Spanish guitarist
A Spanish guitarist for weddings, dinners and events.
Nylon strings, a rumba under the first drink, a Malagueña as the guests sit down, one hand keeping time on the body of the guitar. A Spanish guitarist is a small booking guests describe afterwards, and it does its work without a stage, a microphone in anyone's hand or a program to run around it.
It plays a wedding ceremony and the hour after it, a dinner party for twenty, a milestone birthday, a corporate dinner that wants one thing worth remembering, and the proposal or the toast that only needs an hour. When the night wants the full form with bass, cajón and a set piece the crowd stops to watch, that's Dirty Flamenco, the trio this booking is the solo version of.
Trusted and booked by
The set
The Spanish pieces, and the familiar songs.
A Malagueña, rumbas, a farruca, tangos, Entre dos Aguas: the pieces that sound like Spain even to guests who couldn't name them. Around those sit familiar songs played on nylon strings in the same hand, which is how Can't Help Falling in Love ends up in a processional and a Beatles song ends up under dessert.
It's instrumental, and it runs at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table, the same dinner level every size on this roster plays. One musician can't drift above it by accident, and a guitarist watches the guests rather than a clock, so a prelude stretches while people find their seats and a processional ends when it should.
Two related bookings have their own pages. Dirty Flamenco is the form played in full, guitar, bass and cajón, with the traditional palos and a set piece placed where the program leaves space for it. The solo guitarist is one musician on steel strings working blues, roots, jazz and the singer-songwriter catalog, sung or not. This booking is the nylon-string solo in between: the sound of the trio, sized for a ceremony, a terrace or a dinner table.
The set is built with you before the night, and the first learned song you ask for is included in every booking. The roster's wider covers list is on the repertoire page.
The footprint
Footprint and power, often with no amplifier at all.
One Spanish guitarist takes 6 by 4 feet, one dedicated 20-amp circuit when the system is used, a 45-minute load-in and a 30-minute strike. Nylon strings carry a prelude and a processional in most indoor spaces with nothing plugged in.
Outdoors, and in any space where the officiant needs to be heard at the back, a small system on the same stand carries the guitar and an announcement microphone together. That's all the equipment there is, and it's why this booking goes where a band can't: a courtyard, the end of a long table, the landing of a staircase, a gallery evening set between the works, a house where nobody wants the furniture moved.
Footprints, inputs and circuits for every size are published on the technical page, written so you can hand your venue the link.
Occasions
Common occasions for a Spanish guitarist.
Spanish guitar fits the moments that want one instrument and no fuss around it.
- The wedding ceremony
- Prelude, processional, an interlude if the ceremony has a still moment in it, and the recessional, on nylon strings. Spanish guitar is what a lot of couples are picturing when they say they want something warmer than strings. How the four parts are ordered and how long each runs is on the ceremony page.
- The cocktail hour
- An hour of rumbas and familiar songs on a terrace, at a level two guests who have just met can talk across. The cocktail hour page covers the hour itself.
- The dinner party, and the milestone birthday
- Twenty around a long table, a courtyard, a back garden with the lights strung: Spanish guitar under the whole meal is the booking this instrument fits best. Private parties and dinners covers the night, and the Denver page covers the city's venues and parking.
- The corporate dinner
- Dinner at conversation volume with one instrument that makes the evening feel hosted, for a client dinner or a member event that wants one thing guests mention afterwards. The client dinners page covers the corporate details.
- The single hour
- Think a proposal on a terrace, the toast at a sixtieth, or a surprise at the end of an anniversary dinner. One musician for one hour, with no stage, on the same contract as a full night.
What live music costs across Colorado, size by size, is in the cost guide and on the pricing page.
The footage
A farruca, a processional, and the verdiales.
Three pieces played live: a farruca at dinner volume, Can't Help Falling in Love at processional pace, and the Sabicas verdiales.
Spanish guitarist questions
The operational questions, from substitutions to decibel caps, are on the full question list.
- What does a Spanish guitarist play?
- The pieces people mean when they say Spanish guitar: a Malaguena, rumbas, a farruca, tangos, Entre dos Aguas, plus familiar songs played on nylon strings in the same hand, which is how Can't Help Falling in Love ends up in a processional. It's instrumental, it runs at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table, and the set is built with you before the night.
- Is a Spanish guitarist the same as flamenco?
- It's the solo version of it. Flamenco is a form, played here by Dirty Flamenco as a trio of guitar, bass and cajon with a set piece in the evening. A Spanish guitarist is one musician on nylon strings doing the quieter job: a ceremony, a cocktail hour, a dinner.
- Who plays a Spanish guitar booking?
- A working Spanish guitarist from the roster, named to you at contract. The booking is booked by its spec: the instrument, the repertoire and the volume above. The named trio, Dirty Flamenco, is the booking to ask for when you want that particular group.
- Can a Spanish guitarist play a wedding ceremony outdoors?
- Yes, and it's the booking this instrument fits best. Nylon strings carry a prelude and a processional in most indoor spaces without amplification, and outdoors a small system on the same stand carries the guitar and an announcement microphone for the officiant. The site needs to be covered, level and dry with power run to it, and we agree a move-indoors plan with you ahead of time.
- How much space does one Spanish guitarist need?
- A 6 by 4 foot corner, one dedicated 20-amp circuit when the system is used, a 45-minute load-in and a 30-minute strike. A courtyard, the end of a long table, the landing of a staircase: a guitarist can play in places a band can't.
- Can we book a Spanish guitarist for an hour?
- Yes. A ceremony, a cocktail hour, a proposal, the toast at a birthday dinner: an hour is a real booking, with one musician, no stage and the same contract as a full night. Send us the date and what the hour is for.
Book a Spanish guitarist for the ceremony, the cocktail hour or dinner.
Live music for your event, from a solo musician to a full band, with sound support that’s the right size for the venue and a personal contact for the night.
Send us the date and the venue, and we’ll come back with a recommendation and a price for your night. What live music costs in this market is on the pricing page.