Live Band For Hire Santa Monica
Searching for the best live bands available for hire in Santa Monica? Our bands perform at weddings, birthdays, corporate functions, private parties and more.
Santa Monica, CA
Live Band For Hire Santa Monica
Santa Monica · Ocean Avenue to Montana
In short: Hotel Casa del Mar is where LIV plays most often in this city, with 8 of our 13 Santa Monica events. Shutters on the Beach, right next door, adds two more, and the Fairmont Miramar, the Jonathan Club and Élephante one each. We book wedding bands, party bands and corporate event bands for the city from our base in Culver City, a short drive inland.
Where we have played
13 Santa Monica events in LIV’s records
8 Of them at Hotel Casa del Mar
5 Different venues in the city
<10 Miles from our Culver City office
- bands on the roster
- 3
- ZIP codes served
- 11
Three live bands for hire to hear first
Each clip is the act’s own video from LIV’s library. Pick the one that sounds closest to your event and mention it when you ask for a quote.
A party band build with featured vocalists on the floor.
Three live bands for hire to hear first
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Janeiro
A trio or quartet playing Brazilian bossa nova and samba. On a terrace facing the ocean at golden hour, Janeiro keeps the mood relaxed while guests find their drinks, and it can lift the tempo with samba once dinner is done.
Golden hour Terraces Brazilian
Plays Classic bossa nova, lively samba, the Brazilian songbook.
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Mood
Mood leans on the Sinatra and Dean Martin catalog, played as traditional jazz with lush horn charts. It fits a rehearsal dinner in a private dining room or a company reception where the music should feel classic and stay under the talk.
Swing era Dinner sets Receptions
Plays Sinatra and Martin songbook, swing, jazz standards.
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Sax soloist
Derrick is a veteran session saxophonist who can play along with any prerecorded track. That makes him easy to add to a DJ night, and a single horn needs very little room on a crowded rooftop or patio.
Arrivals Over a DJ Small spaces
Plays Smooth jazz, R&B, sax over DJ sets.
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Our Santa Monica record
Five venues, thirteen nights
This list comes straight from LIV’s event records for the city of Santa Monica. Each count covers every LIV booking at that venue, whether it was a band, a DJ or both. Where the record shows the type of booking, we say so. Where it doesn’t, we leave it out.
- Hotel Casa del MarBeachfront hotel at the foot of Pico Blvd.
8events
Bands and DJs have both played here. Most of these events were weddings. - Shutters on the BeachNext door to Casa del Mar, on the sand
2events
Two events on record. - Fairmont MiramarOcean Avenue at Wilshire Blvd.
1event
One event on record. - Jonathan Club, Santa MonicaPrivate beach club north of the pier
1event
One event on record, booked as a DJ night. - ÉlephanteRooftop restaurant downtown
1event
One event on record.
The list stops at five because that is what our books show. We have no events on file at the Santa Monica Pier, Loews or the Georgian, so they are not on it. Booking somewhere else in town is no problem. We simply start with that venue’s rules for live music.
Side by side on the sand
Casa del Mar or Shutters?
Ten of our thirteen Santa Monica events took place at these two hotels. They stand next to each other on the beach south of the pier, yet each one leads to a different conversation about the band.
8 LIV events
Hotel Casa del Mar
The building opened in the 1920s as a private beach club and now runs as a hotel. It is where most of our Santa Monica weddings have happened, with LIV bands on some nights and LIV DJs on others.
What to sort out early
- Which room holds the reception, and how far the dance floor sits from the stage area.
- Whether cocktails happen in a separate space, which may call for a second, smaller setup.
- The hotel’s end time for amplified music, so the last set is planned, not cut short.
2 LIV events
Shutters on the Beach
Shutters sits right beside Casa del Mar, directly on the sand. Our record there is small, two events, so we treat each booking as a fresh plan with the hotel’s event team rather than leaning on past notes.
What to sort out early
- Indoor room or open-air space, since that single choice changes lineup size and sound gear.
- Where the nearest power is, if any part of the event is outside.
- Guest-room quiet hours, which matter more when the party is close to the rooms.
