Eight to the Bar

Hi, There!
Thanks for your interest in Eight to t he Bar! Here's some current informationi about the group.
This has been a very exciting year for Eight to the Bar We've been together full-time for 51 years, have released 14 records, and are a well-known regional nightclub and private party band on both the East and West Coaost as well as Europe, where played a 5-country tour. We have been named “Best Band 2024” by Connecticut Magazine. For more awards and accolades see “Press/Reviews”.

Although we are known throughout the US and Europe as a swing band, we have been playing at weddings and private parties for years now. In fact, if you look att he “Show Dates” section of our website, you'll see the word “private” very frequently and that word almost alwlays refers to a wedding or corporate party or fundraiser. 

For weddings and private parties, we play a danceable mix of Motown, swing, classic rhythm & blues, forties standards, and some funk, highlighted by our five-part vocal section; (five of the six musicians double on vocals). The group has enough material to play an entire night of mostly Motown/classic rhythm & blues or mostly swing (or a mix of the two) depending on your preference. Current Repertoire Among the band's distinguished musicians is Collin Tilton, Van Morrison's original sax/flute player who was in Van Morrison's band and appears on Van's quadruple-platinum-selling album “Moondance” (see Biography page on the website). For a complete listing of our repertoire, see Current Repertoire. Please note: occasionally we play “specialty” shows such as an entire  night of “Ballroom” music by request.

HOW WE PLAY WEDDINGS
When playing at weddings and private parties, we typically cover up to a four-hour time frame playing 200 minutes of music typically broken up into 3 60-65 minute sets with 2 20-25 minute breaks so that you're never without music once we start. (We can also break up the sets differently time-wise as long as they don't exceed 200 minutes of music from the band). If you need material other than what is in our repertoire (for example, more contemporary music or a greater variety of musical styles than what we play) we can customize a CD of all your favorite songs and play it during the breaks at no extra charge. If you prefer to make your own CD we'll be glad to play it on our CD player during the breaks. Should you need music ifor a cocktail hour we have a couple of options: 1. our guitar player can play an hour of background instrumental jazz for an additional $200 or 2. our band jazz duo (my sax player and I on keyboard) can play an hour of background instrumental jazz for an additional $250. The full band is also able to offer overtime at $600 per half-hour should you need it. 

For current pricing please email us at ettb2@comcast.net or text/call us at 203-915-9700. We are willing to travel anywhere (and have played all around the world- see “Where we've played” . For example, last summer we played a wedding in San Francisco). 

If you like our music the next step is to see the group live if possible; (see the Show Dates section of our website) and then finally we'll email you a contract that will ask for your signature and a 50% deposit to be postally mailed to us.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions or problems. We'd love to play for you!

All the Best,

Cynthia Lyon, founder/band leader/keyboard player
Eight to the Bar
ettb2@comcast.net
203-915-9700