Category: Band News

If you’re planning a Hartlebury Castle wedding band for your reception, you’re looking at pairing one of Worcestershire’s most striking historic buildings with three musicians who know how to fill a room without drowning out conversation first. Punch The Air play indie rock and pop covers at weddings across the Midlands and beyond, and a Grade I listed castle with a 15th-century Great Hall is exactly the kind of venue where a live band earns its keep. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

Hartlebury Castle Wedding Band: Live Music for a Grade I Listed Setting

Hartlebury Castle has been standing in one form or another since the 9th century, when the land was first granted to the Bishop of Worcester. For well over a thousand years it served as the Bishops’ residence, and today it’s cared for by the Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust, with money raised from weddings going back into keeping the building standing for the next few centuries too. It’s a properly historic backdrop, and it’s not the kind of place that suits background music playing quietly through a speaker in the corner. A wedding reception in a room like the Great Hall wants a band that can hold its own against the architecture.

Why an Indie Rock Wedding Band Suits Hartlebury Castle

There’s a temptation with grand old buildings to assume the music should be as traditional as the surroundings. We’d argue the opposite. The contrast between medieval stonework and a three-piece playing Kaiser Chiefs or The Fratellis is part of what makes a wedding reception at a venue like this memorable rather than predictable. Guests remember the moment the room shifts from polite mingling to an actual party, and that shift tends to land better when the music has some bite to it. We keep the set built around guitar-driven indie and pop that people already know, played properly rather than through a backing track.

Inside the Great Hall, the Saloon and the Bishop’s Study

The castle’s state rooms, the Medieval Great Hall, the Georgian Saloon and the Bishop’s Study, are all licensed for civil ceremonies and can accommodate a wedding breakfast for up to 100 guests, with room for further guests joining in the evening. The Carriage Circle outside gives couples an impressive spot for photographs and, weather allowing, a natural space to spill out into during the reception. It’s worth checking directly with the castle on which room your reception will be held in, since the acoustics and layout of the Saloon differ a little from the Great Hall, and we’ll always ask ahead of the day so we can plan our setup around the space you’ve actually booked.

The Reception: Prosecco, Speeches and the First Notes

A lot of couples getting married at Hartlebury Castle build their day around a drinks reception in the grounds or the Carriage Circle before guests move through to the wedding breakfast. If you’d like live music during that earlier part of the day, while the prosecco is flowing and guests are still finding their seats, Andy also offers a solo acoustic performance specifically for this part of the timeline, ahead of the full band taking over later on. It’s a nice way of having music running through more of the day without the volume of a full band competing with speeches.

Once the meal, speeches and any cutting of the cake are out of the way, that’s when we come in properly. Rather than splitting into short bursts through the evening, we find one continuous set works far better once the formalities are done, it keeps the momentum going and makes the most of the time we’ve got with your guests on the dancefloor. But we can of course split the set and take a break inbetween them if you wish. 

Songs That Fill a 15th-Century Great Hall

Our full band repertoire covers everything from Feeder and Walk The Moon through to Stereophonics and Van Morrison, so there’s plenty to choose from whatever mix your guests are likely to want. For a room with as much presence as the Great Hall, we tend to lean on tracks with a big, driving sound early in the set, before easing into some of the singalong classics once the dancefloor’s properly full. If there’s anything specific from our list you’d like weighted more heavily for your day, that’s exactly the sort of detail worth flagging when you book.

Other Celebrations at Hartlebury Castle

Weddings aside, a building with this much character also works well for other private events. We’ve played corporate events, milestone birthday parties and wedding anniversary celebrations at venues with a similar historic feel, and the same three-piece setup that works for a wedding reception translates easily to any private hire event where you want live music rather than a playlist.

Worcestershire, Kidderminster and the Surrounding Area

Hartlebury sits just south of Kidderminster, with Stourport-on-Severn a short drive to the west and Droitwich Spa and Worcester both within easy reach to the south. We cover weddings right across Worcestershire, and it’s a part of the country we know reasonably well, having played venues from the city of Worcester up towards Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. If your guest list is drawing from across this stretch of the county, getting an indie rock wedding band that’s used to working in historic, listed buildings is worth having on your shortlist.

A three-piece indie rock band, one continuous set after the meal and speeches, and a room with a thousand years of history behind it. That’s the combination a Hartlebury Castle wedding band brings to your reception.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a live band play inside the Great Hall at Hartlebury Castle?

Yes, the state rooms including the Great Hall and the Saloon are used for wedding receptions and can accommodate a live band, though we’d always confirm the exact space with the couple and the venue ahead of the day.

How many guests can Hartlebury Castle hold for a wedding breakfast?

The state rooms can seat up to 100 guests for a wedding breakfast, with additional guests able to join for the evening reception.

Do you offer music for the drinks reception as well as the evening?

Yes, Andy can provide a solo acoustic set for the earlier part of the day, such as the drinks reception, with the full band taking over once the meal and speeches are finished.

Is Hartlebury Castle suitable for other private events besides weddings?

It’s primarily known as a wedding venue, but its rooms and grounds would suit other private celebrations such as anniversaries or milestone birthday parties in a similar way.

