This month’s Featured Member is Al McHardy, the Founder of Bespoke Live who has over fifteen years of extensive experience working to deliver live music at weddings and events. In his experience the best live performances are those where a tailored, personalised brief is developed with a client. From the songs performed, the performance timings and structure, interaction with other booked acts, venue space consideration, all the way to what the band wears and how the stage is dressed and lit – all coming together to make an event unique and special.
Bespoke Live offers truly tailored live music from the best acts around – exceptional, experienced acts who can fill a dance-floor at the drop of a beat, covering a huge range of genres and repertoire, and who thrive on performing to a bespoke brief. Avoid the large agency conveyor belt where under-briefed bands turn up and play stock set-lists. Bespoke Live work with you to narrow the event brief as your event gets closer and can also look after the technical, logistical, acoustic and aesthetic aspects to deliver your vision.
Values
- Sustainable – Bespoke Live aims to be a Net Zero business by 2025. They can offer innovative packages to minimise the carbon footprint of any event.
- Transparent – Bespoke Live quotes contain all their costs with no hidden fees. They value transparency in their activities for their clients, customers and the musicians they represent.
- Inclusive – Bespoke Live embraces diversity and love in all its forms. Whatever your event is celebrating and whoever you are, Bespoke Live is proud to offer their services to everyone.
Sustainable Wedding Alliance Accreditation
Sustainability is at the heart of Bespoke Live and in August 2023, Bespoke Live became the first Music and Entertainment Agency to achieve the Sustainable Wedding Alliance Accreditation.
Bespoke Live wants to support the musicians they represent to be able to enjoy every booking they work together to deliver, and they also want to minimise the carbon footprint of these activities. As standard they carbon-offset all travel on event dates and also offer a range of Sustainability packages.
Sustainable Entertainment Packages
For all bookings, they make the following commitments as standard.
- Carbon-offset all car / van travel for their amazing musicians on performance dates.
- Provide a ‘performing sustainably’ checklist for their musicians as part of their briefing for you booked performance. This includes how to minimise energy use, minimising transport emissions, waste at an event and using re-fillable water bottles and making sustainable dietary choices.
- Explore opportunities to deliver aspects of the booked performance acoustically or with low energy use.
There is also the option of considering the following.
Tree-Planting
Bespoke Live can arrange to plant a tree for every song performed at your wedding! This is through their chosen reforestation partner, Ecologi; who have planted more than 60 million trees across projects in the UK, South America and Africa. This is a great option if you’re booking a band; who will invariably play at least 30 songs at your wedding. There is another option to plant ten trees. What a brilliant legacy from your wedding day to know that a patch of forest, and all the benefits this brings, is there because of your wedding!
Re-Wilding
The UK’s biodiversity is in sharp decline; but rewilding programmes tackle this through wetland regeneration, peatland restoration, wildflower meadow restoration; subsequently protecting endangered species and ancient woodland. Through their chosen partner, The Future Forest Company, Bespoke Live can arrange for the land across their re-wilding projects to be extended. This is a great option if you’re booking musicians for a proportion of your day, or by the hour.
Climate Change Donation
Simply choose how you want to support tackling the climate emergency by making a donation to one of their three global charity partners. If you donate, Bespoke Live will also donate 1% of the overall booking fee. Their partners are;
- Greenpeace defends the natural world and works towards a green and peaceful future; from campaigning to end fossil fuels to introducing a Global Ocean Treaty
- WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) is working around the globe to make the world a more sustainable place through circular economy principles
- Rainforest Alliance is fighting against deforestation and building economic opportunities and better working conditions for rural people in 58 countries. On the greatest day of your lives, you can support the future of those in need.
The Musicians
It has been a busy Summer for Bespoke Live and they have had the pleasure to be involved with a range of weddings and unique client briefs in some of the most fantastic venues across the country from tipi’s to country houses.
Their roster of amazing musicians is growing and Al is currently looking to add a string quarter and swing / jazz band to it’s client list.
For a full list of the artists they have on their roster visit their website where you will find everything from ‘The Bespoke Live Showband’, a String Trio, Pianist, Percussionist and much more.
Bespoke Live has also just added a great Sustainable Entertainment Flow Chart for couples to download which shows you the process from taking the brief, to the performance and completion.
