The Jon Bates Band

The Jon Bates Band blew us away on our wedding day. All of the musicians are incredibly talented, you almost forget it's live because they sound like the recorded version of a song (or better)! They were wonderful to work with, extremely responsive, professional, and of course, talented. Everyone was on the dance floor from the moment they began playing until the very last song. I'm so glad we booked them and would definitely recommend them to anyway looking for a great band, no questions asked. A+++

The Jon Bates Band was incredible! We had such a hard time with other bands we tried to contract and were strung along for months at the height of everything I was told with 8 months left until my wedding that the band we thought we had was unavailable (all this while my Grandmother was sick in the hospital) I called the Jon Bates Band and told them the situation and they couldn't have been more professional. They told me they had the date available and not to worry about a thing until after my Grandmother's Funeral Services. They were so easy to work with and made all of our requests a possibility. Our wedding song was by Van Morrison and the song sounded just like the recording if not BETTER! I love the Jon Bates Band! And if you have any inclination to hire them for your wedding or event I would strongly encourage you to do so!

Jon Bates Band was incredible! They had everyone dancing at my wedding the whole night! People were even out on the dance floor before dinner was served. We really enjoyed having the band play at our wedding and all of my guests continue to comment on how great the music was.
Prior to the wedding, Jon was very helpful in picking music selections and very organized in the planning process. We were overall very pleased. I would highly recommend the Jon Bates Band for any event.

The Jon Bates Band far exceeded our expectations! Jon was very easy to work with, and the band even learned a new song for our father daughter dance. We received so many comments from our wedding guests saying how great the band was, and everyone was on the dance floor! So many of our wedding memories are tied to dancing to the music that the Jon Bates Band provided. I would definately reccommend this band to anyone planning a wedding- they were excellent!

Look no further, as the Jon Bates Band are the most talented, accommodating, and professional entertainers that you can find. But so much more than that, is the genuine warmth and great spirit that they share with each other and all your family/friends. They make the day all about you and doing everything possible to exceed even the highest of expectations. We can't wait for their next public venue so we can go and share another wonderful evening with them.

Let me start by saying that the band was the most important part of our wedding planning for us. Fortunately we made an great choice and the Jon Bates Band was far and away the best vendor we had hired. The dance floor was packed, the sound was great and they nailed every song- and believe me, we had them all over the place with jazz, funk, pop, hip hop... they did it all and were even willing to learn songs they didn't already know.
Aside from actually performing well, Jon was a pleasure to work with, he was just so kind. He was always VERY quick to respond to any questions I had, no matter how many or how trivial. I felt comfortable and confidant going into the wedding and when the festivities began... there was nothing left to do but dance.
Believe me, I'm not a big review writer, in fact this is my first vendor review at all, but if you are looking for an amzing band look no further, our guests are still talking about them.
-Kristine

Jon was an absolute pleasure to deal with throughout the entire wedding process, and the music at our reception was great. I think throughout the last few weeks leading up to the wedding, the band was the one component we never had to worry about -- Jon was always one step ahead of us asking the right questions and answering whatever we had. Their songlist was extensive and had enough to please two very different musical tastes, and they were great at getting everyone up and dancing. Would definitely recommend them.

The Jon Bates Band provided jazz during the cocktail hour. The music was perfect. Everyone enjoyed it.

We have been to many weddings, the Jon Bates Band was brilliant! The music had everyone dancing from the first note played until alas, the reception was over. The vocals were outstanding and the professionalism was unsurpassed. I would highly recommend them to anyone planning an event that needs music. They were not only fabulous musicians but easy to work with, responsive to our needs and certainly added to the perfect wedding!

We had enjoyed the Jon Bates Band at my brother's wedding back in 2008, so they were a no-brainer when we started planning our wedding. From start to finish, Jon and his crew were consummate professionals, providing friendly and timely correspondence in the months and weeks leading up to the big day, and playing their hearts out at the reception. The band will work with you on any special requests you might have (songs, announcements, band arrangement/number of performers) but are also fine taking the reins if you don't want to worry about setlists or anything like that. They keep their setlist updated with current hits but have a strong catalog from the past 60 years or so. Our dance floor was crowded for pretty much the whole night, and for weeks after the wedding, our guests raved about the energy and talent of the band. Cannot recommend them enough.