Hartlebury Castle
Stourport Road, Hartlebury, Worcestershire, DY11 7XZ

Searching for The Hub St Marys Lichfield party band that will get a whole room moving? Punch The Air are a three-piece indie rock and pop covers band literally based in the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire and we play birthdays, wedding receptions and parties at the arts and heritage venue on Lichfield’s Market Square and right across Staffordshire. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

There are three of us, we formed in 2013 and Andy fronts the band on vocals and bass. The line-up is guitar-based and rocking in all the right places, which suits a set built around songs that everybody has sung along to at some point in their lives.

The Hub St Marys Lichfield Party Band: Guitar-Led Indie Rock for Your Big Night

Most people who book us want one thing: a dance floor that stays busy. So we lean on indie anthems and pop singalongs, then slip in older classics for the parents, grandparents and workmates who grew up on different records. Think classic indie and early 2000s indie, a bit of punk, a few rock and roll standards and plenty of choruses that carry themselves.

At a party we play one long set once the buffet (And cake cutting and speeches for weddings) are out of the way. We have found it works far better than splitting the night into pieces. There are no gaps for people to drift away, nobody is chatting through the first half of the first set, and you get the best of the band while the room is still fresh.

What a Night With the Band Feels Like

We don’t do polite background music. We want people up and dancing, singing the chorus back at us and forgetting their phones for the duration. We chat to the crowd, keep the tempo up and read the room as we go. If it is your birthday, we will even play the Happy Birthday song for you.

Songs You Might Hear at Your Party

Our full band repertoire stretches from the 1950s to the present day. Proper singalong chorus’s with Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis, Dakota by Stereophonics, Sex On Fire by Kings Of Leon, Yellow by Coldplay and more.

For the older generation we have Hound Dog by Elvis Presley, Johnny B Good by Chuck Berry, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison and Valerie by Amy Winehouse. Here is the band playing at real events:

The Hub St Marys Lichfield Party Band and Wedding Reception Music

The Hub is best known for touring bands, talks, exhibitions and arts events, so it is not the first name that comes to mind for most wedding couples. It is available to hire for events and celebrations though, so a wedding party or evening reception there is possible. If that is what you have in mind, check the venue’s hire terms for your date, then talk to us about the music. As a wedding reception band we bring the same energy to a wedding party that we bring to any other night, ideal if you want an indie rock wedding band rather than a standard function act.

If you would like live music earlier in the day, for the ceremony or while the prosecco is flowing before the wedding breakfast, Andy also offers a solo acoustic performance for exactly that. The full band then takes over in the evening.

More Reasons to Book a Live Band for a Lichfield Celebration

The space is used for community events, gigs and performances, and we are just as happy playing a party there as a wedding. Here are the occasions we play:

• Birthday parties, including 21st birthdays and 40th birthdays
• Wedding anniversary parties
• Retirement parties
• Corporate events and staff celebrations
• Charity and fundraising nights
• Christmas parties and private hire events

Whatever the occasion, the approach is the same. You tell us about your guests, we build the night around them, and you can add extras such as microphone and speaker hire for speeches or a late night DJ if you want the music to carry on. Have a look at everything on our live band extras page.

Finding The Hub at St Mary’s

St Mary’s is a former church in the middle of Lichfield, reopened after an award-winning renovation that began in 2018. The library is downstairs, while the top floor is home to The Hub, with its coffee shop, gallery and performing arts space. The venue describes itself as fully accessible, which is handy when a party spans several generations.

Lichfield and the Towns Around It

Lichfield is home for us, so we know this part of the world well. We also play for people in Tamworth, Burton upon Trent, Walsall and Cannock, and our Hednesford and Burton pages show a few of the local venues we have played. Further out, we cover Sutton Coldfield, Stafford and Birmingham.

Our county pages cover Staffordshire and the West Midlands. Closer to The Hub, see our Lichfield party band and Lichfield wedding band pages, or our pages for the Guildhall and the Cathedral Hotel. If you need a wider look at what we do, our indie rock party band homepage has the lot.

Booking The Hub St Marys Lichfield Party Band: Quick Answers

Have you played at The Hub at St Mary’s before?

Yes, we played a birthday party there recently. The venue is available for hire for events and celebrations, so check its hire terms for your date before you book.

How long does the band play for?

Usually one long set of around 90 minutes, once the food and cake are finished. It is your party though, so get in touch if you need something different.

Do you only play weddings?

No. We play birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, corporate events, charity nights and Christmas parties as well as wedding receptions.

Ready to plan your night? Get in touch with Andy and tell us the date, the occasion and how many guests you are expecting.

If you are searching for a Longbourn Barn wedding band, Punch The Air are a three-piece, guitar-based indie rock covers band who love filling a stone barn with big choruses and a busy dance floor. We play wedding receptions and parties right across Warwickshire and beyond, and a rustic barn in the fields near Kineton is exactly the sort of setting where live guitars feel at home. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

Longbourn Barn Wedding Band: Live Indie Rock for Your Wedding Reception

We formed back in 2013 and we have been playing weddings, birthdays and parties ever since. On stage it is guitars, bass and drums, with Andy singing and playing bass. There are no backing tracks doing the heavy lifting and no laptop hiding behind the amps. What your guests get is a proper, sweaty, singalong guitar band, which is why so many couples who love their indie playlists book us for the last big stretch of the night.

What a wedding party in a stone barn needs from a band

Longbourn Estate Barn is a historic stone building with flagged floors, a vaulted roof and huge wooden doors, so it already has real character before a single decoration goes up. A room like that rewards a band that plays with energy and feel rather than just volume. We read the room, keep the sound punchy and clear, and let the crowd do the rest. Your grandparents can sit comfortably at the back while your friends take over the floor.

