Can we hire a band for a backyard party?

Yes. A yard books three sizes: a singer with a guitar or a jazz duo on the patio at a volume the tables talk across, a trio or a quartet on the lawn for the part of the night that dances, and a DJ once the loud part moves indoors. It's one contract with one personal contact, and sound support that's the right size for a yard is included.

What does a band for a backyard party cost?

The pricing page sets out what live music costs in this market, and the cost guide has the Colorado figures for each kind of night, house parties included. A yard books one size for the afternoon and another for the evening, so send the date and a sentence about the yard and we'll come back with a configuration and a price for the whole party.

How late can a band play in a backyard in Denver?

The loud part of an outdoor party has a short life anywhere in the city, and the later the hour the shorter it gets, so we put the band on the patio while the sun is up and move the loud part indoors or to the DJ when it goes down. The rules vary by street and by HOA, so we don't quote an ordinance; if yours has a number in writing, give it to us at contract and the night gets built under it.

How much space does the band need on a patio or a lawn?

A singer with a guitar or a DJ takes 6 by 4 feet, a duo 8 by 6, a trio 12 by 8 and a quartet 14 by 10, all under cover. Load-in runs 45 minutes for a solo or a DJ, an hour for a duo or a trio and 90 minutes for a quartet, and on a yard that means telling us which gate or side path is ours.

Can the same band play the afternoon and the evening?

Yes. A backyard party is an afternoon that turns into an evening, and one booking covers both: a singer with a guitar or a duo while the food is on, at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table, and the band or the DJ once the light goes. Sets run 45 to 60 minutes with music through the breaks, so the yard never goes quiet.

Backyard party

Live music for your backyard party.

The backyard party is the one where the string lights go up over the patio, the neighbors are invited so nobody minds the noise, and the band plays on the deck while the sun goes down behind the fence. It’s the easiest party in the calendar to throw and the easiest one to get the music wrong at, because a lawn eats sound and a July evening in Denver runs from ninety degrees in the afternoon to a sweater after dark. A singer with a guitar on the patio, a trio on the lawn for the part of the night that dances, or a DJ once it moves inside, and the whole evening on one contract with one personal contact in charge of the music.

A backyard party is part of our private parties bookings. It comes with sound support that’s the right size for a yard, a certificate of insurance and a W-9 with the quote, and the musicians arrive with the smallest setup the evening allows. What the yard has to provide, from the power to the cover, is a paragraph down this page.

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Trusted and booked by

Hear it

A garden party, and a singer with a guitar.

Dirty Flamenco playing a rumba at a garden party, which is the sound of a summer evening outdoors at conversation volume, and a singer with a guitar playing Last Dance With Mary Jane at a private party, the size most patios book.

The configurations

The patio size, the lawn size, and the DJ.

A backyard has two places a band can go, the patio and the lawn, and the size follows from which one the party is going to face.

The patio: one guitar, or a singer with a guitar: The size for a dinner on the deck or a party of thirty around it. A guitarist plays the standards or a singer with a guitar plays the songs people ask for, at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table, and it sets up in 6 by 4 feet on one circuit through the nearest window. Tejas Singh is the act we recommend first for a patio, because he plays it on his own and the same booking grows to a quartet if the lawn turns into a floor. A guitarist can also play with a battery-powered system where there’s no socket at all.
The patio, bigger: the duo or the flamenco trio: Upright bass and guitar in 8 by 6 feet for a long dinner outdoors, or Dirty Flamenco at trio size for a summer evening that wants something with real technique in it, with a dancer when the evening wants a set piece. Both play at a volume the table talks across.
The lawn: the party band: A trio in 12 by 8 feet on one circuit, or a quartet in 14 by 10 on two, playing the songs everyone knows to a lawn with a floor on it. Tony Medina plays it up to a four piece, and the same band plays the dinner first at conversation volume before the yard turns.
The DJ, and the garage: A DJ sets up in 6 by 4 feet on one circuit and is the size that moves indoors easily when the loud part of the night has to. Live band karaoke is the other summer idea a house can hold: the four-piece with its host and two lyric screens takes 14 by 10 feet and two dedicated circuits, which is a garage with the cars out.

What live music costs in this market is on the pricing page, and the cost guide sets out the Colorado figures for each kind of night, house parties included.

Outdoors

What the yard needs to provide.

Power first. A wall socket through the nearest window on a dedicated circuit is the answer for every size, and it beats any generator. A generator works if it’s a quiet one, properly grounded and sized with headroom above what the band draws; the domestic one at the edge of the lawn isn’t that, and its noise sits underneath every quiet moment of the evening. Tell us where the socket is and we’ll run the cable.

Cover second. The band and the sound desk need cover in any forecast, a patio roof, a pergola with a top on it or a tent, because a Colorado afternoon cooks a guitar and a Colorado evening cools fast enough that by the end of a damp night the musicians are retuning between songs. If there’s a move-indoors plan, it needs a decision time and a person named to make the call, and the main floor or the garage should be ready to take the smaller setup.

