Category Archives: Performer

Find your Latin music here

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Latin music is a whole spectrum of music which derives from Spanish speaking and Latin American countries. The sheer vibrancy of these acts are truly mesmerising with upbeat sounds that guarantee to get feet tapping. There’s passion and life in the music and hiring a Latin Music performer or band for an event is the perfect choice for a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

The most well-known being the Salsa which is a very sexy dance. Up and down the Country there are many ‘Salsa’ classes as people who love this music want to learn to dance.  Of course we have all seen ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and are familiar with the Tango, Cha Cha, Jive and Rumba.

If you would like this upbeat and beautiful music playing at your function or even if you wanted lessons you are able to book these Latin bands, performers and acts for your pleasure. Easy to book online, just fill out a form which is located in our Red Masque Directory. We have the best Latin Music Acts available on our entertainment directory. Book today, they will not disappoint.

Big Band & Swing

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Incredible solo singers and sensational bands recreating the sounds of the 1920’s and 30’s.

Enjoy the musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era. Typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians, the Big Band produces a sound and feeling unlike any other.

Here at Red Masque we offer our clients the ultimate Big Bands for hire, with only the best, highly talented and unique acts around. When it comes to Big Band and Swing acts for hire, we have it covered.

Red Masque supply the ultimate in event entertainment and to hire a Big Band & Swing act for a wedding, party or corporate event couldn’t be easier… Either find the act or acts you’re interested in on our website and fill in their booking enquiry form or simply give us a call. We’re here to help with any enquiries you might have so please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Click here to view all Big Bands for hire

Stags and Hens

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Nowadays it would be pretty unheard of to get married and not have a hen party or stag do in order to celebrate the final free moments before you tie the knot. Consequently we’ve heard of some pretty unusual hen party events along the way from perfume creation to go kart racing! But why is it called a hen party and why is it called a stag party? And where did these parties originate from?

A common misconception is that the terms ‘hen’ and ‘stag’ both originate from simple social stereotypes. In fact, it’s more likely that the word hen hasn’t always meant female chicken, in middle English, hen could mean the female of any bird and so a hen party was a party exclusively for ladies. Similarly, but going back even further, is the stag party, and you’ve guessed it, originally stag could mean the male of any animals, not just a male deer and so a stag party is one exclusively for gents.

So it turns out hen parties aren’t a creation of modern society and they actually go pretty far back. So where did the terms actually originate from? The tradition of the stag party, goes back even further certainly as far as tudor times. Just imagine how busy Henry VIII must have been with invites!

Numerous sources suggest that the very first stag party was actually held in the 5th century in Sparta, where a pre-marriage feast was held in order to toast the groom-to-be. On the other hand, hen celebrations have their roots more grounded in North African, Middle Eastern and Asian lifestyle. This is because the authentic phrase from which hens get together is believed to be henna, which is a wedding custom in all these cultures. Henna has significant importance in the East and is considered to have tendencies to be capable of purifying the bride and hold her risk-free from evil.

Here in the UK, we are somewhat on our own with our abstract names of hen and stag parties to see off the final moments of freedom. Australia is similar, but slight cultural differences mean that they call it hen party and buck party. Alternatively, America appears to be very vanilla in the naming of their pre-marital parties calling them a bachelorette party and a stag party respectively.

Whatever your background, there is no escaping the fact that marriage is possibly the most important decision of your life. So what better way to say goodbye to single life than to celebrate in style!

Music for your Irish party

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We thought we’d provide a few ideas on Irish entertainment. When thinking about the Emerald Isle and the entertainment that it has provided to the world, an obvious place to start is the harp.

It is known that the harp was revered across Celtic culture and Europe in the 1100s with various leaders having their own resident harpist who enjoyed a high status and special privileges. What did they have to do? As one might expect, they were expected to play music in accompaniment to other forms of party entertainment – poetry recitations or reading of psalms, etc. Alas, no music for the harp is written down from this period.

As any lover of history may tell you, Celtic culture wasn’t as popular as it used to be and the social status of a harp player began to lessen as the years wore on. No longer retained amongst the higher echelons, they took to the streets, performing as travelling musicians to the delight of crowds. Perhaps they were enjoyed too much; although the Irish harp was a symbol of the country and embraced around the world, it was now see as an emblem of resistance against the Crown and England. It was henceforth banned from the end of the Middle Ages and in just a few centuries, the Irish harp had all but disappeared.

…Well, almost. In 1792, a group of harpists travelled to Belfast for a traditional harp festival. A passionate musician, Edward Bunting, noted down the music they played and it is thanks to him that traditional Gaelic music lasts to this day; it had never previously been written down on paper (presumably because nobody ever saw the point or most harpists couldn’t read or write sheet music.)

There are less than a dozen Celtic harps that have survived from the medieval period. The oldest one is also the most famous – the Trinity College Harp, upon which the official emblem of Ireland is now based. It can be seen if you decide to visit Trinity College in Dublin and no doubt, you’ll learn even more about this lovely instrument.

