Cocktail Hour Music
The cocktail hour sets the entire tone for your wedding reception, and Red Soda Band knows how to strike the perfect opening note. Our musicians create an inviting, warm atmosphere the moment your guests step into the venue, blending smooth jazz, acoustic pop, and easy-listening classics that encourage mingling and conversation.
Our cocktail hour reception music is carefully curated to complement the celebratory energy of your event without overwhelming the room. Guests sip their welcome drinks, catch up with loved ones, and settle into the joy of the occasion while our band provides the perfect sonic backdrop that feels both elegant and alive.
Red Soda Band's cocktail sets are fully customisable to match your chosen theme or aesthetic. Whether you want classic Frank Sinatra-era swing, modern acoustic covers of chart favourites, or a mix of bossa nova and soul, our musicians adapt seamlessly to your brief and your venue.
We work closely with wedding coordinators and venue managers in Sydney and Toronto to ensure our cocktail hour setup and sound levels are perfectly calibrated. Every detail, from the placement of instruments to the volume balance, is handled to create an effortlessly polished atmosphere for your guests.
Timing is everything during the cocktail hour, and our experienced bandleaders know how to pace the music to guide the flow of the event. We build energy gradually, reading your guests' vibe and transitioning naturally into the reception proper so the momentum never dips.
Many couples choose to extend their cocktail music into a longer pre-dinner set, and Red Soda Band has an extensive repertoire to sustain the energy for as long as needed. Your cocktail hour is the first chapter of your reception story, and Red Soda Band makes it one your guests will still be talking about at midnight.
Dinner & Background Sets
A beautifully set dinner table deserves equally beautiful music, and Red Soda Band delivers dinner sets that enhance the atmosphere without competing with your guests' conversations. Our musicians strike the ideal balance between presence and subtlety, creating a sophisticated soundscape that makes your reception dinner feel truly special.
Our dinner reception music covers a wide stylistic range, from classic standards and soft soul to acoustic pop and gentle bossa nova rhythms. We tailor every dinner set to your chosen mood, ensuring the music complements the flow of the meal and keeps the atmosphere relaxed, warm, and celebratory throughout each course.
Red Soda Band understands that the dinner portion of your wedding reception is a time for meaningful connection between your guests. Our experienced performers know exactly how to play to support conversation, keeping dynamics low and melodic content engaging so the room feels alive without anyone needing to raise their voice.
We coordinate carefully with your caterers and event managers to align our music with the timing of each course. As plates arrive and speeches are announced, our bandleader communicates with your MC to ensure the music transitions smoothly and never clashes with key moments during the dinner service.
For couples who want a slightly more lively dinner atmosphere, we can incorporate upbeat acoustic versions of well-known songs that keep energy levels higher while still respecting the seated dining context. Our flexible approach means the dinner set evolves naturally with the mood of your guests as the evening progresses.
Background dinner music from Red Soda Band also serves as the perfect bridge between the formality of the ceremony and the high-energy celebration of the dancefloor. From the first entrée to the cutting of the cake, our musicians bring professionalism, warmth, and an instinctive feel for the room that transforms a great dinner into a truly memorable wedding reception experience.
First Dance & Special Moments
Your first dance is one of the most emotionally significant moments of your entire wedding, and Red Soda Band delivers it with the care and artistry it deserves. We perform your chosen song live with full instrumentation, creating a breathtaking experience that a playlist simply cannot replicate, filling the room with warmth, depth, and genuine emotion.
We learn your first dance song note-for-note ahead of the event, rehearsing the arrangement until every detail is perfect. Our musicians understand the importance of this moment and approach it with the same reverence and professionalism that you put into planning every aspect of your wedding reception music.
Beyond the first dance, Red Soda Band covers all of your wedding's special musical moments with equal care and precision. Parent dances, bridal party entrances, cake cutting songs, and bouquet toss tracks are all prepared and performed live, ensuring continuity of the live music experience throughout the entire reception.
Our bandleader works closely with your MC and wedding coordinator in the lead-up to each special moment, ensuring every cue is perfectly timed. You will never have to worry about a song starting too early or a moment being missed, as our team handles all the behind-the-scenes communication so you can be fully present in the moment.
If you have a song that presents arrangement challenges for a live band, our musicians are skilled at adapting any track into a stunning live version. We have performed everything from classic ballads to contemporary pop hits and even custom mash-ups for couples with unique musical visions, always delivering results that exceed expectations.
For couples who want to involve family members in the live music experience, we can also accommodate guest performers for special moments during the reception. Every special moment in your reception deserves a live soundtrack that rises to the occasion, and Red Soda Band ensures yours does — from the tenderness of your first dance to the joyful chaos of the bouquet toss.
