I had a vision of surprising my boyfriend with a private jazz show on the night of his birthday. Chris was so helpful and responsive around making that possible. Chris and Steve showed up early and got set up in stealth mode to ensure the big surprise. They were total professionals as well as incredibly talented musicians. They played all of my boyfriend’s music requests and made it fun and interactive, which I knew he would love. It was an intimate little concert just for me, my bf, and his daughter. Upfront band really helped us make some sweet, sweet memories that we’ll never forget! I look forward to working with them again in the future. :)
UpFront Band
In high demand
- 33 hires
- Based in Ridgefield, WA
- 24 years in business
- 4 employees
- Responds in about 1 hour
- Background checked
About UpFront Band
UpFront is a versatile musical group and solo performers who specialize in professional, live music and entertainment for any special occasion and voted one of the best wedding bands on Thumbtack (thumbtack.com/or/portland/wedding-bands/). Our focus is on jazz (smooth, standard, and swing), Latin, ballroom dance and our own twist on classic rock-n-roll, oldies and pop songs for parties and classical music for wedding ceremonies. We will tailor our performance to your needs at reasonable rates. Chris Bidleman (piano, keyboards, and bass) and Steve Burpee (saxophones), the founders of the band, have been playing music together since junior high school and in 2002, formed UpFront. Chris and Steve are joined by Robert Schultz on drums and are often fused together with good friends Jason Hafer on bass and Larry Pindar on guitar. UpFront can provide different configurations of musicians -- a duo of piano and sax for small events or wedding ceremonies, a jazz trio for the company meetings or a larger combo that can get people out of their chairs and dancing to Big Band Swing, Latin, R&B, and classic rock and roll. UpFront has been featured on Portland's KINK.FM, a local music spotlight radio show. While we often focus on jazz, there are no single labels to describe the wide range of musical styles we can perform. We can play oldies and pop tunes from every decade. We love to play cultural favorites, seasonal standards, and even classical music. Our playlist currently has well over 500 songs, but we can play many, many more, and we love to take song requests from the audience. We can perform as a solo, duo, trio, or larger band to meet your needs and budget. We will travel within the states of Washington and Oregon but are based in the Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA area. Please enjoy listening to our sample music online at our website. Your satisfaction is our first commitment. UpFront would love to be part of your special event and to personally tailor a performance to your specific needs at reasonable rates. We have performed at so many different events and love to change the style of music we play to fit the mood of the crowd and location of the event. We don't write music sets but will work with our clients to find the songs they want to hear and the joy we see when people recognize a song we are playing that perhaps they haven't heard in a long time and the smile it brings, that makes our job very satisfying. Please read our reviews and you will see that we can adapt well to nearly any situation or event that would benefit from a live music performance.
Reviews
We used UpFront Band for a Great Gatsby themed cocktail party and they were excellent. Very responsive and accommodating. We will definitely use them again in the future.
Upfront was an incredible addition to our holiday party. They were fun, professional, and sounded amazing. What a great mix of holiday, R&B, and jazz to make the party the best we’ve ever had. We look forward to hiring them again soon!
I hired UpFront Band for my son's intimate wedding this past weekend and it was the best decision I could have made. Chris was very responsive, a delight to work with and he and Steve created the perfect ambiance, from the ceremony to the dinner reception, the vibe was perfect from start to finish. They truly made the evening special and created memories that will last forever. If you are looking for talented and reliable musicians to add class to your event, Up Front Band is the right choice.
I had an excellent experience working with Chris for our holiday party this year! He was prompt, professional, communicative, and very flexible for the needs of our event--and that is saying nothing of his outstanding musical ability! An absolute professional and someone I would happily hire again. Thank you, Chris, for an outstanding evening!
UpFront Band arrived early for our Celebration of Life event. They were very professional & accommodating on top of being excellent musicians. I will definitely hire them again!
UpFront Band was amazing to work with. Chris was responsive and helpful during the planning process. On the day of the event they were punctual, friendly, and their music was fabulous. Our clients loved the event and the fact that they could request songs. Thank you UpFront!
Our event has not happened yet but our experience setting it was excellent+. Thank you Thumbtack for connecting us.
Hiring UpFront Band was the absolute BEST decision I made for our event! Though many guests didn’t dance, I received several compliments from our guests throughout the evening who really enjoyed the experience of listening to this band live. These musicians are very professional and were easy to work with. Their music was enjoyable for all ages. Take your event up a notch - hire UpFront Band! You won’t regret it!
Chris and the Guys were fantastic!! Festive and Fun for our St. Paddy's Day house party. They engaged with all my guests, were awesome to work with and just a fun group of guys! I would highly recommend them for any event you may be planning. We had a blast and the Up Front Band Rocks!!
Services
UpFront Band★ 5.0
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