40th Birthday Ideas…

I went to a very well organised 40th Birthday and it was the most enjoyable ‘Birthday bash’ I have been to in a long while. Why not give your loved one a birthday party to remember for years to come and here is a taster of what was on offer at this particular one:

This party was all arranged to ensure that guests never knew quite what was coming next: 

Just sixty minutes from London, Aynhoe Park offers a luxurious private home and embodies pure British eccentricity from top to toe. For Friday night, guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner and comic delights for entertainment.

When you hire Aynhoe Park, it essentially becomes your home. You can do as you please and there are fantastic events staff on hand to cater to your needs. It really is an incredible place. Acts were provided to be immersive, with no obvious staging required. Saturday night was the big party day and guests could move freely from room to room, never knowing what they were about to encounter. With no announcements necessary, the evening flowed beautifully and it was a fantastic idea to enhance the event.

The pop-up nature of the evening began with a superb pianist, who performed on the vintage piano as partygoers took in the experience; drinking their cocktails, sampling the canapés on display and marvelling at the Aynhoe Park experience and quirky nature of the event!

In a different area of Aynhoe Park; A Capella singing combined with a beatboxer more than delivered and really got the party started. Guests were whooping and cheering throughout, even calling out for an encore, which was duly respected!

And for a finale, what better act than the illuminating lights of a fire show. Performing in the orangery with the audience surrounding them, they managed to create a club-inspired atmosphere that was perfect to lead into the DJ who played across two different zones – his first set was commercial pop and dance floor fillers, before moving onto deep house music until 4am!

Wedding party ideas…

Whether your special day is a small registry celebration, a large church gathering or a more personal, non-religious ceremony, start as you mean to go on by making the first day of the rest of your lives the best day of your lives.

For a truly unforgettable day Red Masque entertainment will fulfil all your musical requirements with the pick of the country’s coolest party bands for a swinging evening reception, or perhaps a jazz band or swing band or classical music artists to provide background entertainment during the meal or the signing of the register.

A whole day of music…

Starting with the wedding ceremony, a piper is traditional to play the bride in and out of the church. A string quartet or harpist are common choices to provide a beautiful musical backdrop during the wedding ceremony and immediately afterwards whilst photos are taken.

Your wedding drinks reception. 

A jazz or swing band is an ideal choice to provide light background music during the afternoon reception, helping to settle guests and create an exciting atmosphere. It is also quite common for the string quartet from your ceremony to continue playing during the afternoon reception.

Evening wedding reception.

And what evening reception would be complete without a party function band or DJ? Pop bands are by far the most popular choices, with soul, disco and salsa offering something a little different.

DJ’s are a cost effective solution if a band is out of your budget but are also often booked as well as a band to fill in the gaps between the bands performances. Also, ask if the band themselves can DJ in between sets as this is very often possible.

More than just music…

Don’t just stop at wedding music though as all manner of wedding entertainment can be arranged. From top caricaturist and illusionists to entertain your guests while they mingle, to traditional ballet dancers and stage hypnotists, there’s no end to the fun that can we can arrange for you.

Anniversary Party Planning Ideas

The word anniversary, meaning returning with the year or the annually recurring date of a past event, derives from the Medieval Latin word anniversarius, where annus means year and versus, which is the past participle of vertere, means to turn.

In modern times an anniversary celebration is usually held as a day of remembrance to commemorate a special event, particularly one of historical, national or personal importance: a person’s death, the anniversary of the founding of Rome or more usually a wedding anniversary. 

With music being one of the most important aspects of any party you might think about a themed band or DJ to play music from the era of your wedding party. For example why not book a swing band or Jazz Band for your 50th or 60th wedding anniversary party or a Rock n Roll band for all you 1960’s or 70’s newlyweds.

Many of Red Masque tribute bands will perform in costume which can lead to even greater amusement if you make it compulsory that all your guests must dress up in gear that was trendy in the year you were married, especially if any of them still have original items of clothing from those days!

Maybe you were married abroad, be it Ireland, the Caribbean or Greece so why provide a band who will perform music traditional to that country;  
which will get everyone jigging, or a top class steel band to re-invoke the sound of the sea and the swaying palms you enjoyed on your Caribbean wedding day.

Many people choose to organise a 1st, 2nd or 3rd year wedding anniversary party featuring the same band they hired for their wedding day entertainment. Your guests will have loved them the first time around so it’s a pretty safe bet that the next performance will be just as great.

If you’re asking guests to wear fancy dress then your room should be decorated in a similar theme.

For a personal treat you should ask all your friends to bring photos, anecdotes and tall tales about your years as a married couple. You can later compile these into an album to look back on and savour for years to come.

Make your guests smile…

By combining the hottest corporate event trends for 2015 and some very special entertainment, you can create a corporate event entertainment that’s still talked about long after.