The songs your guests will sing back at us

Our set list leans on the big guitar records everyone knows. Expect bouncy singalongs from Wheatus and Fountains Of Wayne, feel-good anthems from Stereophonics, James and Feeder, a bit of Walk The Moon for the dancers, and a few older favourites from The Undertones and Van Morrison when the mood suits. Bryan Adams and Blink 182 usually make an appearance once the bar has been busy for a while. You can browse the whole list on our indie covers band repertoire page and tell us which tracks matter most to you.

The Main Barn, Threshing Barn and Milking Parlour

The venue sits at Longbourn Barn, Brookhampton Lane, Kineton, CV35 0JF, Warwickshire, in around 100 acres of South Warwickshire countryside. There are three main areas: the Main Barn, the Threshing Barn and the Milking Parlour. According to the venue, the Main Barn measures roughly 27 metres by 8 metres and comes with a split level stage, spotlights, a projector and a screen, which makes it a natural home for both the wedding breakfast and the dancing afterwards. Outside there is an orchard, a sweeping lawn, a space on The Green for a marquee, and a meadow that doubles as a car park. The church of St Peter and St Paul in Butlers Marston is described by the venue as a walk across the fields.

Why one long set after the buffet works best

We have tried different formats over the years and we always come back to the same one. A single long set once the cake has been cut and the buffet has been cleared gives you our best energy with no distractions. Nobody is queuing for food, the speeches are done, and the dance floor is ready to go. It also means we are not stopping and starting while your guests are trying to build momentum. But if you would like us to split the set into two then just say so and we will plan around your timings.

Live music for the ceremony and the drinks reception

If you would like live music earlier in the day, Andy also offers a solo acoustic performance for exactly this. It works well during the ceremony or when the prosecco starts flowing before the wedding breakfast, and it gives your guests something lovely to listen to while the photographs are being taken. Then the full band takes over in the evening.

Watch the band play

At a glance: three-piece guitar band, formed 2013, one long set after the buffet (Or split sets), optional solo acoustic performance earlier in the day, and a set list packed with indie rock and pop singalongs.

More than weddings at Longbourn Estate Barn

A big open barn like this suits plenty of celebrations besides weddings. If you are planning a wedding anniversary party, a milestone birthday party, or a private hire event for family and friends, we bring the same energy we bring to a wedding party. We also play for companies, so if you are looking at a summer staff party or client celebration, take a look at our corporate event band page.

Hiring a Longbourn Barn Wedding Band from across the region

Kineton sits in the south of Warwickshire, with Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Leamington Spa all within easy reach. Banbury and the wider county of Oxfordshire are close by to the south east, and we also play across Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Our Warwickshire wedding band page has more on the county, and you can see the neighbouring areas on our Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire pages. If your guests are travelling from further afield, we also cover Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Other Warwickshire and Cotswold edge venues we have written about include Nailcote Hall, Mythe Barn in Atherstone and Dumbleton Hall. If you want a guitar-driven indie rock wedding band for your own barn wedding, get in touch and we will happily talk through your plans.

Questions couples ask us about barn weddings

Where is Longbourn Barn?

The venue is at Brookhampton Lane, Kineton, CV35 0JF, Warwickshire, set in the South Warwickshire countryside.

How long does the band play for?

We find that one long set after the cake cutting and buffet have finished, so there are no distractions and your guests get the best of the band. We will plan the length and start time around your evening. We’re also to split the set into 2 or even 3 though if you so desire.

Can Andy play during the ceremony or drinks reception?

Yes. Andy offers a solo acoustic performance earlier in the day, which suits the ceremony or the drinks before the wedding breakfast.

Do you play other events besides weddings?

Yes. We play wedding anniversaries, birthdays, private parties and corporate events, and you can talk with us about what you have in mind.

If you’re after a genuinely superb Edale Village Hall wedding band, you want a group who can turn a stone-built hall tucked beneath Kinder Scout into the best party the valley’s seen all year, without needing anything more complicated than a plug socket and a bit of floor space. That’s exactly what Punch The Air do. We’re a three-piece indie rock covers band who travel out to venues across Derbyshire and well beyond it, bringing the same tight, full-throttle sound whether we’re playing a stately home or a village hall at the end of the Pennine Way. If you’re getting married at Edale Village Hall and want live music that gets the whole room up rather than politely nodding along from their seats, we’d love to be part of it. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

Booking Punch The Air as Your Edale Village Hall Wedding Band

Most of what we do is about the band, so let’s start there. There are three of us: guitar, bass and drums all with no backing tracks propping anything up. We built the set list around songs that get a genuine, unforced reaction on a dancefloor, rather than songs that just sound good on a demo video. Think Kaiser Chiefs’ “I Predict A Riot”, Fountains Of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom”, The Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks” and Wheatus’s “Teenage Dirtbag” sitting alongside older crowd-pleasers like Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Bryan Adams’ “Summer Of ’69”. There’s a full song list on the site if you want to see the whole thing and start picking favourites, and we’re always happy to talk through any specific requests before the day.

One Set, Full Energy, No Stopping and Starting

We’ve found over the years that one long set works far better than splitting the evening into two shorter chunks. Once the meal’s cleared, the cake’s been cut and the buffet’s been demolished, we come on and stay on, so the room never loses momentum just as it’s building. It means every minute we’re plugged in is spent keeping people dancing rather than winding things down and starting again. Buuuuuuuut if you want us to split the set in 2 and have a break then we’re totally cool with that too…It’s your day so you should have it your way. 