These are general planning points, not house rules. Each hotel’s event manager has the final word on rooms, volume and timing.
Music by the ocean
Four things the coast changes
General guidance from playing seaside rooms around Los Angeles. None of it replaces the venue’s own rules.
- 01
Open air eats sound
An acoustic guitar that fills a dining room disappears on a windy terrace. For outdoor cocktails we usually suggest a small group with light amplification over a larger unplugged one. - 02
Plan around sunset
Santa Monica faces the water to the west, and guests will drift toward it. Sunset lands around 8 pm in late June and before 5 pm in early December, so time the cocktail set to fit. - 03
Sand has no outlets
Ceremonies on or near the beach may need battery-powered gear or a run to the closest hotel circuit. Tell us early if anything happens outside. - 04
Hotels set the curfew
Guest rooms sit close to the event spaces at beachfront hotels. Ask for the music end time and any volume limit before you plan the last hour.
Pick a lineup
Which live band for which night
A quick guide to where we would start. Your guest count and the room can change any row.
The night Where we’d start Why
Hotel ballroom wedding Five-piece wedding band, bigger if the floor is large Enough players to carry dinner and a packed dance floor. Published starting point $7,000.
Cocktails facing the water Janeiro trio or a sax soloist Light setup, low volume, easy to move indoors afterward.
Rehearsal or welcome dinner Mood, or a jazz trio Classic songs at a level people can talk over.
Birthday at a home Party band sized to the yard or living room Covers people know, with the band’s own sound gear. Published starting point about $5,000.
Corporate event Party band, or a DJ with live sax Keeps energy up for a mixed crowd. For a night led by turntables, browse the Santa Monica DJ page.
Jazz-only evening Jazz combo or swing band See the Santa Monica jazz page for jazz lineups.
A full LIV wedding band with horns and singers.
A party band build with featured vocalists on the floor.
Prices and what’s included
What your quote covers
Starting prices
These are the figures published on this page: about $5,000 for a party band and $7,000 for a wedding band. The $7,000 wedding number assumes five musicians, a lead vocalist backed by a four-piece band. Extra musicians, extra hours and production raise it.
Sound gear
The band brings a system sized for the room. If the hotel requires its in-house audio, we connect to that instead. Microphones for toasts can run through the band’s board.
Lighting
If you add lighting, our in-house designer Vlad Bazaria prepares the plan and sends renderings so you can see the room before the night.
Local crew
We work out of 2651 Fairfax Ave. in Culver City, so a Santa Monica booking is a local job. Load-in times follow the hotel’s schedule.
Song choices
Send a must-play list and a do-not-play list. The band builds its sets around both, from ceremony pieces to the last dance.
Other acts
String quartets, cello duos, a harpist, DJs and DJ bands can join the same booking.
In business since
LIV Entertainment Group was founded in 2017.
Service area
Santa Monica zip codes
We cover every Santa Monica zip code, from the Ocean Avenue hotels to homes north of Montana, Ocean Park and Sunset Park. Nearby Westside cities are booked from the same office. Addresses just outside these codes are fine too.
- 90401
- 90402
- 90403
- 90404
- 90405
- 90406
- 90407
- 90408
- 90409
- 90410
- 90411
Live bands for hire nearby: Los Angeles · Hollywood · Glendale · Long Beach · Newport Beach · San Diego
Tell us the hotel and the date
Share the venue, the room and roughly how many guests, and we’ll come back with the Santa Monica lineups still open.
Planning somewhere else in the area? See our Los Angeles live bands page.
Live Band Testimonials
Nathan and his company provided excellent service and resources both for our engagement party and the wedding itself. He heard all of our music suggestions and was available for multiple meetings. When the venue came with restrictions, Nathan countered with amazing ideas to make our ceremony and celebration unique. His energy is contagious, and his band is exceptional.
Our wedding was such a magical day. Rouge was amazing! They went above and beyond what we expected for our Persian/Mexican mixed wedding. The best part of our night dancing on stage with ROUGE overlooking 300 people on our dance floor sharing the magical night with us! We are incredibly lucky to have had them be apart of our wedding day! Highly recommend.
