Andy Kushner Entertainment

I used the band SoundNation through Andy Kushner for my wedding and I cannot write enough great things about the band. I was nervous at first since I chose them by watching online videos and reading reviews and not by personal experience. Some of the other bands were fantastic but way out of my price range. They were able to learn our first dance and the father-daughter dance just like they had promised. Throughout the wedding, I had guests coming up to me asking how I found them and telling me how wonderful they were. I even had guests going up to them asking for business cards. Everyone both young and old were up and dancing. They played a mix of classic oldies to todays top 40 songs. There was also a great balance between slow dancing and party songs.

The only reason I did not give 5 stars has nothing to do with the band. I wish I had been contacted a month prior to the wedding instead of 2 weeks to figure out the logistics/details of everything. Since I had never been married, I did not know the typical run down and am not able to use my phone during the day so it was very difficult and stressful to get things figured out. Luckily it was all taken care of and the end result was better than what I expected.

Hiring Sound Connection was like buying an insurance policy guaranteeing an amazing wedding and party. Andy knows how to design the music to make sure that the wedding is a celebration and a great time. Don't think twice - if you want a wedding that every one will be talking about what a great time they had - hire Sound Connection.

Hands down the BEST band out there! They had all of our guests on the dance floor all night long, and everyone was raving about them. High energy, talented, professional. We loved working with them.

Noel Sonkwa was our DJ and he was great and easygoing. He kept the music going at the reception and included all our requests. Our crowd did not need any motivation to get on the dance floor and Noel respected that. At the right moment he taught a Cuban line dance which was really fun. There was a slip in one of the processional songs so that explains the 4.5. The cost was reasonable and competitive. We would absolutely recommend him and Andy Kushner Entertainment.

Sound Nation was the best wedding band we could ever have asked for! The dance floor was packed from the 1st song to the very last dance. Andy Kushner Entertainment was always fast, responsive and very professional throughout the entire planning period and wedding day itself. We still are hearing from our friends and family that Sound Nation was one of the best wedding bands they've ever seen.

I learned about Andy through my now uncle who used him for his daughter's wedding. I was able to experience Marquise there and was very fortunate to be able to have Marquise be available to travel all the way to my wedding in the Chesapeake Bay. I was not disappointed either occasion! Marquise sounds great and were so easy to work with. Even though my wedding was a whirlwind, I enjoyed their talent immensely as did my husband and more importantly our guests had an amazing time largely because the music created such a fun atmosphere. Thank you Andy. Thank you Marquise. My wedding was perfect and you were a HUGE reason for that.

SoundConnection played at our wedding on May 19, 2012. We're still getting emails and notes from friends raving about the band.

From our first conversation, Andy took the time to understand the kind of wedding reception we were planning, and recommend how SoundConnection could help us meet those needs. Andy helped us plan our reception, and had great suggestions for timing that helped us create the event we wanted.

We hired SoundConnection based on reviews on WeddingWire, as well as feedback from a friend who had hired them. We planned the wedding from out of town, so we weren't able to hear them perform until our wedding day. While it seemed like a slight risk - it worked out perfectly. They kept our party going, and kept the dance floor packed all night, but were also able to deliver beautiful ballads for all of our dances (first dance, father/daughter, mother/son.) Highly recommend SoundConnection.

everything was very professional, fun, and all guests of all ages enjoyed the music.

We loved our DJ!!! We had DJ Noel and he is excellent to work with. He was very responsive and was easy to work with. He was very flexible working with our hectic schedule and always on time with all our meetings. He was extremely patient with all the times I was indecisive. We thank Noel for being OUR DJ at our wedding!!! It was a pleasure working with you. Everyone...especially my family loved how he interacted with the audience and how he got on the dance floor. My wedding was truly magical and memorable and I want to thank Andy Kushner Entertainment for being a part of it. I will definitely recommend Andy Kushner Entertainment to my friends when they get married. I also plan to work with them again so they can be our DJ for future events. Well Noel, I am so happy to have you as our DJ and for the million time.....THANK YOU for everything. :)

We had booked the Sound Nation band through Andy Kushner. The band was by far one of the best bands I've ever seen play at a wedding (and I'm not being biased). Many of our friends have or are opting for bands versus a DJ. Soundnation just made the atmosphere of the evening so much better!

We were referred to them through a friend of a friend. She had a list of bands and as soon as we saw their video we knew they were the one! The "big man's" voice reminds you of Stevie Wonder. We did have a different female lead singer but she was out of this world. They had the entire floor jam packed, and was also willing to learn two new songs for us.