Music While the Prosecco Flows

If your ceremony is happening at or near Edale Village Hall and you’d like some music while drinks are being poured beforehand, Andy also offers a solo acoustic set earlier in the day. It’s a nice, understated way to have live music running from the moment guests arrive, well before the full band takes over for the evening reception.

Three musicians, one long set, and a repertoire built to fill a Peak District dancefloor rather than just decorate a corner of the room.

Here’s a clip of us in full flow, which gives a better idea of the energy than any amount of text can:

Edale Village Hall and the Hope Valley

Edale Village Hall, Edale, Hope Valley, S33 7AA, sits right at the heart of one of the Peak District’s best-known villages, the southern starting point of the Pennine Way and a spot walkers and locals alike have gathered in for generations. It’s a proper community hall, the kind of place used for parish meetings and village gatherings throughout the year, and it makes for a lovely, unfussy setting for a wedding reception if you want the day to feel relaxed rather than overly formal. Booking a wedding band for Edale Village Hall means bringing a bit of that same relaxed, no-nonsense energy to the evening.

Nearby Towns and Villages

Edale sits within easy reach of Hope and Castleton, both just down the valley, and Hathersage a little further along. Sheffield and Chesterfield are both a reasonably short drive away too, and we regularly play further afield in Derbyshire generally, including out towards Buxton and at venues like the Fox and Goose near Chesterfield. If you’re comparing halls in the area, we’ve also played at Norbury Village Hall, so we know our way around a village hall wedding reception rather than just big hotel ballrooms.

Corporate Events, Birthdays and Private Parties Too

While most of our bookings at halls like this are weddings, we play plenty of other events too. Wedding anniversaries, milestone birthdays, private parties and corporate events all suit the same live set-up, and a village hall like Edale’s is just as good a setting for those as it is for a wedding reception. If your evening guests fancy grabbing a microphone themselves later on, it’s also worth asking about our wedding bandeoke option, where the band backs guests singing live rather than to a backing track. And if you’re looking for an indie rock party band for something other than a wedding entirely, we’re just as at home playing those too.

Here’s a second video showing more of what a night with us actually looks and sounds like:

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you play weddings at Edale Village Hall?
Yes. We regularly play village halls and community venues across Derbyshire and the wider Peak District, and Edale Village Hall is a setting we’d be very happy to play.

Where is Edale Village Hall?
The hall is at Edale Village Hall, Edale, Hope Valley, S33 7AA, in the Peak District National Park.

What songs do Punch The Air play?
Our set draws from indie rock, Britpop and classic crowd-pleasers, from bands like Kaiser Chiefs, The Undertones, Fountains Of Wayne and Wheatus through to older favourites such as Van Morrison and Bryan Adams. The full repertoire list is on the site.

Do you offer music for the drinks reception before the evening starts?
Yes, Andy offers a solo acoustic set for the earlier part of the day, with the full band taking over later on.

If you’re getting married and need to hire a Donington Park Farmhouse Wedding Band wanting live music that actually gets people out of their seats, then that’s what we do. Punch The Air is a three-piece indie rock covers band who play weddings, private parties and corporate events right across the Midlands, and a converted barn setting like this one happens to suit us down to the ground. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

Why Couples Book Us As Their Donington Park Farmhouse Wedding Band

We’ve been doing this since 2013, and in that time we’ve learned that the bands people remember aren’t the ones with the biggest light show or the longest song list on paper. They’re the ones who read a room properly. Weddings at a venue like this one tend to have a good mix of ages on the guest list, so we build our set to bring everyone in rather than just playing to the twenty-somethings at the front. Expect indie anthems, some proper singalong classics, and enough energy that nobody’s checking their phone by nine o’clock.

We’re a genuinely live band, not a backing-track act with a singer stood in front of it. Guitar, bass and drums, three vocalists between us, and a PA and lighting rig that we bring and set up ourselves, so there’s nothing for you to sort beyond giving us a plug socket and a bit of floor space.

The Sound We Bring To A Barn Wedding

Barns and converted farm buildings like the Threshing Barn at Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel tend to have real character but also real acoustics to think about, exposed beams, brick walls, that kind of thing. We’ve played enough of these venues now to know how to balance a live band properly in a space like that, so the sound fills the room without drowning out conversation at the edges once people start drifting to the bar.

“We contacted Punch the air wedding band 16 months prior to our wedding cos we were sure we wanted a band… Andy responded promptly with his quote and also some really helpful advice.” — verified Trustpilot review.

What We Actually Play

Our repertoire runs from proper indie rock through to older classics that get grandparents dancing too. On any given night you might hear Feeder’s Buck Rogers, Fountains Of Wayne’s Stacy’s Mom, Wheatus’s Teenage Dirtbag, and tracks by Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, The Undertones and James, alongside some Elvis for the earlier part of the evening when people are still eating. We deliberately mix eras and genres within the set rather than sticking rigidly to one decade, because a wedding dancefloor is rarely made up of people with identical taste.

You can browse the full band repertoire and song list before booking, and we’re always happy to talk through specific requests when we speak.

