Dave Murphy Band

Weddings

Music makes the party.

Of all the elements involved in a great wedding, there is probably none more important to its ultimate success than your live entertainment. The right band can create an incredible night that your guests will always remember, whereas the wrong band can lead to a night you will quickly want to forget!

The Dave Murphy Band is your best choice because of an unmatched combination of experience, repertoire, professionalism and musicianship. We strive for excellence on a musical and business level in an industry where both are often mutually exclusive. What it means for you is not only a band that performs an incredible range of great music, but a band that has the commitment and knowledge to make your wedding the best it can possibly be.

Experience

 

The band has performed for more than a decade, and weddings are now the mainstay of our work. The experience of over 3000 performances means that we know exactly what it takes to put on a great show. We have seen it all, and take a great deal of advance preparation to make sure every aspect of your wedding runs smoothly. Our experience allows us to deal with any unexpected problems so your wedding runs without a hitch.

We have performed all over southern Ontario, and chances are good we have performed your venue on numerous occasions. Above all, our experience at countless weddings has taught us that the key ingredient to an amazing party is a great variety of everyone’s favourite songs.

WE Work With You To Bring Your Perfect Day to Life.

Let’s talk about your wedding day and party. We can provide music for the ceremony, cocktail hour, over dinner and dance. Whether it is the full band, trio, duo or solo piano we are the perfect fit.

The letters of thanks we regularly receive from our clients are our very best advertising – read them below in the reviews section.

Repertoire

At all times our goal at your wedding is to get every one of your guests dancing. The real art in making this happen is not only having all the right songs, but knowing exactly when to play them. Never having a predetermined setlist means that we are able to choose the best song at a moment’s notice based on whatever music your guests are enjoying the most. The band’s enormous repertoire spans all of popular music, from the turn of the century to the current century. Our ability to perform jazz with grace and elegance is matched by our ability to rock without compromise, and play everything in between. The result is that all guests both young and old will get to hear the songs they love. Because we encourage you to make requests from our songlists, you will get to hear all your personal favourites too.

See our song list

Professionalism

From the moment you first inquire about the band to the moment that a wonderful night has concluded, we are constantly committed to making sure that every facet of your wedding is professionally taken care of. A successful wedding involves a great deal of preparation, and we make sure that all your questions are quickly answered and all arrangements are planned in advance. Every detail is discussed and confirmed, giving you peace of mind that your night will be a great success. We arrive early on the day of your event to fully check our sound system before your guests arrive. We use first rate sound and lighting equipment, and our constant aim is to give you quality sound that is never too loud, but just right for dancing and conversation. Whenever the band is offstage we use our stereo equipment to provide you with music throughout your event, including beautiful background music during cocktails and dinner, as well as dance music during band breaks so that the party continues. When the band hits the stage, we exude energy, fun and personality in addition to all the great music. As your host I’m happy to make announcements for you, and I routinely lead couples through optional events such as the bouquet toss and garter in a way that is quick, simple and entertaining.  

Musicianship

Even if you have a professional, experienced band playing all the biggest hits, it all means nothing if the songs sound lousy. Great music is the most important aspect of all, and this is where the band truly excels. Our talented musicians perform together constantly, which means that we know our music inside out. And unlike other bands where you often hear far more music than you actually see being performed, we never use computers or backing tracks to artificially enhance our performance. What you always get is great live music, and having first rate musicians means that your favorite songs will always sound just the way you remember them. What enables the band to do such a great job is that we truly love all the different styles of music we play. We are dedicated to our craft, and we are incredibly fortunate to enjoy the most wonderful job imaginable. We love to make music, and it shows; let us show how we can make our music work for you!

Come see us live

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@davemurphyband

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Happy Clients

Perhaps our best advertising is what our clients have to say about the band.

“Of the myriad of vendors we dealt with in preparing for the wedding (ceremony venue, reception venue, rehearsal dinner, dress maker, tuxedo rental, makeup artist, hair stylist, photographer, transportation, cakes, hotels, preacher, invitations, etc etc), you were by far the best by all measures. We were impressed by your solid professionalism – a clear and simple contract, very responsive and dependable interactions. We were very pleased with your quality – Awesome dance tunes, great rapport with the audience, incredible sound. And we were grateful for your customer sensitivity – taking the time to understand our wants, planning the evening in advance and clearly communicating everything. Thanks to you and your band for making such a difference on our special day….we wish all the vendors were cut from the same cloth as you.” – Jackie and Neil

“Thank you so much. You really made our wedding a huge success. People can’t stop telling us how amazing a job you guys did. Everyone loved the music and the dancing, there were a number of sore feet the next day – a good sign of a great party. We will be sure to recommend you to any of our friends.” – Sara and James

“Steve and I have arrived home from our honeymoon and it’s back to reality!! We both wanted to thank you SO much for doing an excellent job for us at our wedding. I can’t even begin to explain to you how happy we were with the band – absolutely amazing. Everyone loved the music (young & old alike!) – you certainly have a special knack for reading the crowd. I can honestly say that the decision to have you play was one of our very best for the day. It was also a pleasure to deal with you beforehand – you are incredibly professional, organized (yay!) and obviously very talented. Thank you very much Dave – we wish you all the best.” – Yvonne & Steve

A few more testimonials from our clients.

