Music is the all time great connector of people. It knows no boundaries and speaks to everyone on their own level. Music has the power to evoke a range of emotions and feelings, yet it’s use is so simple to execute. For all these reasons and more, using music to connect with your audience at your next event is a must and I’m not just talking about the loud, upbeat, fist pump music played as your guests enter the room or the academy award style music played as your award winner makes their way to the stage.
I’m talking about immersive music, music that transports your guests to the place you want them to be, music that leaves a lasting impression and stays with them long past the actual event.
So how can you achieve this? The team at Urban Event Management have recently come across Theme Weavers – a creative team who are experts in visualising music-inspired themes and then bringing them to life. Their passion is to theme the music for your special event, focusing on making sure all the senses are stimulated and ensuring a powerfully positive response.
They’ve created a selection of carefully crafted, fun themes from which you can choose, matching each with the perfect ‘live soundtrack’ or if you already have your own theme in mind or one you are wanting to develop, they can also tailor a musical solution to suit.
The performers are a markedly different calibre of musician to the usual run of bands hired out as corporate entertainment.
So what is on offer?
There is an initial series of themes, each of which will transport you and your guests to a certain place and time. Not run-of-the-mill dress-up parties, but truly immersive experiences that make you feel like you’ve stepped into another world.
There are currently 14 options to choose from, but we’ve highlighted a selection below to give you a taste of what you can achieve.
The Big Easy
New Orleans is generally credited as the birthplace of jazz, but it’s also the centre of a distinctive form of piano-based blues. Since slaves once gathered in Congo Square to play music and dance on Sundays to the new style that came out of The Big Easy after World War II, prominent musicians such as Fats Domino have helped shape what was first widely known as ‘rhythm and blues’ – the ancestor of rock and roll.
One thing about The Big Easy, the music is always about celebration. Even the funerals are reason to party! Matching delectable Cajun and Creole cuisine as your guests soak up the songs of Fats, Dr John, James Booker and more is the perfect combination.
The Cotton Club
It was the prohibition era in America… think 1920s gangster cool. Heavyweight boxing Champ. Jack Johnson opens the Club De Luxe at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, then sells it to a prominent bootlegger who changes its name to The Cotton Club.
It became the chic meeting spot for celebrities ranging from Jimmy Durante and George Gershwin to Al Jolson, Mae West, Irving Berlin and even New York mayor Jimmy Walker.
Your guests can now join them, dining on period fare from stews like braised beef ragu or slow cooked lamb shoulder. Or perhaps savour a shrimp cocktail entrée followed by good ol’ fashioned roast beef with potato gratin and the simple pleasure of roast corn on the cob. Your meat will be carved on a table-side trolley with heating element then served on silver platters, (with doilies of course). And all the while, you’ll thrill to the music stars of the day like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday, all backed by a line-up of stunning chorus girls.
Smorgasbordello
Like a slab of Blue Cheese, this event promises to be sensuous, potent, unique and deliriously filthy.
A degustation menu matches outrageous food to elements of song, dance, comedy, farce and exaggeration. Projected images add a visual backdrop to flavoursome food set-up at superbly dressed tables with a velvet curtain vibe throughout the room.
Tempting and theatrical, you’ll be entertained by classy musicians, sensuous dancers and very cool comedy that can be specifically tailored to your company. They’ll even write a comical song, just for your business or your event, that you can use later any way you please (perhaps for marketing purposes or as content on your company’s social media pages or web site).
Your guests will experience everything and anything… a sensual exploration of liberation and freedom where that fictional ‘fourth wall’ of theatre is broken down to include the audience as an integral part of our show. Dining on forbidden delights – foods known for their aphrodisiac qualities such as fresh Sydney rock oysters and grilled salmon fillet with beur blanc sauce… or perhaps crispy pork belly with sticky apple sauce… followed by wallowing in a Belgian chocolate fountain with banana, honeycomb and strawberry dippers. Your event will be a glamorous spectacle that weaves an intoxicating web of artistic expression. We dare you to be decadent.
If you’re wanting to take it to the next level, what about producing a musical soundtrack for your whole event? Bringing a unique element to your event through music is a great way to stand out from your competitors but also ensure that vital message is achieved and retained. Imagine if your clients or staff could hear a certain piece of music (or several) and it would take them back to the message you were delivering at your event.
Music is such a powerful tool, it just makes sense to incorporate its use at your next event in ways you haven’t before. With such flexibility and successful outcomes from businesses already, your next question should be “What event do I have coming up that I that I can create a musical soundtrack for?”.
It’s time to add a unique element to your event so reach out to the team at Urban Event Management today who can start to help you make it happen!