By the end of the night, we had everyone chanting "one more song" because nobody wanted to leave the dance floor. Andy, himself, was also very responsive and professional. We decided on adding a horn a few weeks before and he made it seemless. I highly recommend SoundNation and Andy if you need an experienced band that can keep everyone on the dance floor.

While it was expensive, the price was actually lower than some other bands we had looked at and well worth it!

Sound Connection played for our wedding reception in Bethesda, MD, and we can't put into words how incredible they were. Even in the days leading up to the wedding, Andy Kushner was extremely responsive to us and accommodated our rather strict "do not play list," took responsibility for bringing all of our intro and first dance songs, and agreed to read a long and comedic intro script for the bridal party entrances. At the reception, Sound Connection knew exactly how to read the mood of the crowd and adjust their music as appropriate. I was continually amazed with each successive song at how current they were or at what a great spin they put on older songs (when they played Party Rock the crowd was shocked and went wild!). We have been to many, many weddings over the past few years and there is no doubt in our minds that Sound Connection tops all of the other wedding bands we have heard. All of our guests - including professional musicians (Broadway, National Symphony Orchestra, recording artists, etc.) - just raved about the band, and they were the talk of our brunch the next morning. Our wedding band was the MOST important detail to us since we love to dance, and Sound Connection did not let us down. We are pretty sure that all of our engaged friends will be hiring them for their receptions! Absolutely amazing, first-rate performance - thank you Andy and Sound Connection!

Since wedding wire won't let me post 2 reviews of the same vendor, I have to break them up here. In sum, I rate Sound Nation a full 5-stars (more if I could!) and I rate Andy Kushner Entertainment (the management company 4.5 stars.

Overall, I strongly recommend Andy Kushner Entertainment because of their high-quality, award-winning bands. Music is a smaller portion of your budget, but it is by far one of the most important and memorable elements of your event. For me, the band is the #1 thing that people remember and continue to talk about from my wedding (because of how incredible they were), and I cannot wait for the opportunity to to use them again in the future!

For Sound Nation, I give them a solid 5-stars across the board!! Before my wedding, "the band" was what I was most excited for in the days leading up (aside from marrying the love of my life of course) and they did not disappoint at all. This was the line-item that I splurged a bit in and I'm so glad I did. "Phenomenal" "The Bomb!" "They KILLED it!" is all I continue to hear from our guests months after the event. One guest called recently to say, "I was just at a huge over-the-top birthday party with a great band, but they still weren't as good as Sound Nation. You're band was AMAZING!" Our first dance was to John Legend's "So High" and the lead singer was so good that a few people thought it was really John Legend at first! :-) If you are considering Sound Nation at all, just book them! You won't regret it!

For Andy Kushner Entertainment (the management company), I offer an strong overall 4.5 review. I could not rate management with the same 5-star review because I experienced a few hiccups along the way in my planning process (there was a change in personnel that resulted in a few issues, but Andy stepped up to the plate and made himself PERSONALLY available to me to fix things). I appreciated Andy's commitment to service and in the end, everything...

Andy Was great. We met several weeks in advance to select the music and mood. As promised Andy orchestrated the entire evening the guest stayed on the dance floor all night long. The band was very skillful , they changed outfits several times, I would highly recommend Soundconnection.

We used Sound Connection as our wedding band, Pop Culture Strings as our string quartet for the ceremony and Richard the piano player for the cocktail reception and all three were AMAZING! We received numerous compliments on all of them. They helped set the tone for the wedding and followed through until the very end. When the wedding was over, all of my friends stayed on the dance floor, hoping that Sound Connection would come out for an encore! Andy was very nice and called me the week before the wedding to make sure everything was going well and to see if I had any last-minute requests. The band played everything that we requested of them and had the dance floor packed all night. It was well worth the money.

SoundNation was awesome! They got the crowd rocking right away, and the dancers’ enthusiasm fueled the band. It was a virtuous cycle of increasing energy on both sides. The crowd cried for more, and everyone was extremely disappointed when the venue's house rules forced them into the finale far too early for the guests. I give them my highest recommendation.

Amaretto was simply amazing. They have a wide-ranging playlist and happily added a couple of songs to their repertoire for our reception. Both the band and Andy Kushner Entertainment were easy to work with and more than happy to trade email after email after email to make sure we nailed down all of the details prior to the big night.

I knew we made the right choice when I asked Chris about how we might handle the transition from a slow mother/son dance to a high energy dance set. He responded "Don't worry about that... that's what we're good at." We couldn't believe how many people ended up packing the dance floor... and how it stayed that way the rest of the night.