For all 2015 corporate events, décor will be key. Your venue needs to wow your guests from the moment they walk in, creating a special and uniquely defined space for your event. Two highly contrasting themes are high tech interactive and natural materials, enabling your company to show off its tech prowess, or boost its eco credentials.

If you choose a high tech theme, your entertainment must be 100% integrated to the whole tech ambience. Look for entertainers that offer a tech twist in their act, such as iPad illusionists, LED Light entertainers and street magicians that work with the latest phones and mobile gadgets.

Choose musicians that blend performances with tech, such as our interactive VJ’S, or a live DJ for hire. Get your guests interacting with each other playing giant games with your very own theme.
If you are thinking about a winter corporate event into a natural winter wonderland with ice sculptures and decorated living statues, walkabout characters, and seasonal winter menus. Welcome guests with the warming aromas of mulled wine, or entice people out into the crisp winter air with heated seating areas, piles of rugs and sweet chestnuts roasting on a real coal brazier.

You could extend the theme beyond décor and food into acoustic musical acts, for a more ‘natural’ sound. Entertain with a gospel singing Christmas songs, or a trendy a Capella groups, or guitar and sax soloists.

When you want your corporate party to finally hot up, keep the theme with classic tracks that really evoke the sights and sounds with top UK function and party bands who know their Farrell and their Ed Sheeran.

Take lighting to the next level and illuminate your event to create spectacle and visual interest. Any venue can be transformed with clever and creative use of lighting even on the more limited of budgets. Use lighting to throw unusual shadows, to colour tables rather than using flowers, and use wireless technology to alter lighting states to reflect the various stages of your event.

Your entertainment should be equally well lit! Look for party DJ’S with their own light shows, rock and pop function bands that provide their own lighting, and artists that use light in imaginative ways.
For larger events, book artists that have a strong visual impact enhanced by theatrical style lighting, such as dance troupes, ballet dancers or aerial artists.

Find ways to make your party entertainment a pleasure for everyone by choosing acts that blend superb musicianship with accessible humour, such as a comedy string quartet. Or present musical acts with an international flavour, such as 1920s swing band just make people smile!

Planning the perfect party

My Auntie has a huge celebration for her 60th birthday party. With over 100+ guests packed into function rooms, she was determined to create an inclusive evening of live and unique entertainment for everybody attending. A night where everyone could get dressed up and simply have a great time from start to finish.

Red Masque are able to book individual artists for events as well as a full evenings worth of continuous live entertainment at parties such as this one.  

A stunning visual effect was created by booking one of Red Masque’s living statues who greeted guests on arrival. They went down a storm and were a real conversation starter… “Rather than get your drinks from the bar, you could go and get one from a living statue!” (This by the way was in the shape of a table)

The next surprise was a quartet of comedy singers who broke into song during the drinks reception to much awe and wonder from all in attendance. They were by far the favourite of many of the guests and left everyone excited for what was coming up next!

Then a fantastic live jazz band and swing band hired for the event. They started the party as people were moving from one room to the other, getting everybody in the mood for dancing!

During the sit down meal, three magicians, performed to guests in their seats with card tricks, sleight of hand and close up magic leaving all in attendance both entertained and perplexed as only magicians can!

Also providing a background ambience and continuing the jazz music theme during the meal was a saxophone artist. The incredible sax playing really added some continuity to the musical background of the event so far.

And finally, the 8-piece function band opened up the dancefloor with everyone in attendance putting on their dancing shoes and taking to the floor. Excite put their stamp on every song and provided the perfect round off to the evening

The entertainment really helped make this party into an event and a show to be beat! With wall-to-wall entertainment throughout the night from start to finish, all gaps were filled with a number of the guests commenting on how they’d never been to such an entertaining party!

So, if you think you’d like something similar for your party, please feel free to browse on our gallery and see what you can come up with to hire. Not is only is an event like this great fun for you and your guests on the night, but you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you will hire only the best artists in the business.

Choosing a wedding band

Wedding bands are highly required to make wedding receptions very lively. If you’re thinking of making your oncoming wedding event memorable; you really need to source for the best Wedding bands. You need to engage a reliable entertainment directory that offers quality entertainers for wedding events. You don’t need to crack your brain just to locate the right band. You simply need a little time to make the right choice. Red Masque has a high calibre of entertainment you will be guaranteed to find something that suits. If you wanted to hire some reliable wedding entertainment, we are sure you will be able to locate the best through our directory.

It’s important you consider the venue of your wedding reception when sourcing for the best band. Make sure you choose from a good entertainment directory such as Red Masque. Once you have chosen you are free to ask as many questions as you like to your chosen entertainer and tailor make your wedding your way. A good point to remember is; you can easily make the right choice by asking proper questions.

When searching for quality however, we can assure you that we have vetted all of our entertainment and have had trusted reviews from each and every one. Of course you can easily find what you are looking for online but do they come highly acclaimed and are they from a trusted entertainment directory?