Then the neighbors. The loud part of an outdoor party has a short life anywhere in the city, and the later the hour the shorter it gets, so the plan we’ll propose puts the band on the patio while the sun is up and moves the loud part indoors or to the DJ when it goes down. We won’t quote an ordinance, because the rules vary by street and they change; if your street or HOA has a number in writing, give it to us at contract and we build the night under it. The full house ask, from parking to power, is on the Denver private parties page, and footprints by size are on the technical page.

The season

May to September, on the wedding calendar’s Saturdays.

Backyard parties run from the first warm weekend in May to the last one in September, and the Saturdays in June and September are the ones every wedding in the state wants too, so a summer Saturday is the date to send early. A Sunday afternoon, a Friday evening or any weeknight in July is the easier ask, and the party is usually better for it, because a backyard party is an afternoon that turns into an evening rather than a night that starts late.

The afternoon and the evening want different music, and the same booking covers both: a singer with a guitar or a duo while the food is on, at a volume the tables talk across, and the band or the DJ once the light goes. Sets run 45 to 60 minutes with music through the breaks, so the yard never goes quiet, and a party that runs from the afternoon into the night is one contract rather than two.

Ideas

Backyard party ideas for adults.

Hosts search for ideas before they search for a band, so here are the ones that work in a yard, each with the page that covers it.

A singer with a guitar on the patio: One voice and a guitar, building the songs people ask for from the ground up while the grill is going. Tejas Singh does it with a looper, and the singer-guitarist page covers the size.
A flamenco trio for a summer evening: Flamenco guitar, bass and cajon, or one Spanish guitarist, playing the traditional forms at conversation volume as the light goes. Dirty Flamenco plays it, and the garden party clip above is what it sounds like outdoors.
A jazz duo for a dinner on the deck: Upright bass and guitar playing the standards under a long table outdoors, at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest seat. The jazz duo and trio page covers it.
A party band on the lawn: A trio or a quartet playing the hits to a lawn with a floor on it, before the light goes. Tony Medina plays it up to a four piece.
Live band karaoke in the garage: The band plays the 80s and 90s hits and hands the microphone to whoever wants a song, with the cars out and the door up. The live band karaoke page covers how a guest gets to the microphone.
A DJ once it moves inside: The smallest setup a party can book, in 6 by 4 feet on one circuit, and the one that carries the late end of a summer night indoors. The band or DJ question has its own post.

Questions

Asked about backyard parties.

Can we hire a band for a backyard party?: Yes. A yard books three sizes: a singer with a guitar or a jazz duo on the patio at a volume the tables talk across, a trio or a quartet on the lawn for the part of the night that dances, and a DJ once the loud part moves indoors. It's one contract with one personal contact, and sound support that's the right size for a yard is included.
What does a band for a backyard party cost?: The pricing page sets out what live music costs in this market, and the cost guide has the Colorado figures for each kind of night, house parties included. A yard books one size for the afternoon and another for the evening, so send the date and a sentence about the yard and we'll come back with a configuration and a price for the whole party.
Does the band need power in the backyard?: Yes, one dedicated circuit for a solo, a duo, a trio or a DJ and two for a quartet, and a wall socket through the nearest window is the answer that beats any generator. A generator works if it's a quiet one, properly grounded and sized with headroom above what the band draws; a domestic generator at the edge of the lawn isn't that, and its noise sits underneath every quiet moment. Where there's no socket at all, a guitarist can play with a battery-powered system.
What if it rains, or gets cold?: The band and the sound desk need cover in any forecast, a patio roof, a pergola with a top on it or a tent, because Colorado evenings cool fast enough that by the end of a damp night the musicians are retuning between songs. If there's a move-indoors plan, it needs a decision time and a person named to make the call, and the main floor or the garage should be ready to take the smaller setup.
How late can a band play in a backyard in Denver?: The loud part of an outdoor party has a short life anywhere in the city, and the later the hour the shorter it gets, so we put the band on the patio while the sun is up and move the loud part indoors or to the DJ when it goes down. The rules vary by street and by HOA, so we don't quote an ordinance; if yours has a number in writing, give it to us at contract and the night gets built under it.
How much space does the band need on a patio or a lawn?: A singer with a guitar or a DJ takes 6 by 4 feet, a duo 8 by 6, a trio 12 by 8 and a quartet 14 by 10, all under cover. Load-in runs 45 minutes for a solo or a DJ, an hour for a duo or a trio and 90 minutes for a quartet, and on a yard that means telling us which gate or side path is ours.
Can the same band play the afternoon and the evening?: Yes. A backyard party is an afternoon that turns into an evening, and one booking covers both: a singer with a guitar or a duo while the food is on, at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table, and the band or the DJ once the light goes. Sets run 45 to 60 minutes with music through the breaks, so the yard never goes quiet.
Which Saturdays go first in the summer?: The Saturdays in June and September are the ones every wedding in the state wants too, so a summer Saturday is the date to send early. A Sunday afternoon, a Friday evening or a weeknight in July is the easier ask.

Send us the date and a sentence about the yard, and we'll come back with the configuration and a price for the night.

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.

Check a Date

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.