It would take all of our fingers and toes to count the number of guests that told us that Amaretto was the best wedding band they'd ever witnessed. We think they'll do the same for yours.

Our guest danced until the very end. We contracted for extra playing time, which was a smart move. The band was very engaged with the audience and permitted some special request from the bride and groom. The band makes or breaks the party. This one was a winner with young to old.

Andy Kushner Entertainment and Sound Nation brought the perfect combination of quality music and high energy to our wedding. From the moment they started playing, our guests could not stop dancing! They really understood how to read the crowd and keep everyone entertained. I would highly recommend them!

Andy Kushner's SOUND NATION played at our wedding and they were an unbelievable hit!!! We have received hundreds of compliments from our guests and their talent was evident as the dance floor was packed ALL NIGHT!!

They are tremendously talented musicians and also truly have a knack for making everyone feel included - both young and older guests. At one point in the evening I looked across the dance floor and both a 60 year old guest and a 20 year old guest were dancing with their ties around their heads - sure fire sign of a successful band.

They blended classic motown with recent top 40 hits and were just incredibly professional. They truly made our reception and I am so glad we chose them. My husband is Puerto Rican and Andy even helped us add a Latin percussionist to add a little extra flavor to the reception.

Andy was incredibly easy to work with and the folks from Sound Nation were perfect professionals. They also provided our ceremony music/audio, which was perfect and one sound tech stayed an extra half hour to play songs from an iPod to keep the party going.

SoundNation is expensive, but worth every single penny and probably then some. If you want to really take your wedding reception to the next level - live music from SoundNation is the answer. One of the very best decisions we made in planning our wedding!!!

The band kept our dance floor packed the entire night with their incredible quality of music. They took care of every aspect that a band would need to do at an event, and they did it with professionalism and energy. We decided not to give any special instructions on what music to play, and this was a great decision. They are professionals who do this every weekend, and they knew exactly what to play to keep people dancing all night. We had so many compliments about them, and we have even had guests book them for their upcoming events. My husband and I look forward to seeing them play again!

It's hard to believe that people settle for services from other entertainment companies when you can have so much more with Andy Kushner Entertainment. Seriously. There is no better group of folks in the region from our perspective. People say to us all the time that they've NEVER been to such a great wedding reception and most liken it to more of a "party."

The dance floor was jamming all night long with guest young and old...and people only left when it was time for the decor folks & caterers to begin breaking things down. There was an incredible vibe going from the beginning with DJ Sonkwa and fluid interchanges of Sound Nation (live band) and dj...back and forth with no drop off in attendee excitement.

The band even took the time to learn new music and perform it live at the wedding ceremony using just the piano and beautiful voices! Plus they got on the dance floor themselves with the wireless mic really bringing the love for music to everyone!

Our wedding really was a dream wedding...that's not hokey stuff, it's an honest appraisal.

Carl & Darin

Andy Kushner and Sound Connection were absolutely fabulous in every possible way. He took the time to meet with my husband and me to discuss exactly what type of party we wanted and to get to know us as individuals and a couple. Having a personal connection really helped, and we couldn't have asked for a better band. They knew exactly what we wanted and what our guests needed to have a good time. Throughout the reception all 200 guests were on the dance floor, only sitting to grab a bite to eat. Our family and friends are still raving about how amazing the band was at our wedding!

Sound Connection is the best most amazing band! Everyone danced the entire evening. They worked with us to give the bride and groom exactly what they asked for. Our guests are still raving. Everyone commented that NO ONE sat the whole wedding! their sound is fabulous!

Sound Connection got the reception going and kept up the pace for the entire wedding. Everyone was dancing and had a fabulous time. They even learned the music and lyrics to a song that the groom's mother wanted to hear when she danced with her son. Andy Kushner was so responsive to everything we wanted, but we followed his recommendations regarding timing, music selections and lighting. In the end, we were having too much fun and had the band play an extra hour. It is a night we will all remember forever.

I have really only good things to say.
This band has rocked our wedding party. everybody was on the dance floor from the start to the end. It says everything.

Although I wish there was a little bit of country music in their repertory, it ended up being just fine and fun with the 3 country songs that I picked, everybody is still talking about how great of an evening it was and how good our band was. And they are now doing some of our friends weddings :)

Thank you again for making our special day so incredible ! There is no doubt you are the greatest out there !