Quick Facts

About Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel

Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel sits between Castle Donington and the historic village of Melbourne, on the Leicestershire and Derbyshire border, with far-reaching countryside views across the estate. The venue is built around a collection of converted farm buildings, including the old Threshing Barn used for ceremonies and receptions, with exposed beams and original brickwork that give it a proper rustic feel rather than a generic function room. It’s a family-run venue with twenty individually decorated bedrooms spread across the Farmhouse, Courtyard and Stables buildings, so a fair number of your guests can stay on site rather than driving home.

Being close to East Midlands Airport and the M1, it’s an easy venue to reach for guests travelling in from Derbyshire, Leicestershire and further afield, with Derby, Leicester and Nottingham all within a short drive. If your search has taken you further out, we also cover weddings across the wider Nottinghamshire area and the East Midlands more generally, so it’s worth a look if you’re comparing venues nearby.

Weddings, Receptions And Beyond

Most of our bookings at venues like this one are for the evening reception after the wedding breakfast, speeches and cake-cutting have wrapped up, we find one solid, uninterrupted set works far better than splitting the night into two shorter halves, since it keeps momentum on the dancefloor rather than losing it to a break. If you’re also looking for something quieter for the drinks reception earlier in the day, while prosecco is flowing and photos are being taken, Andy also offers a solo acoustic performance for that part of the day, which pairs nicely with the full band later on.

Beyond weddings, the same barn setting works equally well for private parties, wedding anniversaries, milestone birthdays and corporate events, and we’ve played all of the above at similar venues across the region. If you’re planning something other than a wedding reception at Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel, get in touch and we can talk through what suits the space and the crowd.

Nearby Areas We Also Cover

Castle Donington itself is a short drive from the venue and sits close to East Midlands Airport, while Melbourne is a quieter market village a couple of miles away, both worth knowing if you’re arranging guest accommodation beyond the venue’s own bedrooms. We regularly play weddings across Derbyshire and Leicestershire, including venues near Derby itself such as our Derby wedding band page, and further into Nottinghamshire at venues including the one on our Nottingham venue page. If you’re weighing up an indie rock wedding band for anywhere across the East Midlands, we’d be glad to talk it through.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re trying to book a Derby Mickleover Hotel wedding band for your reception, Punch The Air might be exactly what you’re after. We’re a three-piece indie rock covers band who play proper instruments, no backing tracks, no miming along to a laptop, and we’ve spent years turning hotel function suites into the kind of dancefloor people talk about for months afterwards. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

Three musicians, one dancefloor, no fuss. That’s what a Punch The Air wedding party at Mickleover looks like from where we’re stood.

A Wedding Band For Every Room At The Hotel

Derby Mickleover Hotel has a genuinely good spread of spaces for a wedding reception, and we’ve played enough hotel function suites to know that the room shapes the night as much as the band does. The Chamberlain Suite, with its pink and white cupola and ring of columns and arches, suits a smaller, more intimate wedding party of up to around 50 guests. If you’re going bigger, the Morley Suite is the hotel’s largest space and can hold up to 200 for a proper evening reception with room to actually move. Either way, we bring our own PA and lighting rig, so the room gets filled with sound without anyone needing to hire anything extra in.

The hotel also holds a civil ceremony licence, which means some couples get married on site and then move straight into drinks and canapés before the wedding breakfast. If that’s your plan and you fancy some gentle live music while the prosecco is flowing and guests are mingling, Andy also offers a solo acoustic performance earlier in the day, separate from the full band set later on.

Derby Mickleover Hotel Wedding Band Sets, Explained Simply

We play one long set (Or split if you wish), timed around your evening buffet or cutting the cake so nothing overlaps awkwardly. It’s guitar, bass and drums, all live, all real. No pyrotechnics, no gimmicks, just a tight setlist built to get a room full of relatives and old school friends up and dancing rather than standing round the edges nursing a drink.

Songs We Play On The Night

Our set list leans indie and pop rock rather than generic wedding disco, which tends to go down well with a mixed-age crowd. Expect songs by the likes of Stereophonics, Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis and Feeder, alongside a few surprises like Wheatus’s Teenage Dirtbag thrown in for good measure. You can see the whole thing, and request anything we’ve missed, on our full repertoire page.

Not Just Weddings At The Hotel

Mickleover’s function rooms aren’t only used for wedding receptions. The hotel regularly hosts corporate events, conferences and dinner-dances, and we’re just as happy playing a summer party, a milestone birthday or a wedding anniversary as we are a full wedding. If you’re organising something through work rather than for your own big day, have a look at our corporate entertainment page for how that usually works.

Derby, Staffordshire And The Towns Around Mickleover

Mickleover sits on the western edge of Derby, close to the A38 and A50, so guests coming from across Derbyshire have an easy run in. We regularly cover weddings further into the city and out towards Ashbourne and Uttoxeter too, and if your venue happens to be a football ground rather than a hotel, we’ve also played Burton Albion’s ground over in Burton upon Trent, which isn’t far at all. As an indie rock wedding band based just over the county line in Lichfield, Staffordshire, this whole corner of Derbyshire is well within our regular patch, alongside our other Derbyshire wedding band bookings and other hotel wedding receptions we’ve played across the county.

Derby Mickleover Hotel is at Etwall Road, Mickleover, Derby, Derbyshire, DE3 0XX, with free on-site parking for guests, which makes it a straightforward venue for wedding parties travelling in from out of town.

