Faq's

Big City is a 6-10-person ensemble featuring four lead vocalists, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, sax and trumpet; additionally, all members sing backup vocals and double on another instrument. We offer a variety of configurations – anything from an intimate jazz trio or quartet (or a bare-bones rock band!) up to a 10-piece ensemble, where extra horns or vocalists are added – to suit your particular needs, budget or space limitations. We will be happy to offer suggestions upon our initial consultation with you.

Yes, we provide classical music for the ceremony, performed by a flutist who is accompanied by either a piano or a classical guitar. For the cocktail hour, we provide a jazz or swing duet of sax/guitar or sax/piano.

We coordinate all introductions, toasts, special dances, cake cutting, etc., with the function director and will work closely with that person to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

We’ll be happy to learn a special song for you! We just ask that you give us 60 days’ advance notice, along with a copy of the CD or MP3 if the song is not easily obtainable.

It's one of the reasons we love doing what we do! We get to play some amazing songs encompassing many different genres of music. Our repertoire of approximately 1,000 songs – representing nearly a century’s worth of material – ensures there really is something for everyone!

Everyone’s taste in music is different, so it's generally not recommended that you try to plan every song for the entire event. Flexibility and versatility is key, and through years of experience, we have become highly adept at responding to the needs of the guests. That said, we’ll work closely with you to determine your musical preferences, and we’ll also provide you with our song list so you can highlight your favorite selections and cross out the ones you don’t want played. On the day of your event, we’ll play those songs you’ve chosen.

Audience involvement is crucial to any great event, and taking requests is one aspect of providing interaction with the guests. Providing we feel the request is an appropriate one (and not on the client's "do not play" list), we will make every effort to play it. We'll even allow guests to "sit in" with the band (at the client's discretion). We will try to fit requested songs in at the right moment, as time permits.

We will maintain an appropriate volume level at all times. We are experienced with working in almost every size space imaginable, from cozy, fireplaced living rooms to colossal college auditoriums – and just about everything in between! Wireless devices enable us to go quickly out into the room – while still playing – and check sound levels at various times during the night. Additionally, we are always amenable to lowering the volume, if so requested.

Give us at least an hour's advance notice and we’ll be happy to add on more time, which is booked in half-hour increments. The prices vary according to the size of the band at your function, which will be discussed in our initial quote to you.

We'll begin arriving about two hours prior to the event. This gives us plenty of time to set up equipment, go over details with the function manager, and share information with the photographer. If your guests should enter the room early, we’ll have background music playing for them to enjoy while waiting for the others to arrive.

Our band members arrive to the event site neatly dressed (shirt + slacks) to set up equipment, quickly and quietly. For weddings, we’re dressed in formal attire (i.e., men in tuxes; ladies in dresses), but as the night progresses, we typically remove our jackets (usually after the first Dance set). For less formal events, we coordinate with our clients to ensure that our attire reflects the "theme of the night", although our "go to" tends to be something semi-formal, e.g., dress shirts, ties and slacks (backyard BBQs + Pig Roasts being the notable exceptions ;).

We are a Boston-based band but we perform throughout the New England area. There is a nominal charge when traveling beyond a 30-mile radius of the city.

Various considerations such as the day and date of the event, length of time played, size of the band, etc., are all factors when pricing an event. Give us a call or drop us a line and we'll be happy to discuss all the particular details and send you a quote and our CD!

An initial reservation deposit is required to reserve Big City for your event date. All reservation deposits and balance payments can be made safely and securely on our website on the Reservations page via PayPal. Please note: we accept all major forms of credit cards – you do not need to have a PayPal account to use this feature.