Sound Connection is truly the best! The played at our wedding in August and guests are still raving about their performance. Sound Connection had people dancing from the moment they entered the reception until it ended. Your wedding or event will be a guaranteed success if they are there!!

we had sound connection at out august 2010 wedding and they were great! we got tons of compliments on them and they kept the dance floor moving the whole night.

my only problem really was that they royally messed up our first dance song, skipped a whole section of the song, which had the cue for our big finale in it. therefore, we had no idea when the song was ending and didn't get to do our fancy dance combination with the dip that we'd been practicing for 3 months. so that was very sad. we had asked to get a CD of them singing our song so we could find a cue if it was different from what we'd been practicing with, but were told that they don't even get their parts until a few days beforehand. our choice was to risk that or bring a CD of our song that they could play instead of playing live, but that seemed silly since we were paying so much for a live band. they do offer to learn 2-3 songs for you and we assumed they would learn it and perform it the same way it was on the CD.

but other than that, we were very happy with them. they also played piano during our cocktail hour, which was fine as well.

Andy Kushner provided the string quartet for the ceremony, jazz trio for the cocktail hour and the band Sound Connection for the reception. All of the music was fantastic at the wedding. The dance floor was filled for the entire party, up to the last song. It was the livliest party we have ever been at!

Andy Kushner Entertainment (especially Sir Andrew) played such a huge role in our big day!! They were so helpful from the very beginning in terms of making suggestions and guiding us in the right direction. We had a vision going into the process and not only did they help us realize it they had amazing ideas about how to truly customize the night so that it was unparalleled. We have recommended them to EVERYONE we know!! Sir Andrew was amazing, we've never seen anything like him as a host/MC, he kept the evening flowing, energetic, and appropriate. The DJ was on point, knowing not only what to play and reading the crowd perfectly, the transitions between songs was like we were at a nightclub!!

Andrew Larris took the time to get to know what we were hoping for at our wedding. He hit it out of the park!! You cannot go wrong with him. What an amazing night!

We loved Sound Nation's sound and style. They sounded great on my wedding day, HOWEVER, they completely ignored my "do not play list" and played 5 songs in a row that I asked them not to play. I don't know if it was a mix-up or what, but I spent a ton of time going through their song list and I was extremely frustrated at my reception when Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" started playing.
With that being said, they learned 2 new songs for us, they sounded wonderful and our guests were on the floor all night. Definitely hire them, just make sure they are aware of your song selections.

We hired Sound Connection for our daughter’s wedding. They were awesome. As soon as our guests heard the music as they entered the ballroom, they got on the dance floor. It was packed. Everyone had a fabulous time. The band played the songs we asked for, but they also were able to judge by the crowd what what music would be just right. It’s like they had a sixth sense about what to play. As the party came to a close and people were leaving, we received so many nice comments and compliments about Sound Connection. That made us feel really good. In fact, our other daughter “put in an order” to have Sound Connection at her wedding, whenever that would be.
Six years later we did hire Sound Connection again for her wedding. Our family and friends remembered the band and were so excitied to find out they would be playing at the second wedding too. They knew they were in for a fun celebration!
Kudos to Sound Connection. They are the best. We recommend them to whoever we know who is planning a party.

I have nothing but the best things to say about Sound Connection!!!! They are incredible and everyone had the best time dancing to their music. They kept the entire evening lively and knew exactly when, and how, to get the party started! Our guests kept telling us how amazing our band was, and we completely agree!

My husband and I were incredibly pleased with Sound Connection! Working with the band beforehand was a pleasure due to the quick responses we received and their professionalism. They brought the party to life and got everyone out on the dance floor! We highly recommend them to anyone.

I am an event planner who owns IMPACT Marketing & Events and planned my own wedding with my wife. We thought we had every detail ironed out up until the last few weeks before the wedding. We then realized that we needed an entertaining host and MC to get the party started and keep the momentum going all night long. There was only one man for the job - Sir Andrew! After 13 years of event/wedding planning, I have never seen anyone engage an audience like the way Andrew did from AKE. Without him, our wedding would not have had the same positive impact on us as well as our guests. I strongly recommend every bride and groom to hire Sir Andrew to host their BIG DAY as they will be happy that they made this decision.

We used Sound Connection for my daughter's wedding in April 2010. The band is fabulous and working with Andy Kushner and his staff was a very satisfactory process. They were responsive, professional, and easy to work with at all times. They have a great deal of wedding experience and because of them, the music part of the big weekend was without stress or tension. They are outstanding!

I cannot rave about this band enough! Everyone agreed this was the best party ever and at the end of the evening (1AM) the dance floor was full with everyone chanting "encore". And the best part of all was that the band accommodated and played an encore. I wouldn't change a thing. They played beautifully at the ceremony and during the cocktail hour and outdid themselves at the party. WORTH EVERY CENT!!!