I cannot recommend the Jon Bates Band strongly enough. I have performed with many wedding bands over the years and have both performed with and witnessed many bands that simply do not deliver what they show customers during auditions and taped presentations. JON BATES DELIVERS!!!!! The band's repertoire is diverse and eclectic; however, they do not suffer from a common affliction among most wedding/corporate acts. In other words, they do not perform many different styles of music, but only perform certain styles well. The entire evening of music and every style of music from Jon Bates is first class. Their stage presentation is highly entertaining and professional. Also, the quality of their sound equipment is exemplary (you should not overlook this aspect when considering your band). As a working musician I had high expectations and certain requirements that would be challenging for most bands. Once again, Jon Bates Delivers! Do yourself a favor and book them. My guests are still talking about their performance and so will yours.

I hired the Jon Bates Band for my daughter’s wedding. They were professional, courteous, attentive, humorous, knowledgeable, sexy, and most importantly, they laid down a funky, blues-based, rocking groove that had the entire dance floor begging for “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” I would recommend them highly.

Short version: The Jon Bates Band is awesome and we could not imagine our wedding without them.

Long version: The Jon Bates Band were not only one of the best elements of our wedding, but they were incredibly cool people too. We crashed an event to check them out a couple months before our wedding and just knew they were perfect. (Adding to their coolness: They kinda helped us crash that event. (Btw, it’s prolly important to point out that that event was NOT a wedding. ;-)) They were friendly and generous and relaxed when we met them, and they answered all of my father-in-law’s music questions perfectly. (He’s the music snob, and he was paying, so what he thought was realllly important.)
They played everything we asked them to play, but we didn’t overdo this, b/c we knew from hearing them -- and from speaking with them -- that their instincts were perfectly aligned with our own. From the very first two songs -- my wife and i started with a slower song and then, by request, had them transition directly into a high-energy uptempo song -- the band owned the room. The moment we switched to the uptempo song the dance floor overflowed and never emptied again. Everyone -- everyone!!! -- danced.
I get giddy just thinking about it.

The Jon Bates Band was heaven sent. We wanted a band that would provide classic period pieces and they fit the bill! Jon made the music selection easy and stress-free making great suggestions when we needed help with the selections. The band was awesome! Great sound in a venue that called for non- amplified music. Of course they could provide amplified music also. Our guests commented on the music because they provided a wonderful dance and dining experience.

Jon was extremely easy to deal with leading up to the wedding. They got everyone up and dancing. The quality of the music was much superior to the average wedding band. We couldn't have been happier.

(An addition to the B+Z Review above, which was too short!)

This group is awesome. The quality of the music is fantastic, they are excellent performers, and they know how to work a wedding. We changed our mind for our first song pretty late in the game and they had no complaints. We had no clue what songs to use for the ceremony and they had excellent suggestions. This band made everything easy for us and got the entire guest list dancing!!

They have so much variety, from Motown to classics to rock to jazz to current pop etc.!You know the wedding band is great when everyone mentions after the wedding "man, that band was awesome!"

They are not inexpensive, but their price without doubt reflects their quality and experience. You won't go wrong with this band for your wedding (or other event!)

If you are a music fan and are looking for a real rock n roll band to play your wedding, there is no other way to go than Jon Bates. 10 stars on each of the above if possible.

Music is the most important aspect of any great party, and The Jon Bates Band made our wedding the most awesome and memorable evening imagineable. Total pros from beginning to end!!!

Jon Bates was able to meet my every request - from singing "custom lyrics" to a standard song, so playing a specific religious song that my dad wanted, to "cueing" us when to begin our finale to our first dance. He asked what music we listen to and what we personally like, and then actually played it during the night! People were dancing all night long and many remarked how great the band was. We were happy when we saw them play months prior to the wedding, but we were thrilled when they played on our wedding night!