Frequently Asked Questions

Couples searching for a Wychwood Park Hotel wedding band usually want the same thing: a live act that can hold a big room, keep the generations dancing and take requests without turning into a jukebox. Punch The Air is a three-piece, guitar-based indie rock band formed in 2013 and fronted by singer and bass player Andy Starkey, and we play weddings right across the region including at Wychwood Park Hotel & Golf Club in Weston, Crewe. We are not a covers act churning out the same tired wedding playlist; we play the songs people actually want to hear, delivered with real guitars, real drums and real harmonies rather than backing tracks. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

Why Couples Book Punch The Air as Their Wychwood Park Hotel Wedding Band

A wedding reception lives or dies on the music, and that is exactly why so many couples get in touch with us. We built our set list around songs that actually get people out of their seats: think Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon and The Killers alongside old favourites from The Beatles and Elvis, all blended so the night flows rather than lurching from decade to decade. Because we are a lean three-piece, we can fit into function rooms of pretty much any shape without eating into the dancefloor, and our own PA and lighting means the venue has nothing to worry about.

Live Music That Suits a Wedding Reception

Older relatives get something they recognise, the wedding party get the indie anthems they grew up on, and nobody is left standing at the bar wondering when the “proper” music is going to start. We are just as happy playing a full-blooded festival-style set or a chilled out mix of tunes and we always bring a backup plan for both.

Ceremony and Drinks Reception Music

Some couples at Wychwood Park like music running earlier in the day too, particularly during the drinks reception once the ceremony is done and the prosecco starts flowing. For that quieter part of the afternoon, Andy also offers a solo acoustic performance, stripping the songs back to guitar and vocals so guests can still chat comfortably while the atmosphere builds towards the evening.

Our Repertoire and Song List

Our full repertoire and song list covers well over a hundred tracks, and we rotate the set regularly to keep it fresh for return bookings and for couples who have seen us before at a friend’s wedding. Expect anthems from Kaiser Chiefs and Stereophonics, indie floor-fillers from The Fratellis, a bit of alternative rock from Feeder, and the occasional curveball from Fountains Of Wayne thrown in to keep things interesting. You can also see us in action here:

Punch The Air is a genuine three-piece indie rock band, not a duo padded out with backing tracks, and every song in our set is played live on the night.

Wychwood Park Hotel & Golf Club, Weston

Wychwood Park Hotel & Golf Club sits at Weston, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 5GP, set across landscaped grounds with its own PGA European Tour standard golf course. The hotel has function suites able to hold wedding breakfasts and evening receptions with a built-in stage and dance floor, plus direct access to an outdoor space for photographs, which makes it a popular choice for couples wanting a countryside feel without straying too far from the M6. With over a hundred bedrooms on site, guests can comfortably stay the night rather than arranging taxis home, which usually means the dancefloor stays busier for longer.

Other Events We Play at Wychwood Park Hotel

It is not only wedding receptions we get booked for at venues like this. We regularly play corporate events, milestone birthdays, wedding anniversaries and private parties in hotel function suites, and the same three-piece set up that works for a wedding evening slots just as easily into a private company do or an anniversary celebration.

Nearby Cheshire Towns and Venues

Wychwood Park is only a short drive from Nantwich and Sandbach, with Crewe itself close enough that guests travelling by train have a direct route in from Manchester, Birmingham and London. If you are comparing options elsewhere in the county, we cover weddings right across Cheshire, and if a golf club venue is more your style we have plenty of experience playing golf club wedding receptions too. As an indie rock wedding band, we are used to adapting to different function rooms and layouts, so a countryside golf hotel like Wychwood Park is well within our comfort zone.

Frequently Asked Questions About Booking a Wychwood Park Hotel Wedding Band

Can Punch The Air play at Wychwood Park Hotel & Golf Club?

Yes. We regularly play hotel function suites of this size and can work with the venue’s events team on timings, sound levels and set up.

How long is a typical set?

Most wedding bookings are built around one long set later in the night or we can do two live sets totalling around ninety minutes plus encores, with recorded music from our own system filling the gaps either side.

Do you bring your own sound and lighting?

Yes, we bring a full PA system and lighting rig suitable for a function suite the size of those at Wychwood Park, so there is nothing extra for the venue to provide.

Can you learn our first dance song?

Get in touch through our contact page and Andy can talk you through what is possible for your specific wedding day.

If you’re on the hunt for a De Vere Cotswold Water Park wedding band, you’ve landed in the right place. Punch The Air are a three-piece guitar-based indie rock covers band (Also performing pop chart hits from old to new), playing weddings, private parties and corporate events since 2013, and this lakeside Gloucestershire hotel is exactly the kind of setting we love bringing our sound to. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

De Vere Cotswold Water Park Wedding Band – Three Musicians, A Proper Amount Of Noise

We keep things simple on purpose. Vocals and bass, lead guitar, and drums, three people who between them cover the sound of a much bigger band. It means we can fit into most function rooms without a fuss, and it means every song feels tight rather than padded out with backing tracks. We’ve been doing this since 2013, playing wedding receptions, birthdays, anniversaries and corporate parties right across the Gloucestershire and well beyond, so a Cotswolds hotel wedding is well within familiar territory.

What We’re Likely To Play

Our set list leans towards guitar-driven indie and classic crowd-pleasers rather than generic covers-band filler. Depending on the crowd, you might hear Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, Kings Of Leon or George Ezra sitting alongside older favourites from Van Morrison or The Beatles, with a bit of Amy Winehouse thrown in to slow things down before the tempo picks back up again. You can browse the full list, including all the artists and eras we pull from, on our indie covers band repertoire page.