I wanted to sincerely thank Brenna Kennedy, our Production Coordinator with Kushner Entertainment, for all of her hard work throughout the planning process with Marquise. Her expertise and professionalism were greatly appreciated and her suggestions and insights were both beneficial and attentive to our specific needs.

We would also like to extend our sincerest thank you to Marquise. I can say without hesitation that Marquise exceeded our greatest expectations. Their set list was exceptional and included something for every age. Their energy was infectious and they had everyone at the reception on the dance floor all night. Shirleta, Marquise's band leader, and the band were extremely accommodating and attentive to our specific requests. Everyone commented on how phenomenal the band was and we would definitely recommend them for any occasion. Thank you for making our reception an unforgettable event.

Andy did a great job helping us find our wedding band, Marquise! Marquise was a great wedding band, they played music that allowed all of our guests from ages 5 to 85 get up and dance! We appreciated their professionalism, they were on time and kept the wedding reception tempo moving forward. We also appreciated that the band's leader spent her time on the microphone singing not commentating or talking to the crowd.

We had Sound Connections at our daughter's wedding in August of 2009.
They were ten steps above a great band. They put on a show that engaged the
audience. The dance floor was crowded the entire evening until the very end.
Teenage, young adult and even grandpa danced the night away.

We would hire them again and are for a 2010 wedding.

Just amazing--the best wedding band that I've ever heard (and all of our guests told us the same thing). They really got the party started and had a blast with everyone all night. The musicians are stellar and the singers are spectacular. A++++

Almost every guest commented that the Groove was the best wedding band they have ever seen.

We booked Sound Connection to play at our wedding. They came highly recommended from multiple groups of people. Andy and his assistant Brenna were very friendly and easy to work with. Andy came with the band to our wedding and MC'ed the whole event. I had a very special request, which I don't think is very common, and they accomodated me to the max (I am too embarrassed to say what I did). The band was awesome. Sound Connection was extremely engaged and energetic the whole night. They cared about how our guests were feeling and it showed. Everyone complemented the band afterwards.

After seeing them at an inaugural ball, we hired Sound Connection for our wedding reception. The band did a phenomenal job! Their sound was amazing, as was their range. By trying all kinds of different music and picking up the mood of the crowd, the band managed to get everyone on the dance floor: all the guys who had come without their wives; all the guests that hadn't seen each other in ages and wanted to catch up rather than dance; all the shy non-dancing guests. The musicians were unflappable professionals who worked around the quirks of the venue, the lengthy toasts, and my father's persistent requests for waltzes. There was no difference in the professionalism and energy Sound Connection brought to entertaining our 100+ person party or the 600-person inaugural ball. They made our party spectacular, and we heard compliments about them for weeks afterwards. Highly recommended!

We hired Sound Nation for our wedding in early 2009 and the band was fabulous. They had a great varied song list and an incredibly full sound. Everything about them was great--they played everything from swing and other material the older guests like and great contemporary stuff too; they also learned a song at my request for the first dance. My guests danced the entire time and I continue to get compliments on the band. My only complaints was that they kind of ignored the list of their songs we had requested they play, with a few exceptions. But honestly, because they avoided the songs I'd asked them not to play, and because everything else they played was so great, I barely noticed the absence of songs I had asked for and didn't hear. I definitely recommend them.

A large number of our guests commented that Marquise was the best wedding band they have ever heard. The female vocalist is amazing. She had our 80 year old aunt dancing on the stage!

I had the pleasure of working with Sound Connection this past week. They lived up to their reputation as one of the top bands in DC, and hugely exceeded my expectations. Working with their management before the event was easy. Their engineers arrived early and worked with me and the other vendors during the set up. The band members were all on time, and were the consummate professionals throughout the evening. But ultimately, the band just rocked it. They don't do cheesy karaoke covers, they take classic and current songs and make them their own. I would estimate that at least 80% of all guests in attendance were on the dance floor at all times. I barely saw the bride and her parents leave the dance floor at all. I would say that if you have the opportunity to book Sound Connection for your next event, do it and don't look back. You will be more than satisfied with the end result!

Andy Kushner Entertainment are the best in the industry. They are innovators, the industry leaders and trend setters. Andy along with his main man Sir Andrew will rock your world! They are amazing! Over the past two decades we've done events together they are without a doubt the best! They are musical and entertainment master minds and an absolute must have for any event!

I frequently work with Andy Kushner Entertainment on clients weddings. All of their bands are professional, versatile, eager to please and will keep your dance floor packed throughout your event!

Whenever I'm in need of a band, Andy is the guy I call.