“We had a fabulous evening and you guys really made it for us – you were awesome – we have had so many comments on the band and many enquiries as well to find out how we managed to find you. All of our guests were so impressed with your talent, the variety of music and your professionalism. It was a pleasure dealing with you from start to finish and you put our minds totally at ease. I wish we were getting married again next week just for the great party. Coming from the musical background that I do, we had quite a few musicians in the crowd and the music was hugely important to us – I cannot tell you how pleased we were with the band, we are very grateful. I hope that we might have the chance to hear you play again – we are fans from here on!! Many many thanks again Dave to you and the band for such a fabulous job – you made our wedding very very special.  Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavours, musical and otherwise.” – Sara and Calum

“Thank you so much for doing such a fabulous job at our wedding. I think it is safe to say that you made our night. We’ve had many, many compliments and comments from guests (i.e. “We haven’t danced that much in the 20 cumulative years since and including our own wedding night!”) which can all be attributed to your crowd pleasing tunes and great musical ability. But best of all, Geoff and I had a blast! The music was fantastic!

Dave, you have been the consummate professional, and we really want to thank you for making our night such a success and being such a pleasure to work with from the start. I know my Dad has passed your name along to at least 5 of our guests who have upcoming events and we hope you have the opportunity to please them as much as you have pleased us!

Take care and please pass our thanks along to the rest of the band.” – Nancy & Geoff

“A good friend of mine came up to me at our wedding and whispered. “Thank You. This is the first time my husband has danced with me in ten years.” YOU WERE BEYOND FANTASTIC! Everyone had an amazing time and every single person (young and older) commented that they had never danced so much. You literally had everyone on the dance floor. (P.S. You play the best horas I’ve ever danced to.) Everyone is still talking about our wedding and how great the band was.

Beyond our talent as a musician, it was an added pleasure to deal with you. You assured me that you would work very hard to do a good job for us, and the truth is you exceeded everything you promised. Please pass along our thanks to the members of your band.

Joshua, Leyla and I wish you continued good health and great success.” – Sharon (Josh and Leyla)

“Thank you very much for the amazing job you did at our wedding. We had the greatest time and we know our guests did too. We can’t even tell you how many people asked about the band and said how great you were. You could tell how much they loved you by the fact they were packing the dance floor throughout the whole evening. When people called our parents during the week to say what a great wedding it was, they all mentioned the band. So we just wanted to thank you. You played great music and played it so well. Also, the Mazinka was great. You needn’t have been worried at all! Anyways, thank so much for helping to make our wedding such a hit and for letting us have so much fun at it. We will probably see you at one of your gigs in the future.” – Abigail and Howard

“Thank you for being the amazing band that you are. Planning a wedding is a stressful time and you made the party. We are still getting compliments on the great time that everyone had. We watched the video and there was not a moment that the dance floor was not occupied. I have never seen people have so much fun. For months all we heard was ‘the band starts at nine’. It was worth all the planning to have speeches and announcements over by nine, to enjoy every minute of your talent.” – Bob & Mary

“It’s now been nearly a couple of months since our big night and I just wanted to let you know that we are STILL getting comments about how wonderful our wedding was and how amazing the band was. You helped make our wedding better than I could have imagined. You and your band were spectacular, from the tunes you played to the way you played them. I had a couple of people tell me that they don’t usually do a lot of dancing at weddings but they couldn’t sit down at our wedding all night. You played one brilliant tune after another and kept everybody hopping. The band at a wedding can really make or break the night and I just wanted to thank you again for helping give us a night to remember. I’ve already recommended you to numerous friends who are planning on getting hitched. You guys were a serious hit and I’m so thankful that we found you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you from one very happy newlywed.” – Andrea and Sheldon

“On behalf of myself and Tracy, I just wanted to say a big “thank you” to you and the band for the job you did for us at our wedding two weeks ago. I can’t tell you how many of our guests have come up to us since and told us how great the band was. You had everybody dancing all night, both young and old. Your performance was a big factor in how great our day went and it was nice that I didn’t have to worry about anything, you took care of it. Thanks again.” – Scott (and Tracy)

“It wouldn’t have the same with a disc jockey, that’s for sure. Dave, you guys did a wonderful job, that’s why you were highly recommended by Ron the owner at the Ancaster Old Mill. Your singing, the sax and the band were just fantastic. Everybody loved ya! They said it was one of the best weddings they ever went to. The music was perfect. Guaranteed you got my recommendation. Sincerely your new fans, “– Dennis and Suzanne

“Thanks so much Dave. We had a great time at the wedding and loved dancing to your music. You guys did an amazing job. Everyone was commenting on how great the music was. My Mom especially enjoyed it.

