Steel Drum Music & Reggae Music for Weekday Weddings

It’s not often that our guys (or even Wedding DJs) perform for a wedding on a Tuesday night. However, a couple of Tuesdays ago in Amelia Island, FL was an exception. The bride is fascinated with the steel drum and wanted a live steel drum band that could perform both steel drum music and reggae music. The bride was from Ohio and the groom was from Russia. These are not places that you see too many steel drums. However, the sounds of the steel drum were the perfect touch for the intimate ceremony and the guests partied all night to the steel drum music, reggae music, calypso and soca provided by our steel drum band.

Just goes to show you how special an instrument the steel drum is and how much people truly love Caribbean Music. We are so blessed to be able to share this with our wedding and corporate clients every week.

The Caribbean Crew featured in the nation’s Top Online Entertainment Booking Service

The Caribbean Crew was recently featured on Gigmasters.com – the nation’s number one online entertainment booking service for weddings, corporate functions, house parties and other special events.

They talked about the several national awards that our steel drum band and steel drum players have received over the years and what has contributed to the band’s success.  They also talked about the band’s repertoire of steel drum music, reggae music, calypso music, soca music and Top 40 selections.

Gigmasters draws over 25,000 visitors every day looking to book entertainment for their event.  The website has a nationwide database of over 10,000 top-quality client rated entertainment acts and vendors.  Please click on the link http://itg.gigmasters.com/member-spotlight-the-caribbean-crew/to read the article.

Steel Drum Band Recap of 2018

2018 was another great year for our steel drum band and steel drum players and we are so thankful!  We booked over 250 shows, most of which were corporate functions, conventions, trade shows and beach weddings.  In the month of December, our steel drum band did several Corporate Christmas Parties and holiday parties as well.   Our steel drum players had a blast performing Christmas Music on the steel drums, getting everyone in the mood for the holidays.

The sweet sounds of steel drum music, reggae and calypso could also be heard at several house parties, pool parties, birthday parties, anniversaries, retirement parties, graduation parties, fundraisers, christenings, bridal showers, engagement parties, baby showers, reunions, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, grand openings, fraternity functions, sorority functions and many other special events.

Three shows in particular stand out from the rest.  The first was when our steel drum band performed at Sea World in Orlando for the American Heart Association.  It was a grand affair and everyone really enjoyed the Caribbean Music and Top 40 selections performed by the band.  It was great to be part of such a wonderful event and to help raise awareness for the AHA.

The second show was at the ASHA Annual Conference at the Convention Center in Orlando.  We performed for over 10,000 people, including the guest speaker Harry Belafonte.  He thoroughly enjoyed the band and we got a chance to meet him after the performance.  He is a legend and we have been performing some of his music for over 20 years, so that was great!

The third one was when our steel drum band was personally chosen by Governor Rick Scott to perform at his fundraiser in Lake Mary, FL.  No matter what your political affiliation, it’s pretty cool when the governor wants you to perform at his event.  He really enjoyed the steel drum music and even asked our steel drum player to show him how to play it.

It was also another year of awards.  Our very own steel drum player Chesley won the soloist competition at the Virginia International PanFest.  He beat out other steel drum players from across the United States and the Caribbean to win the award.  Congrats to Chesley!

We are looking forward to another great year in 2019.  So whether you are having a beach wedding in Daytona Beach, St Pete Beach, Clearwater, Sarasota, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Naples or Key West; a corporate function in Orlando, Tampa, Miami or Savannah, or any other special event coming up in Florida, Georgia or South Carolina, give us a call!  We look forward to working with you in 2019.

 

Outdoor Performances

Summer is in full swing and that means it is very hot and a high chance of rain every evening in Central Florida. We always ask that the band perform in a shaded, covered area. We are not trying to be difficult, but did you know that if the steel drums are exposed to the sun for too long, they will get very hot and that will damage the instruments. The sun can often reflect off the drum and straight into the musician’s face. Also, it is very uncomfortable to perform in the hot sun for 2-3 hours.

Please make arrangements for the band to set up under a gazebo, overhang or even a small pop-up tent. Two or three large pool/beach umbrellas can often provide sufficient shade as well. If none of these are available, try putting the band up against a building that will provide shade instead of in an open courtyard.

Everyone loves being outdoors, but in Central Florida it is typically in the mid-90s in the summer. It is more comfortable inside and the performance will not be affected by rain. If the band sets up and then has to strike everything because of an approaching shower, there is normally an additional fee to break down and set back up. Plus, it comes out of the performance time. If it looks like it is going to rain, it probably will, so having the band set up inside as a precaution is highly recommended. It will end up saving you time and money.

