has something for everyone with every tune keeping the dance floor rammed all night.
Set 1
Valerie – Amy Winehouse
Happy – Pharrell Williams
Johnny B Good – Chuck Berry
Twist and Shout – The Beatles
Can’t Stop the Feeling – Justin Timberlake
Shotgun – George Ezra
Seven Nation Army – White Stripes
Dakota – Stereophonics
Little Lion Man – Munford and Sons
Ho Hey – Lumineers
Sing – Ed Sheeran
Lovely Day – Bill Withers
Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Play that Funky Music – Wild Cherry
Blues Medley (Jailhouse, Great Balls Of Fire, Hound Dog, Rock Around The Clock, Blue Suede Shoes)
500 Miles – The Proclaimers
Set 2
Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars
Get Lucky – Daft Punk
Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
Hey Ya – Outkast
I Gotta Feelin’ – Black Eyed Peas
Shut up and Dance – Walk the Moon
Last Night – The Stokes
Chelsea Dagger – The Fratelli’s
I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor – Arctic Monkeys
Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus
Summer of 69 – Brian Adams
Living on a Prayer – Bob Jovi
Encore
Mr Brightside – The Killers
Wonderwall – Oasis
Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
Stand by Me – Ben E. King
Latin Corner – Latin Jazz
Latin Corners setlist is ever-changing but below is a good example of what’s on offer with this sultry Latin outfit. Get those sexy Latino dance moves going!
Set 1
Don’t know why – Nora Jones
Fly me to the moon – Frank Sinatra
Look of Love – Dusty Springfield
Don’t let me lose this dream – Aretha Franklin
Make you feel my love – Adele
You are the sunshine of my life – Stevie Wonder
Mercy – Duffy
Just the way you are – Bruno Mars
Smooth operator – Sade
Ain’t no sunshine – Bill Withers
Sway – Michael Buble
Mambo italiano – Dean Martin
Sing it back – Moloko
Set 2
Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Maria Maria – Santana
Get lucky – Pharrell Williams
Moves like jagger – Maroon 5
Crazy in love – Beyonce
September – Earth, Wind, and Fire
Valerie – Amy Winehouse
Girl from Ipanema – Various
Only girl in the world – Bruno Mars
L.O.V.E – Nat King Cole
Heard it through grapevine – Marvin Gaye
Mas que nada – Sergio Mendes
Latin Jazz Medley – Various
The Meraki Jazz Collective – Jazz
The Meraki Jazz Collectives jazz renditions are taken from various artists from all eras so you never quite know which exciting version of a song you’re going to get! Bring a touch of class to your wedding with these tunes.
Set 1
A Foggy Day
All Of Me
All The Things You Are
April In Paris
As Time Goes By
Beautiful Love
Bewitched
Blue Bossa
Don’t Know Why
Donna Lee
Flintstones Theme
Fly Me To The Moon
Get Happy
Have You Met Miss Jones
Honeysuckle Rose
How High The Moon
I Got Rhythm
I’m Glad There Is You
It Don’t Mean A Thing
Just Friends
Set 2
Lady Bird
Las Vegas Tango
My Favorite Things
Night And Day
Out Of Nowhere
Satin Doll
Smile
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Softly As The Morning Sunrise
Some Day My Prince Will Come
Stella By Starlight
Sunny Side Of The Street
Take The “A” Train
Tenor Madness
The Girl From Ipanema
Them There Eyes
There Is No Greater Love
There Will Never Be Another You
You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
What New
What styles of music do wedding reception and ceremony entertainers perform?
Solo and duo acoustic acts like Talking with Fireworks (above) and Cadenceperform all sorts of songs during wedding ceremonies, wedding breakfasts, and afternoon drinks, and below is a large list of just some of the songs regularly performed. You can see our best wedding reception and ceremony performers here too!
9 to 5 – Dolly Parton
A thousand Years – Cristina Perri
Africa – Toto
Crazy – Gnarls Berkley
Crazy little thing called Love- Queen
Dance with me Tonight – Olly Murrs
Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
Domino – Jessie J
Don’t call me Up – Mabel
Don’t stop Believing – Journey
Emotion – Bee Gees
Empire State of Mind – Alicia Key
Englishman in New York – Sting
Everything I Do – Bryan Adams
Everywhere – Fleetwood mac
Faith – George Michael
Finally – CeCe
Firework – Katy Perry
Forget You – Cee-Lo Green
Get Lucky – Daft punk
I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
I’m Still Standing – Elton John
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
I’m a Believer – The Monkees
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
If I ain’t Got You – Alicia Keys
Independent Women – Destiny’s Child
Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
La Bamba – Richie Valens
La Isla Bonita – Madonna
Layla – Eric Clapton
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
Locked out of Heaven – Bruno Mars
Love Yourself – Justin Bieber
Lovely Day – Bill Withers
Make you feel my Love – Adele
Marry You – Bruno Mars
Mercy – Duffy
Message in a Bottle – Sting
Mmmmbop – Hanson
Moon Dance – Van Morrison
My Girl – The Temptations
Need you Now – Lady Antebellum
Never too Much – Luther Vandross
New Rules – Dua Lipa
Next to Me – Emile Sande
No Scrubs – TLC
Nothing holding me Back – Shawn Mendez
One Dance – Drake
One last Time – Ariana Grande
One more Time – Ariana Grande
Ordinary People – John Legend
Out of Touch – Hall & Oates
Perfect – Ed Sheeran
Photograph – Ed Sheeran
Promises – Sam Smith
Rather Be – Jess Glynn
Roar – Katy Perry
Rock with You – MJ
Rockabye – Anne Marie
Rolling in the Deep – Adele
Shut up and Dance – Walk the Moon
Signed Sealed Delivered – Stevie Wonder
Simply the Best – Tina Turner
Sorry – Justin Bieber
Stand by me – Ben E King
Stay with me – Sam Smith
Stuck in the middle with you – Steelers Wheel
Summer of 69 – Bryan Adams
Teenage dirtbag – Wheatus
Wonderwall – Oasis
You’ve got the love – Florence and the machine
Your Song – Elton John
More options than you can shake a stick at!
