Thoughts on the Dudley Manlove Quartet’s New Year’s Eve performance
This year for the New Year’s Eve we were hired to perform at a wedding reception. It’s unusual for us to take a private booking for this night as it’s usually the biggest public event of our year. The client for this event was a friend of the band’s and she wanted to throw a fantastic, memorable party to follow her wedding. The event was very enjoyable and we performed a large set list comprising many of our favorite songs, along with a number of requests from the wedding party. Fortunately, the bride’s family is friends with my wife as well, so she was able to attend the event and we spent our New Year’s Eve together.
As part of the wedding ceremony itself I played classical guitar while guests were being seated. For the family’s processional Chris Joss (DMQ keyboardist) and I performed “Unchained Melody” as a duet for jazz guitar and accordion. And for the bride’s entrance, her brother and I performed a guitar duet of “Seabreeze” by Tyrone Wells. After the wedding was over I had the opportunity to join my wife for dinner.
The reception party was in full swing from the first song, with the dance floor full and plenty of great energy all around. At the stroke of midnight, the balloons dropped from the ceiling and champagne flowed. It was a fantastic event, and one that we were honored to be a part of. We’ll look forward to seeing our fans at the next public show. Many thanks to the bride and groom for throwing a great party and for inviting us to be a part of the fun.