Sunday 23rd April 2023 and we, SouthWestBand were back at one of our favourite wedding hot spots, The Tithe Barn, Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales for James and Jen's special day.
This would be our second outing at the luxurious Tithe Barn of 2023 and its always a pleasure to perform over that neck of the woods. Such a beautiful venue, well run, exceptional food and stunning views of the Abbey and surrounding areas.
We caught up with the bride shortly after arrival. After chatting on our socials for many months it was great to finally meet Jen and she was just as lovely and friendly in person. As a wedding band its always nice to see brides and grooms on their wedding day after so many months, even years of planning, chatting, and build up leading in to their big day. Its often like seeing your friend getting married and its a really heart warming feeling for us.
After our band setup and soundcheck it was time for the couple's first dance. Jen and James had selected the ballad 'All of Me' by John Legend. A great song by a superb artist with an incredible talent. Historically the song has been quite popular as a first dance for us but this was the first time we had played it in 2023.
After the couple had their special moment together it was time for the party. We had a few requests for this particular night which we are always open to, one in particular was Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody, one of the brides favourites. It always tough as a male vocal three piece to play but it went down a treat with Jennie and was well worth it!
Another request was Mr Brightside by the Killers, a firm fan favourite. Many say that particular song is overplayed and we do agree in some ways but it is still timeless, a modern day classic, fun to play and always a great song to finish our live band sets on. Our favourite song of the night though came in the form of an off the cuff request for 9 to 5 by the 'Queen of Country' herself, Dolly Parton! After getting over the hilarity of the image of three Yorkshire blokes playing Dolly we accepted the challenge and armed with our trusty lyrics and guitar chord sheets courtesy of the internet we jammed our way through the country classic. It went down a storm and said lyrics and chords were promptly saved for later to learn the song properly and throw into our SWB repertoire!
For the encore and last song of our live set the bride and groom met in the middle of the dancefloor while their guests surrounded them in a large circle for the classic 'Country Roads' by John Denver. A huge singalong broke out among all the guests while the newlyweds danced, swayed and sang along in together in the centre, such a feel good moment and a fitting end to such a lovely wedding.
Another great night at the Barn and were looking forward to returning again throughout the 2023 wedding season. Thanks for stopping by, see you in the next blog!
Thanks - SWB
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