Thanks again for everything. You guys were extremely professional and made the wedding a fun time. Thank the rest of the band for us as well and I am sure we will see you sometime soon.” – Rebecca and Galo

“We had a GREAT time at our wedding and much of it is thanks to you and the band. So thank you very much! You guys were awesome. We were so pumped about your performance and your ability to get the crowd going. And so many of our guests commented on how you guys made the party. We will be remembering you and recommending you for years to come!” – Gwen and Jeff

“What can we say but once again thank you so much. The band was amazing the night of the wedding and we so appreciate you playing the piano as well. We’ve received so many compliments on how fun the band was – you really made the night something special.

If you ever need any references, please do not hesitate to give out our name – we’d be only too happy to help out. We would highly recommend you guys!

Thank you again for all your great work and helping to make our wedding night so much fun.” – Dan and Goldie

“Thanks for a great night. We have had MANY compliments on our choice of band and have been asked for your phone number and web address several times. I also know that our wedding planner told us he will be referring clients your way when they are looking for a band – you really impressed him and he does this for a living. I truly believe that great music is the key to any party and you guys definitely delivered!!!! I was kind of in a daze all night – so I actually don’t remember much in detail….but I do recall that the dance floor was hopping all night long!! You guys are professional, talented, reasonably priced and have an AMAZING variety of songs in your repertoire! You made the night! Thanks again!” – Lisa and Dean

“Just wanted to thank you and your band for a great time. We have received endless compliments about the music. Many people have told us that they have never danced so much in their life. Just seeing my parents dance was amazing. It was worth the splurge to have you perform at our wedding – you truly made our wedding unforgettable. Take care,” – Mike and Elena

“How can we thank you for making our wedding at The Old Mill such a wonderful experience. You and your incredible band were amazing. Everyone we talked to has asked about you guys. You made the wedding. I knew you would, but you outdid yourselves. Your wide variety of music appealed to all the ages. Our guests had such a great time. It’s true that the entertainment either makes or breaks the party, and you certainly made it incredible.  Yours friends,” – Mike and Jenn

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Planning

We consult extensively with our clients to make sure every aspect of your celebration is meticulously planned so you can enjoy your day to the fullest with zero worries or concerns.  The experience of literally thousands of events means you will be in the hands of true professionals.

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Our Arrival

Our entire band is always on site hours before your event is set to begin to fully set up and test everything.  Our early set up ensures everything will be just perfect the moment your guests first begin to arrive.  

Ceremony

Beautiful music makes your ceremony truly unforgettable.  Whether you opt for DJ music, a solo keyboardist or a duo of keyboard and guitar, we provide lovely music as your guests begin arriving.  One the ceremony starts we plan with you to pick the perfect songs for your procession, signing and recessional.  

cocktails

Cocktails

We always endeavour to provide a lively ambiance during cocktails.  This can take the form of DJ music, or a live solo, duo or trio performance.  If you have any specific music you’d like to hear during cocktails just let us know – we’re always happy to accommodate your requests.

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Dinner

A full musical experience means exactly the right music at the times.  During dinner we can provide lovely DJ background music through our sound system.  Live music is also an option during this time.  Maybe a solo pianist or even the full band – dancing between courses is a lot of fun!

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DJ

During band breaks we provide DJ dance music so the party continues unabated.  If you know all the favourite songs your crowd will love just let us know and we’ll be happy to put them on for you.  This is also a great time to play music from your cultural background.

Dancing

Dancing is the specialty of the Dave Murphy Band!  Guests young and old will have the night of their lives dancing and singing to all their favourite songs.  Great music is what truly creates an unforgettable wedding.

Perform With Us

Do you love to sing or play an instrument?  Why not join the band and perform your favourite song?  Do you have an incredibly talented guest attending your wedding?  Then let’s get them onstage with the band.  The special moments create a lasting memory!

Our Venues

Some of the many venues we regularly perform at include...

And many more...

Photos

View Our Gallery

Meet the band!

Our six piece line up complete with horns. From the left it’s Dan, Tony, Dave, Mike, Peter and Jim.

With the Late, Great Jeff Healey

Dave and Dan recorded and toured worldwide with Jeff during the last five years of his tragically short life.

First Dance

At The Old Mill in Toronto. The band performs over 50 weddings every year.

Nobody plays it like Jimmy!

Up close and personal with our fabulous sax man Jim Lawlis live at The Orbit Room.

It’s Going to be Perfect!

Let’s Plan Your Big Day!