Dancefloor Hits & Crowd Favourites
When it is time to get the party started, Red Soda Band transforms your reception into a high-energy dancefloor experience that your guests will not want to leave. Our catalogue of dancefloor hits spans five decades of crowd favourites, from Motown classics and 80s anthems to current chart-toppers and everything in between.
Our performers are seasoned at reading a crowd and adjusting the setlist in real time to keep the energy at its peak. If the dancefloor fills up during a particular era or style, we lean into it, building momentum and intensity until the room is electric. Red Soda Band does not just play songs — we orchestrate moments of collective joy that define your whole reception.
The secret to a packed dancefloor all night is variety, and Red Soda Band excels at blending genres seamlessly without losing the crowd. We move naturally from funk to pop, from classic rock to R&B, and from indie anthems to disco, creating a musical journey that appeals to every age group and taste at your wedding reception.
We work with you before the event to build a custom hit list that reflects your musical personality as a couple. Whether you want Beyoncé back-to-back with the Rolling Stones, or ABBA followed by Bruno Mars, we create a setlist that feels authentically you while ensuring the dancefloor never empties.
Red Soda Band's live horns, rhythm section, and vocals create a richness and power that amplifies crowd-favourite songs in ways a recorded playlist never can. The energy of a live band performance is contagious, and our musicians feed off the audience's enthusiasm, delivering increasingly electrifying performances as the night goes on.
When the dancefloor is packed and the energy is at its highest, Red Soda Band is in its element. We finish every set stronger than we started, building to a final crescendo that leaves your guests exhilarated, asking for one more song, and certain that your wedding was the event of the year.
DJ + Band Combo Options
For couples who want the best of both worlds, Red Soda Band offers a seamless DJ and live band combination that delivers an unmatched wedding reception music experience. Our hybrid setup pairs the raw energy and authenticity of a live band performance with the versatility and continuity of a professional DJ, ensuring your celebration never misses a beat.
The DJ and band combo is ideal for longer receptions where you want full live band sets during peak hours but continuous music during transitions, breaks, and late-night portions of the event. Our in-house DJ integrates perfectly with the band, matching tempos and energy levels so the shift between live and DJ sets feels completely seamless to your guests.
Red Soda Band's DJ brings a professional-grade setup with a premium music library spanning every genre and era, perfectly complementing the live sets with carefully selected tracks that maintain the atmosphere established by the band. There is no jarring transition or drop in quality — just uninterrupted celebration from the first moment to last call.
Our band and DJ communicate throughout the event, collaborating in real time to respond to crowd energy and keep the dancefloor at its most active. This dynamic partnership means your wedding reception music is always evolving and always appropriate, with both elements working in harmony to serve your guests' experience.
Many Sydney and Toronto couples choose the DJ plus band combo option for practical reasons as well as musical ones. The combo package can extend your total entertainment hours without exhausting live performers, making it a cost-effective way to ensure high-quality music throughout a full evening of celebration.
For late-night portions of your reception, our DJ can shift into extended sets of remixes, mashups, and club-style arrangements that give the night a festival energy that keeps younger guests on the floor well past midnight. The Red Soda Band DJ and band combo is one of our most popular packages for wedding receptions in Sydney and Toronto because it genuinely delivers more than either option alone.
Flexible Lineups & Band Sizes
Red Soda Band understands that every wedding reception is different, which is why we offer fully flexible lineup options to match your event size, venue, and budget. Whether you need an intimate duo for an elegant garden reception or a full ten-piece band for a grand ballroom celebration, we have the perfect configuration for your occasion.
Our smallest configurations begin with our acclaimed duo and trio options, which deliver a rich, full sound perfect for more intimate weddings or venues with limited stage space. These stripped-back lineups retain the warmth and energy of a live performance while keeping the setup compact, cost-effective, and perfectly suited to smaller guest lists.
For mid-size wedding receptions, our four to six-piece lineups strike the ideal balance between full-band energy and practical logistics. These configurations typically include lead vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and keys, creating a powerful live sound that fills the room without overwhelming smaller venue spaces or blowing the entertainment budget.
Our full eight to ten-piece band is the ultimate reception music experience, adding live horns, backing vocalists, and additional percussion to create a show-stopping performance that brings a festival or concert atmosphere to your wedding. This larger lineup is particularly popular for grand venues and couples who want maximum dancefloor energy from start to finish.
Regardless of the lineup size you choose, every Red Soda Band configuration maintains the same professional standard of musicianship, preparation, and performance delivery. Our musicians are handpicked for their skill, stage presence, and ability to connect with audiences, ensuring a world-class experience at every level.
We are also happy to discuss custom configurations if your vision requires something outside our standard offerings. Additional vocalists, specialty instruments, or unique genre-focused lineups can often be arranged in advance. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and we will help you identify the perfect band configuration for your Sydney or Toronto wedding reception.