Almost all of our hard-workinglive wedding bands also offer acoustic sets catering for any part of your wedding day and below is an example of a popular 2×30 minute solo or duo setlist The Avengers (above) offer.
Set 1
Ho Hey – Lumineers
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
Stand By Me – Ben E. King
Sing – Ed Sheeran
Lion Man – Mumford & Sons
Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
Ring Of Fire – Johnny Cash
Set 2
I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons
Perfect – Ed Sheeran
Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
It Must Be Love – Madness
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
Get Lucky – Daft Punk
Valerie – Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse
Tips and tricks time!
That was a lot of setlists! As promised, here are some tips and tricks so you get the best setlist and music from your wedding music band. Let’s go!
Wedding atmosphere or theme
When looking at wedding bands and the music they perform think about the atmosphere or theme you want to create at your wedding. Does the music they offer complement that? Could it complement it with just a little bit of tweaking? Would your guests enjoy the music and dance away all night? Is that what you want? Multi-genre bands like Good Fellascan tailor their sets to you but don’t dismiss niche bands like Knight Riders (above) who can still mix it up in creative and unique ways for you and your guests.
Work with your live wedding band
Bare in mind that unless it specifies it contractually, wedding music bands don’t have to perform any songs you ask them to. However, that’s not the greatest customer service so we always make sure our wedding bands accommodate as much as possible. I only say this because I strongly advise that you listen to your band’s advice and don’t just demand the songs you want and force them to play them, you want to get the most out of them after all! We’re here 7 days a week, from 10 am to 10 pm to help design the perfect live wedding band and styles of music for your big day so come and say hello and let’s start planning your perfect wedding party!
Why not?! It’s my wedding?
Live weddings bands will try their best for you and striking a good balance between what you want and what they know will work for you and your guests should be important to them. A top tip is to suggest loads of songs you’d love to hear live so your band has a lot to work with. Give your band time and plenty of options so they can create that awesome live setlist for you because trust me, I’ve performed at many weddings where loads of requested songs have kind of bombed and instantly cleared the dance floor leaving a confused and lonely wedding couple. No one wants that, especially not us and our bands!
What about other wedding bands for hire?
I would imagine most live wedding bands out there are willing to work with you on their setlists like our bands are, but some will have specifically designed live shows which can’t be edited so always ask. Be realistic with your requests as despite what anyone may say, musicians don’t know and haven’t performed every song ever. They need time to prepare your song requests and see how they can work them into their live set. It keeps them very busy but it’s well worth it.
Industry-standard?
Our wedding bands are honest and upfront and won’t perform a song unless they think they can perform it to the highest standard, work it seamlessly into their set and believe it will keep you and your guests dancing and happy all night. Don’t worry, 9 times out of 10, our wedding bands play all songs couples request but I can’t say that’s an industry standard so its best to check with your band. Each of our live bands has a repertoire section on their unique profile page where you can scan a large selection of songs they perform. You can even type songs or artists into a search bar above their repertoire to see if they cover them. Handy! With a Seventh Second wedding band, you won’t ever be left disappointed as im going to explain now…
!Shameless plug alert!
Even though we do manage to perform pretty much all the songs couples love, we’ve still thought a lot about how our live bands can offer all the music couples and their guests could ever want and we came up with one unique solution. We are in the bands we promote! This means we can design truly bespoke wedding bands or advertise acts that are honestly willing to cater their music to your needs. Electric Jukebox (above) are one such act with a huge and flexible repertoire and attitude. It’s why they are one of our most popular wedding bands!
Flexible wedding musicians
Having this flexibility means that we design bands that perform the styles of music you want and look and sound great doing it too. They also fit into your budget neatly as we won’t be beaten on price. We are pretty unique compared to other websites so ask us more about it. We can even design different setlists for different parts of your wedding day so you get exactly what you want when you want it!
One more tip for you
One last tip before I wrap this up. Try and get your and your guest’s song requests to your live band way before your big day. There’s nothing more disruptive at a wedding party than people interrupting your wedding music band’s live set to ask for a song to be performed. If you do think of a tune you’ve just got to hear, ask the wedding band during their break. You will all reap the rewards come performance time, trust me!
Now that you know what styles of music live wedding bands perform you are set and ready to hire the wedding band of your dreams! Come and speak to us about our fantastic wedding bands 7 days a week, 10 am to 10 pm via text, live chat, the usual social channels, email, and phone and we’ll get it all sorted for you at a price you will love. I hope you love your wedding and what your live band performs and if you liked what you read please consider sharing it with others.