Ventriloquism Museum

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We head over to the USA to take in a curious museum that you certainly won’t see on the streets of London. Dubbed as ‘The World’s Only Museum Dedicated to Ventriloquism’, Vent Haven in Kentucky is certainly a place that you won’t forget in a hurry.

How does one start a museum of ventriloquism? The answer of course is that you have to have a passion for the art and that was the case with William Shakespeare Berger, a businessman from Cincinnati and amateur ventriloquist. Having amassed a vast collection of memorabilia and merchandise related to ventriloquism throughout his life, he eventually set upon the idea of opening a museum in the heart of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, just five miles from where he initially made his name.

Unfortunately for Shakespeare Berger, he died in the same year that Vent Haven opened – 1973 – but that hasn’t dampened the museum’s success with numerous photographs, posters and other merchandise being donated the premises over the last 45 years. Although these items undoubtedly improve the offering of Vent Haven, the real jewel in the crown is of course the 900+ retired ventriloquist dummies in their possession that have come from more than 20 countries around the world.

To a ventriloquist, Vent Haven is guaranteed to raise a smile but for those who find even one ventriloquist’s dummy a bit creepy, over 900 of them is sure to have them running for the door. Who knows upon which stages these dummies have been used? Or do you look at these specimens and only think of films like Annabelle, a horror movie about a family being terrorised by a vintage doll?

Whichever side on which you sit, one can’t deny that the museum is of great historical importance considering the various types of ventriloquist dummies on display. Although some wouldn’t be out of place on stage today, others are profoundly darker, harking back to a time when racism was commonplace and often ignored by the masses.

Ventriloquists will absolutely love a visit to Vent Haven and the best bit is that they even hold a convention each and every year, which is brilliantly stylised as the Vent Haven ConVENTion. Over 400 ventriloquists turn up to celebrate and we can only imagine the tales they must tell!

Romeo and Juliet

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Yes, Shakespeare did write Romeo and Juliet. Of course he did! Most of us studied it at school and if you ever look at a list of Shakespeare plays, Romeo and Juliet is guaranteed to be listed under tragedies.

But fascinatingly he didn’t invent the characters. Many literary scholars cite Shakespeare as a bit of a plagiarist when it comes to his plays; allegedly it’s possible to work out what he was reading at the time he wrote each play with the only ‘true original’ being The Tempest! Even with this information, we didn’t know that he took the characters of Romeo and Juliet in quite so obvious a manner.

You see, some thirty plus years before William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, a narrative poem titled The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet was written by Arthur Brooke. Like any historic piece of writing there are numerous theories on where Brooke got his idea with a few believing that he translated it from an Italian novella by Matteo Bandello and others thinking that he translated it from a French translation of Bandello’s work which features characters named Reomeo Titensus and Juliet Bibleotet.

Not much is known of Arthur Brooke – he died in a shipwreck just a year after publishing his most famous work – but it seems highly likely that William Shakespeare used The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet as his inspiration when writing Romeo and Juliet, primarily because the plot of the poem follows the play to the letter (minus the ending).

As Wikipedia states, ‘The poem’s ending differs significantly from Shakespeare’s play—the nurse is banished and the apothecary is hanged for their involvement in the deception, while Friar Lawrence leaves Verona to end his days in a hermitage.’

So if you ever sit there wondering to yourself why you can’t come up with stories as good as Shakespeare, simply pick up a book by Stephen King, J.K. Rowling or some other successful author and plagiarise it for the stage. We wish you the very best of luck. You never know, school children might learn it 500 years from now!

The Living Statue

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Put simply the history of the living statue – at least where it all began – is lost to time. Arguably the first living statue can be traced back to the ancient Greeks where members of the public would pose for famous sculptors looking to mould their marble. Realistically though, the living statue as we currently know it first appeared in the 19th century as a circus performance. PT Barnum displayed living statues as part of his circus tours, a peculiar curiosity to the minds of those in the 1840s.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, living statues became ever more widely known thanks to the emergence of the art form known as tableaux vivants; a group of actors would pose and be lit in a particular way so as to appear like paintings. The resulting performance was often shot on camera (which meant the performers had to stand still in their chosen pose) or performed on stage to the amazement of spectators. Cleverly, by tagging these performances as art, nude actors and actresses were able to perform erotic entertainment on stage, flouting theatre censorship laws. As long as the girls didn’t move, it was deemed okay by the masses. The most notable instance of this was under the stewardship of the famous Mrs. Henderson at the Windmill Theatre in London in the 1930s and 40s.

Since that time, living statues have featured prominently in both art and film – The Phantom of the Opera and Hot Fuzz are two recent films that have shown living statues on screen, whilst revered duo Gilbert & George utilised human statues as part of their gallery installations in the 1960s. Moving from inside to out, street performances too have flourished in the intervening years as various living statues appeared near famous landmarks all over Europe. Though varying in quality from person to person, they are a magnet for tourists, only moving when money is placed in front of their plinth.
If no money is thrown in front of the living statue, either because they are unimpressive as a statue or their costume doesn’t resonate with those walking by, the street performer doesn’t get paid that day.

