UpFront Band

Serves Lake Oswego, OR

35244

Hired 26 times

4 employees

23 years in business

Not yet available

5.0

This pro accepts payments via Cash, Check, Credit card, PayPal, and Venmo.

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Credentials

Background Check

Chris Bidleman
Completed on 4/5/2022

Introduction

UpFront is a versatile musical group and solo performers who specialize in professional, live music and entertainment for any special occasion and voted one of the best wedding bands on Thumbtack (thumbtack.com/or/portland/wedding-bands/). Our focus is on jazz (smooth, standard, and swing), Latin, ballroom dance and our own twist on classic rock-n-roll, oldies and pop songs for parties and classical music for wedding ceremonies. We will tailor our performance to your needs at reasonable rates. Chris Bidleman (piano, keyboards, and bass) and Steve Burpee (saxophones), the founders of the band, have been playing music together since junior high school and in 2002, formed UpFront. Chris and Steve are joined by Robert Schultz on drums and are often fused together with good friends Jason Hafer on bass and Larry Pindar on guitar. UpFront can provide different configurations of musicians -- a duo of piano and sax for small events or wedding ceremonies, a jazz trio for the company meetings or a larger combo that can get people out of their chairs and dancing to Big Band Swing, Latin, R&B, and classic rock and roll. UpFront has been featured on Portland's KINK.FM, a local music spotlight radio show. While we often focus on jazz, there are no single labels to describe the wide range of musical styles we can perform. We can play oldies and pop tunes from every decade. We love to play cultural favorites, seasonal standards, and even classical music. Our playlist currently has well over 500 songs, but we can play many, many more, and we love to take song requests from the audience. We can perform as a solo, duo, trio, or larger band to meet your needs and budget. We will travel within the states of Washington and Oregon but are based in the Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA area. Please enjoy listening to our sample music online at our website. Your satisfaction is our first commitment. UpFront would love to be part of your special event and to personally tailor a performance to your specific needs at reasonable rates. We have performed at so many different events and love to change the style of music we play to fit the mood of the crowd and location of the event. We don't write music sets but will work with our clients to find the songs they want to hear and the joy we see when people recognize a song we are playing that perhaps they haven't heard in a long time and the smile it brings, that makes our job very satisfying. Please read our reviews and you will see that we can adapt well to nearly any situation or event that would benefit from a live music performance.

Q&A

What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?

Average is $100/hr per musician depending on band configuration. Travel outside Portland/Vancouver is extra. Discounts available for senior living facilities and fundraisers.

What is your typical process for working with a new customer?

We are a versatile group of musicians so we want to understand the needs of the customer, the venue size and of course the budget the customer is working with for their musical entertainment. We adjust our musical style, number of musicians and songs selected to be played based on the age range, event and seasonality of the event to provide the best service we can provide at a fair price. We are open to communication or meeting with customers to discuss details about their musical needs. We have been performing for over 30 years so we can provide suggestions and guidance to make your event all that much more special.

What types of customers have you worked with?

We are an excellent background music group that can perform as a solo, duo or trio of musicians for art or wine receptions, company parties, cocktail hour, wedding, anniversary or birthday party where you just want music to fit the mood and age group. We can also change it up to play classical music for wedding receptions or traditional hymns and gospel music for funerals and memorial services. Then if you want to dance and celebrate, the band can liven it up to play classic rock, funk or even ballroom dance songs that are appropriate for the age group especially for wedding receptions where there is such a wide range of ages and musical tastes. We love to take song requests so we are sure to find the right mix of music to please the crowd.

What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

When hiring a musician or band, getting referrals or reading reviews is a good way to know how well they perform and meet the needs of their customers. Ask for a songlist so you can be sure the band/musician can play the songs or style of music you desire. We know people looking for musical entertainment often turn towards a DJ but for the same price as a DJ you can hire trained musicians providing live music entertainment that provides a memorable experience and interaction that only a live band and audience can have. Just hearing the same songs that you hear on the radio or streaming music that a DJ will play doesn't have the same impact on a crowd in our opinion. We as the UpFront Band have worked hard to build up our song repertoire to over 400 songs in our book across many musical genres and can quickly learn a new song you may request for your event. Please read through our reviews and you will see that we deliver and provide a quality service to our satisfied customers.

What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?

To hire a band, consider space available for band to setup and if outside will electrical outlets be available. Bands need a starting length of time to play to quote properly and most will provide a per hour overtime rate if required. Musicians usually need 1 hour to setup and do sound checks so ensure early access to the venue is included. Certainly consider your audience of who is attending your event and what type of music they will like besides what your musical taste is as the host. If you have a wide age range, you need a versatile band that can cover a wide range of music but also one that can be flexible and take requests.