Have a listen to us in full flow below before you make your decision:

Not Just Weddings

Although most enquiries for a De Vere Cotswold Water Park wedding band come from couples planning a wedding reception or wedding party, the hotel’s function spaces work just as well for corporate events, milestone birthdays, wedding anniversaries and private hire evenings. If you’ve booked a room here for any of those, we’d be glad to talk through what a live set would look like.

Setting The Scene As A De Vere Cotswold Water Park Wedding Band.

De Vere Cotswold Water Park sits on Lake 6, Spine Road East, South Cerney, Gloucestershire, GL7 5FP, within the wider Cotswold Water Park area of over a hundred lakes. It’s a Cotswold stone hotel with lake views from most of its function rooms, which makes for a fairly striking backdrop whether your reception is indoors or spilling out onto a terrace. The Kingfisher Suite and its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water tends to be the one couples fall for first, while the smaller Starling Suite suits a more intimate wedding reception, and the Whimbrel Marquee gives you room to go bigger if the guest list demands it.

Room For A Small Gathering Or A Big Send-Off

Because the venue offers such a range of room sizes, we can play to intimate wedding parties and to much larger evening receptions using the same set-up, just adjusted to suit the space. Whichever suite you’ve booked, we’ll work with the venue’s team on timings and turnaround so the evening runs smoothly.

Cotswolds And Beyond

South Cerney sits just outside Cirencester, with Swindon, Cheltenham and Bristol all within easy reach, so plenty of your guests are likely to be travelling in from across the wider region. We also regularly play weddings further afield in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire, and over towards Bath at venues like the Limpley Stoke Hotel, so we’re used to the drive and the logistics that come with a countryside venue.

If you’d rather read more about who we are before getting in touch, our homepage explains what to expect from booking an indie rock wedding band for your big day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you play during the ceremony as well as the reception?

Yes of course, Andy has a solo acoustic option suitable for wedding ceremonies and afterwards when the prosecco starts flowing. 

Can you perform in both the smaller suites and the larger marquee?

Yes. We’ve played rooms of very different sizes over the years, and we’ll happily adapt our set-up to whichever space you’ve booked at De Vere Cotswold Water Park, whether that’s a smaller suite or a larger room with more guests.

How much notice do you need to book for a wedding here?

Popular venues like this one get booked up well in advance, so the earlier you get in touch the more likely we are to have your date free. Get in touch through our contact page and Andy will let you know straight away if the date’s available.

What time do you usually start playing?

Most of our wedding bookings have us starting in the evening once the wedding breakfast and speeches are done, though timings are always worked out with you and the venue in advance to fit your running order.

An indie rock bandeoke band takes the usual idea of a party band and flips it on its head, because this time your guests are the ones stepping up to the microphone. Punch The Air have spent years playing genuine live sets across weddings, birthdays, parties and events, and bandeoke lets us hand that same live band energy over to your crowd for the night. Rather than singing along to a backing track, your singers front a real band who play real instruments, choosing a song from our repertoire and getting their moment in the spotlight. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

What Is an Indie Rock Bandeoke Band?

Bandeoke, sometimes called rockaoke or live band karaoke, is exactly what it sounds like once you put it together. Instead of a machine playing a track while someone sings into a microphone in the corner of the room, an indie rock bandeoke band plays the song properly, with guitar, bass and drums, while your guest takes the vocal. It is karaoke with a pulse. Punch The Air already build our regular sets around guitar driven indie rock, so the format suits us naturally, and it gives an event something genuinely different to talk about the next day.

How a Bandeoke Set with Punch The Air Works on the Night

We usually open with a few songs ourselves to get the room warmed up, the same songs you would hear at any Punch The Air show. Once things are moving, we hand things over. Guests will have pre chosen a track from a forms we’ll send you after the booking, we call them up, and they get their turn fronting a live three piece. Guests are able to read the lyrics off our iPad on a stand on stage if they don’t know the lyrics themselves off by heart. Andy keeps the whole thing moving as compere, introducing each singer and making sure nobody is left standing around wondering what happens next. It works whether you have two brave volunteers or a queue building up at the side of the stage. We’ll even sing back up backing vocals along with you, making you sound even better. 

Songs from Our Repertoire You Could Sing

Because bandeoke pulls directly from our existing set, guests get to choose from the same indie covers band repertoire we play at weddings and parties across the year. Depending on the night, that might mean someone taking on Kaiser Chiefs, another guest going for a Fratellis singalong, or a group of friends piling up to share the vocal on something by Oasis, Wheatus or Fountains of Wayne. We also cover Stereophonics, Feeder and Walk The Moon, so there is enough variety on the list for confident singers and nervous first timers alike.

Weddings, Parties and Corporate Events

Bandeoke works just a s well either as a section or over the whole event, which is why a lot of our bookings pair it with a standard live set either side. At a wedding reception it gives guests something interactive to do once the formalities are out of the way, and it tends to pull people onto the dance floor who might otherwise have stayed seated all evening. It also suits birthday parties, anniversaries and private hire events where the guest list already knows each other well enough to get up and have a go.

Corporate Bandeoke Entertainment

We are also regularly asked about bandeoke for corporate entertainment, and it tends to go down well at office parties, product launches and end of year celebrations. It breaks the ice between colleagues who might not usually mix, and having a genuine indie rock party band behind them rather than a backing track makes the whole thing feel like more of an occasion rather than a stag do karaoke machine wheeled out of a cupboard.