The Jon Bates Band truly made our wedding reception. We had guests ranging from toddlers to their grandparents out on the dance floor, tearing it up to a great and energetic mix. The band was incredibly accomodating of our requests, and flexible in terms of scheduling, both of which were greatly appreciated during our hectic wedding planning. We've received many compliments on the music from our wedding guests, who loved the mix of music and spot-on imitiations. I would definitely recommend working with the Jon Bates Band!

I cannot recommend Jon and his band highly enough! Throughout our wedding we had a saxaphone soloist, a three piece jazz band, then finally the full band, and they were brilliant. They knew exactly what we wanted with minimal guidance from us. The musicians were very talented, the singers had great voices, and they were really nice people too! Everyone at our wedding had a fantastic time, and kept asking us where we found such a great band. Rest assured, with Jon and his band you'll be able to relax, let them do their job, and enjoy yourselves - and that's the whole point isn't it!!

The band was great and everyone loved them. They did however completly screw up our opening first dance song. They started the song to soon and they played the complete song instead of stoping where i had told them. Dispite this blunder i would still highly recomend this band. For your opening song if you have a routine planned out for your first dance have them play a cd.

The Jon Bates Band played at my wedding and were fantastic. I received so many compliments throughout the night. They play a wide variety of music and were very accomodating to our requests. I would highly recommend them!

We actually heard them play at our friends wedding & when we started looking I remembered how much i danced that night. The Jon Bates Band was one of the BEST parts of our wedding. They were amazing!!! They were extrememly professional and knew how to read the crowd. Every song they played was great. I got soooo many compliments on the band. At one point during the night my husband and i were on the dance floor and looked around. No one was sitting down. Everyone was on the dance floor. At one moment i thought i was at a concert, because everyone was facing the band and cheering. Music makes all the difference at an affair. I actually got to sing two songs. One to my grandparents and one to my husband. As a singer, i was unable to practice with the band, but Jon and i spoke a bunch of times and he really put my mind at ease. The songs turned out great! I cannot express enough how wonderful they were. It was money well spent!!!

This band was awesome! I would recommend this band to anyone who wants great music and a great time at a wedding or party!

Jon and his band did a great job!!! They were very flexible with songs and the price. Our guest could not stop talking about how much dancing they did!!! Everyone was very pleased. Thanks again.

The Jon Bates Band did a wonderful job at our wedding. They were very responsive to not only our musical requests, but also to the general feel of the crowd. They had all of our guests up and dancing all night! Jon was extremely helpful and accomodating, even when we took a while to make up our minds about our first dance song, etc. The band was professional, courteous, and they were a huge part of what made our wedding so much fun!

It can be very hard planning a wedding, especially when there are a lot of vendors involved. For a bride, there is nothing better than working with great vendors who make the process stress free, pleasant and pain-less. The Jon Bates Band was fantastic and such a memorable part of our wedding. Jon worked with me in every way with my song selections and he was always right there when I had a question. What bride could ask for more than that!? They were wonderful.

Jon Bates Band is incredibly talented!

The Jon Bates Band was phenomenal!!! They were a pleasure to work with and the quality of music was outstanding for the cost. The only complaint we heard from our guests was that they wish the band had played longer. I highly recommend them.

They were a pleasure to deal with and brought great energy and music to our wedding. I loved the Jon Bates Band! And my guests did too, we got a ton of compliments!!

They were amazing. Everyone was dancing the entire night. All of the music we requested was played, and they learned a new song for our father daughter dance. They were great.

I can't recommend the Jon Bates band highly enough. They played at my sister's wedding and my wife and I got engaged, we agreed that we had to book them when for our wedding. They play a whole range of music with an energy that got everyone out on the dance floor. Jon is the consummate professional and was a pleasure to deal with throughout the whole process.

Really great and professional sound. Perfect for our wedding.