With numbers still proliferating throughout London and the UK, it’s clear that the living statues are still well loved and make the perfect addition to your corporate event or private party. Despite their presence on the local high street, nobody will be expecting them in your back garden!

Milestone Birthdays

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Big Birthday milestones don’t necessarily need to be celebrated in a big way. For those who have a large family, an extensive social or business network, or those who enjoy mingling amongst a crowd of well-wishers, bigger may be better. For others who may have a close inner circle of friends, or perhaps a small, close-knit family, more intimate gatherings may be preferable

The key point here is to weigh in with your host regarding his or her thoughts on their celebration. If the event is a surprise, then talk to the guest of honour’s spouse or partner or closest friends to determine which approach is best. Surprise parties can be fun, but the surprise element should be a positive experience stemming from the timing of the celebration, not missing the mark on the party itself.

Personalisation is key to making a birthday party memorable. Research back to the year they were born and incorporate newsworthy details from that time period into the party theme. Depending upon the year, invite guests to dress as they would have if it were that year. 1960s hippie clothes and 1980s big hair can make a party fun and provide great opportunities for photos, laughter, and reminiscing.

Hiring entertainment for a Birthday Party can be as imaginative as you like. Think party bands, DJ’s, Celebrity Lookalikes, Photo Booths or even a great Magician!

Shop Promotions

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Most shops always have the same monotonous music playing in the background so why not switch it up a bit and hire a DJ. The public will hear different music and will also experience first-hand a DJ playing live in a shop, now that’s not something you see every day. Get the DJ to play various styles of music to attract different types of customers but also make sure it suits your shop. If you have a unique boutique then trance music would not exactly match the surroundings. Your shop will have that wow factor compared to others around it so it is definitely worth a try!

Many businesses now enjoy and thrive off shop promotion. Whether it’s opening the shop for the first time or your first year anniversary shop promotions can attract new customers and keep existing customers. It can also help increase sales which is probably the most positive factor of all businesses. Shop promotion entertainment can help with every of these aspects… if done properly.

Street performers are a great idea to entice people of the street and into your shop. The performers will attract attention to the facade of the shop and can even hand out leaflets to the public. Once your street performer starts performing and letting everybody know about the shop, then how can the customers resist not going in for a little look. Various street performers could include stilt walkers, fire performers, dancers and even musicians. This is a very cost effective way to add excitement and positive chit chat around your shop.

Food is well known to be the way to anybody’s heart. So why not have some sort of unique catering outside your shop to attract customers to your front doors. A few ideas which are very simple yet very effective include hiring a fish and chip van for the day.

It could be packaged in a traditional box with your brand on it, so when your customers sit down to enjoy their food they are reminding on your company. During the summer months you could hire an ice cream van or cart and if they spend a certain amount in shop then on their exit they get an ice cream. It may be a simple idea but this can be very effective. To finish up, your shop just needs to be jazzed up a bit. Make it fun and intriguing and do your research. Don’t hire entertainment which doesn’t match your shops style. And shop around and hire local artists of possible, this will reflect very positively on your shop.

Retirement Party

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For almost everyone, music is the key to many wonderful past memories. And it’s one of the easiest ways to host some retirement home entertainment! Take your residents on a walk down memory lane with a musical group.

1. Crooner
Crooners were king in the ’40s and ’50s, with their smooth voices and sultry songs. Some of the best artists in history came out of this era, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. Your residents are sure to feel some nostalgia with a performer like this! Whether you want an actual Rat Pack show or just a Frank Sinatra tribute, these performers love an older crowd that appreciates their act.

2. Beach Boys Tribute
Gaining popularity in the 1960’s, the Beach Boys launched a new type of musical sound with their “surf songs.” Their killer harmonies and clever lyrics helped them rise to the top of the music charts. Booking a Beach Boys tribute band is definitely one of our more energetic ideas for retirement home entertainment! If you want to see your residents groove to the music, you can’t go wrong with the Beach Boys.

3. Barbershop Quartet
With perfect pitch and harmony, a barbershop quartet can dazzle any crowd! They generally have a large repertoire of tunes from years past and love singing for older crowds. If your guests have a request, most groups are happy to oblige. And get ready to see the ladies swoon!

4.. Boogie Woogie Tribute
The Boogie Woogie is best known for those who lived through World War II. With lively patriotic songs, they entertained troops and kept their spirits up during a tough time in our history! Show your veteran retiree how much their service has meant with a Wartime tribute act. Songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Pistol Packin’ Mama” will keep the crowd swaying to the beat!

5. Gospel Group
Depending on the religious diversity of your guest, a Gospel group may be a meaningful performance for them. As people are nearing the end of their lives, faith begins to play a bigger part. Booking a Gospel group guarantees a great show!