Where We Perform Bandeoke Across the Midlands

As an indie rock party band, Punch The Air cover weddings, private parties and corporate bookings right across the Midlands, and bandeoke is available anywhere we play a standard set. We regularly take bookings around Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, as well as venues throughout Staffordshire and across the whole of the UK. If your venue sits within reach of these areas, bandeoke can be built into your booking alongside our usual live set.

Bandeoke as Part of a Bigger Night

Most clients treat bandeoke as an add on to a full Punch The Air performance rather than a standalone act, which keeps the night varied. You get a proper live set from the band, a bandeoke section where guests take the mic, and the option to close the night however suits your event best. If you already have a wedding bandeoke idea in mind, or want to see how it fits alongside a full band booking, our wedding bandeoke page covers that pairing in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an indie rock bandeoke band?

It is a live band, rather than a backing track, that lets guests choose a song and sing it fronted by real musicians. Punch The Air provide the guitar, bass and drums while your guests take the vocal.

Do guests need to prepare anything in advance?

The client will be sent a form to complete where they will advise what songs specific people want to perform live with us. Andy from the band will then put the set into some sort of running order that way it’ll all run as smooth as silk. Song choices need to be received back no later than 30 days prior to the event. This works well because singers can practise the songs at home in their own time before hand rather than just try to fake their way through a song they don’t really know on the night.

Is bandeoke suitable for weddings, corporate events, parties, birthdays and more?

Yes, it works well at wedding receptions once the formalities are finished, and it is a popular option for corporate parties, birthdays and private hire events too.

Can your indie rock bandeoke band option be booked alongside a full band set?

Yes, most clients book bandeoke as part of a full Punch The Air performance rather than on its own, giving the evening a mix of a live set and audience participation.

Booking a Blackheath Coronation Social Club wedding band means having the venue to yourselves for the evening, and that’s exactly how Punch The Air like to work. We’re a three-piece guitar band who’ve been playing weddings, private parties and functions since 2013, and when a couple privately hires the function room at George Avenue for their reception, we treat it like any other wedding booking: your guests, your dance floor, no one else’s night running alongside it. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.

What to Expect from a Blackheath Coronation Social Club Wedding Band

With the room privately hired for your reception, there’s no shared bar or fixed changeover to work around. We can get set up while the earlier part of your day is still winding down, sort our levels quietly, and be ready to go the moment your guests are ready for live music. We play a set that moves through decades without ever sounding like a jukebox, and because it’s your night alone in the room, we can shape the pace of the evening around you rather than around anyone else’s schedule.

The Band & Musicians Behind Punch The Air

Punch The Air is led by singer and bass player Andy Starkey, and the three of us have built our whole approach around one idea: play the songs people actually want to hear, played properly, without a wall of backing tracks doing the heavy lifting. Guitars are real, the rhythm section is real, and the vocals sit on top of that rather than fighting a laptop. It’s a format that works whether we’re in a converted barn or, as here, a function room booked out exclusively for a wedding.

Your Privately Hired Function Room on George Avenue

Blackheath Coronation Social Club sits on George Avenue in Rowley Regis, and the venue offers a function room, a bar, parking for guests and a garden, which together give you what you need for an evening reception. Once a room like this is hired exclusively for a wedding, it becomes yours for the night, and that’s the way we prefer things: one guest list, one dance floor, and a room that’s set up around your reception rather than shared with anyone else.

Songs We Bring to Rowley Regis Wedding Receptions

Every setlist gets shaped around the crowd on the night, but our core repertoire pulls from guitar bands across the last sixty years. We might slide from The Fratellis into a Van Morrison classic, drop in something by Feeder or Wheatus for the indie disco crowd, then finish with Bryan Adams or The Undertones for the people who want to sing along rather than just dance. You can see the full list of artists and songs we play before you book, so there’s no guesswork involved.

Here’s a clip of us in action, recorded at a previous booking:

Other Private Hire Events at Blackheath

While wedding receptions bring us to venues like this one most often, a privately hired function room with its own bar is just as well suited to birthdays, wedding anniversaries, retirement parties or a corporate get-together. If you’re planning something at Blackheath Coronation Social Club that isn’t strictly a wedding, we’re just as happy to talk through what would work for your booking.

Sandwell and the Black Country

Rowley Regis sits right in the heart of Sandwell, close to Halesowen, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and only a short drive from Birmingham and Dudley. We also cover bookings further out towards Wolverhampton and across the wider West Midlands region, as well as into Worcestershire and back up towards our own patch in Staffordshire. As an indie rock party band, distance rarely puts us off, so if your venue isn’t listed here, just ask.

We’ve played similar privately hired functions at Baddesley Ensor Social Club and Burntwood Rugby Club elsewhere in the Midlands.

A Few Questions About Booking

Does the venue need to be privately hired?

Yes. We play private wedding bookings where the function room has been hired exclusively for your reception, not open club nights or shared events.

What other events could the band play at Blackheath Coronation Social Club?

Alongside wedding receptions we regularly play birthdays, anniversaries, corporate get-togethers and other private hire evenings, so it doesn’t need to be a wedding for us to be a good fit.

How do we check availability for a Blackheath Coronation Social Club Wedding Band?

Get in touch with Andy through the contact page with your date and he’ll confirm availability and pricing directly.