In any case, if you succeed in locating the best wedding bands, you can take another step by getting in touch with them. You can send emails or call them on phone. You can speak with the managers or the artists themselves. You need to ask them several questions before you make the right choice. You have to ask about their charges, style of music, duration, expertise and so on. You can easily pick the best from the responses you’ll get at the end.

In all, take your time when sourcing for Wedding music. You need to start looking for the right agency like Red Masque ahead of time. You really need to pick the best band that will make your wedding glorious. You’ll succeed if you choose the right directory in the first place – which by the way is Red Masque directory.

Setting the scene

Beach Blanket Babylon is a decadent venue in trendy Shoreditch perfect for exclusive events and celebrations with an impressive capacity of up to 800 people. The venue has a number of opulent event spaces on offer that lend themselves perfectly to stylish corporate networking events, cocktail receptions, corporate dinners, gala events, conferences and fashion shows.

The Champagne Lounge is ideal for private parties of up to 300 guests with rich wooden surrounds, decadent mood lighting and unique decorations. The Gallery offers a versatile self-contained space, with rustic wooden floors and white walls it is the perfect blank canvas for conferences and exhibitions and can hold up to 175 guests. The Mezzanine and The Bar are both gorgeous spaces; The Mezzanine elegantly holds up to 70 guests while the vibrant cosmopolitan bar holds up to 250 guests.

To complete the look and enhance the atmosphere Red Masque entertainment have a few Jazz bands to hire on our books from London provide standout musical entertainment that will.

The floating cinema is one of London’s top 8 coolest art venues in 2013, the floating cinema is now available for private hire offering a unique event space for product launches, corporate away days, film shoots and special occasions.

This intimate venue has a capacity of 12 passengers when cruising and 20 people standing while static.  The Floating Cinema is a purpose-built wide beam barge with a flexible ‘whitespace’ auditorium that offers a unique and original experience for guests. The space can be easily reconfigured to accommodate meetings and team building sessions. As a cinema it offers state of the art high-spec lighting and surround-sound facilities, a fully equipped cinema auditorium space and a stunning central viewing deck from which guests can enjoy a new perspective of London’s most iconic views.

The Warner Bros Studio in London – home to Harry Potter film sets – offers an exciting event space not just for fans of the Harry Potter franchise. Corporate event organisers can choose to host exclusive dinners and award ceremonies in the Great Hall, sip cocktails and tankards of butter beer in the Three Broomsticks, and host networking events in Dagon Alley.

What better entertainment to accompany a corporate event in the place where Harry Potter was filmed than a string quartet that will create an atmospheric setting fit for the Harry Potter films and could even play the film franchise’s iconic theme tune!

The best in the business

The wonderful sound of live music being played is second to none, so why not hire one of the best in the business and make your event truly memorable?

Go for the classical with a four piece, solo musician or a full orchestra. From the magical sounds of a Harpist to the timeless sound of a Violist or a string quartet.  If you wanted an upmarket affair then you’ll find a large selection of classical musicians available here at Red Masque.

Imagine the scene; a launch party for your new wine bar has finally been arranged and there is the sound of people talking and laughter. Hiring a musician could be the perfect addition to your event and the added ingredient needed to make it a complete success. The right ambience can certainly make your event stand out.

If you’re looking to add a little culture then why not try one of our musical artists from around the world? Hire some Latin or Middle Eastern music musicians. We have reggae bands for hire,  african bands, indian musicians and tradition artists from Europe, South America and the far east. To hire only the best musicians from across the globe look no further than Red Masque directory. You’ll find just what you’ve been looking for to give your special event that extra special sparkle!!

For some Motown and Soul is the best music of days gone by, it was soulful funky and is still as popular today. Why not bring the party to life and hire a top Motown band or tribute act? Motown really turned the music industry around and today we still hear sampled copies of Motown and Soul being used today.

To hire a band, musician, orchestra or singer for any event look no further than Red Masque Directory where you will find the finest artists available in the UK today. We are the most comprehensive entertainment directory in the UK. With everything from unique and original acts and party entertainment to the best performers and bands in the business.

Let’s hear it for the groups…

Having a group of singers perform for you is very entertaining, it could be a boy band where they would do their best harmonies and all the ladies would swoon or a girl band where not only will their singing be amazing but will add a bit of eye candy to your event. Or if you wanted you could have a group which is not defined by boy or girl but a group like Fleetwood mac?

Your event will sparkle if you hired one of our groups from our directory.  Whatever you were organising we are sure a boy band or girl group would be just the thing.

All the groups you see advertised are of the highest calibre where they have all been rated 5 stars. You won’t find better than the party entertainment here at Red Masque. To book simply fill out an online booking form located on our website and your group of choice will be in contact to arrange further details.