This company deserve more than 5 stars. If you are lucky enough to hear about them before your wedding, don’t doubt they are absolutely phenomenal. It’s. been over a month after our wedding and we still getting calls from our guests about how magical our wedding was. I can’t say enough about Rouge’s performance. The most professional, experienced, awesome people to work with
Santa Monica Service Area
Looking for live party bands in Santa Monica? LIV Entertainment Group proudly provides you and your guests with musical entertainment to get the party started. Our party bands have significant experience with corporate events, private parties, birthday parties, weddings and more in the following Santa Monica zip codes:
- 90401
- 90402
- 90403
- 90404
- 90405
- 90406
- 90407
- 90408
- 90409
- 90410
- 90411
Contact us for your special event today!
FAQs about our live bands in Santa Monica
How much does it cost to hire a band for a party in Santa Monica?
LIV publishes a starting figure of about $5,000 for a party band in Santa Monica. That buys a working band with its own sound gear, not a pickup group with a borrowed speaker. The number climbs with extra players, longer sets, lighting or a DJ added to the night. A backyard birthday north of Montana usually lands closer to the base price than a full hotel ballroom does. Tell us the date, the address and roughly how many people are coming, and the quote costs nothing.
What is the average cost of a band for a wedding in Santa Monica?
For weddings, the price we publish is $7,000 to start. That pays for a five-piece: a lead vocalist plus four instrumentalists who can move between genres during the night. Couples often add a second singer, a horn section or a separate ceremony group such as a string quartet. Each addition is priced on its own, so you can see what it adds. Tell us the hotel, the room and the hours you need covered and the quote will follow that plan.
Have your bands worked at Hotel Casa del Mar before?
Yes, and it is our most frequent Santa Monica venue. Eight of our thirteen events in the city happened there, mostly weddings. Both our bands and our DJs have worked there. If your reception is booked at Casa del Mar, tell us which room and your planner’s timeline. We match the lineup to the space and work out load-in and sound levels with the hotel’s event team before the day.
Can a band play outdoors at Shutters or another beachfront hotel?
It can, with some planning. LIV has two events on record at Shutters on the Beach. Outdoors by the ocean, wind and open air swallow sound, so we lean toward a compact amplified lineup rather than an unplugged one. The hotel sets the volume limits and the time the music stops, and sand spaces often have no power close by. Ask your event manager about those rules first. If the ceremony is on the public beach, check whether the city needs a permit.
How far do your musicians travel to reach Santa Monica?
Not far. Our office sits at 2651 Fairfax Ave. in Culver City, less than ten miles from the Ocean Avenue hotels, so every Santa Monica event we have played was a short local drive. The harder part is usually parking and load-in rather than distance. Beachfront hotels often route gear through a service entrance or a valet lane at set times. Send us the hotel’s loading instructions with your date and the crew will schedule around them.
Which act fits a rehearsal dinner or welcome party near the beach?
For a smaller gathering we usually suggest one of three acts. Mood brings Sinatra and Dean Martin standards with horn arrangements, good for a dinner where people want to talk. Janeiro plays bossa nova and samba as a trio or quartet, which suits a terrace at sunset. A solo saxophonist works for arrivals and mingling and takes almost no floor space. The clips above give you a feel for each one before you decide.
What kind of bands does LIV have available for hire in Santa Monica?
Live wedding bands, party bands, cover bands, acoustic groups, jazz bands and corporate event bands. Rouge plays world top 40 and classic hits with anywhere from 3 to 40 performers. 26 Orchestra covers current hits in many languages. Legendary is a seven-piece rock and pop band, and Chechi scales from a duo to a full band for cocktail hours. Janeiro, Mood and our sax soloist are on video above.
How early should we book a band for a summer weekend on the coast?
Most clients lock in the band three to six months out. Summer Saturdays at the beachfront hotels are the first to go, and the most requested acts fill up around them, so give those dates more time. Secure the hotel room before the band, since the room decides the lineup size and the sound plan. A weeknight dinner or a small birthday can usually be arranged on shorter notice. If your date is soon, ask anyway and we’ll tell you who is free.