Thank You

We are thankful for another great year and for having the opportunity to book our steel drum band and steel drum players for so many weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, anniversaries, graduations, grand openings, festivals and house parties throughout Florida. We are also thankful for the talented and loyal entertainers who work with us and wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy New Year

The Caribbean Crew Steel Drum Band finished off 2013 last night with a beautiful wedding at the La Playa Beach Resort in Naples, FL.  The sounds of the steel drum music filled the air, along with some great reggae music, calypso music and jazz standards.  Thanks to everyone who booked The Caribbean Crew Steel Drum Band and our steel drum players to perform at their weddings, corporate functions, house parties and other special events in 2013.  We would like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year and we look forward to performing at more wonderful events in 2014.

Five weddings in one day

A coupe of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of performing at five different weddings in the same day.  That is a new record.  Two of them were at the same venue – the beautiful Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, FL.  Please check out the picture above of one of our steel drum players performing pre-ceremony music at Hammock Beach.

We are fortunate to have a pool of some of the most talented and professional steel drum players in Florida.  As a result, we can book multiple weddings in the same day.   Even if your wedding, corporate function, house party, or other special event is less than a week away, still give us a call.  It is more than likely that we will still be able to provide you with quality Caribbean Entertainment.

Steel Drum a Huge Hit at Orlando Wedding and Bridal Show

We had a booth yesterday at a local Wedding and Bridal show in Orlando.  There were wedding DJs, wedding bands and other wedding vendors at the expo.  Our steel drum band was too big for the booth, so one of our steel drum players performed a nice mix of wedding ceremony music, reggae music, calypso music, steel drum music and jazz selections on the steel drums.  He was a huge hit!

Many brides came up to the booth and said that they had seen steel drum bands on TV, but had never seen a live steel drum player up close.  Some brides even took pictures with the steel drums.  One of them got a little too close and knocked over a steel drum, but we were able to catch it before it fell.  Good thing, as it is quite a process to tune or blend a steel drum when it goes out of tune.

We had many brides that were interested in booking our steel drum band or solo steel drum player to perform at their upcoming beach weddings, destination weddings and weddings right here in Orlando.  So if you have a wedding, corporate function or other special event coming up in the near future, give us a call.  The sweet sounds of steel drum music, reggae music, calypso and other music from the Caribbean will help make your celebration even more special.

Congrats on your engagement. Now what?

Happy New Year! There were thousands of engagements over the recent holiday season. Now it’s time to start looking for quality entertainment that will help make your wedding the greatest day of your life! Are you having a destination wedding, beach wedding, island or tropical themed wedding? Then look no further.

Cocobean can provide wedding entertainment in the form of Steel Drum Music, Caribbean Music, Island Music, Calypso Music, Reggae Music and Soca Music for any of these themed weddings. Our band The Caribbean Crew performs at over 50 weddings a year and can provide music for the ceremony, cocktails, reception (dinner & dancing) and can also take care of the formal introductions and announcements.

You can even hire the band or one of our steel drum players to perform at the rehearsal dinner. Or, if you are looking to start celebrating right away, you can hire a reggae/calypso band or steel drum player for your engagement party. The Caribbean Crew performs anywhere in the world, so no destination is too far. Please visit our website www.cocobeanproductions.com and click on Caribbean Crew and Weddings for more information on our services.

The early bird catches the worm!

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Many musicians will often pass on early morning performances, especially if they are out of town. But not The Caribbean Crew Steel Drum Band!

Last week Friday, our steel drum player and percussionist made a 4 hour drive down to Marco Island in Naples, FL for a 9 AM beach wedding. The weather was beautiful and the steel drum music was the perfect fit for such a joyous occasion. Our steel drum player performed “somewhere over the rainbow” on the steel drums, as David and Eduardo made their way down the beach towards the officiant. At the end of the ceremony, our steel drum player performed “just the two of us” and it sounded fantastic on the steel pan.

While David and Eduardo were off taking pictures, our steel drum band entertained the guests with a nice mix of reggae, calypso and steel drum music, while they sipped on mimosas. By the time the newlyweds came back, the party had already started and many of the guests were dancing barefoot in the sand to the sweet sounds of steel drum music. Who would’ve thought that people would be dancing under the sun and on the beach at 10 AM in the morning? That’s the power of Caribbean Music!

Our steel drum band packed up and were back on the road by 1:30 PM to head back to Orlando. It was a long day, but well worth it. Everyone had a great time at the wedding, especially the newlyweds and we are so happy that we got to be part of their special day.