Service
Music & Live Entertainment Hire
Event DJs, live bands and entertainers for hire in London. Open-format DJs, electric violin, Latin quartets, magicians and dancers from Avari Events.
Music and entertainment hire is the booking, briefing and technical support of the performers who set the energy of an event: the DJ reading the dancefloor, the live musicians during the reception, and the acts that fill the gaps between courses. Avari Events has supplied professional DJs and live performers for weddings, corporate events and celebrations across London and the Home Counties since 2009. Our roster is open-format and deliberately broad: DJs with two and three decades of club and private experience, covering house, garage, R&B, hip hop, Bhangra and Bollywood; live acts including electric violin, saxophone and Latin and Cuban ensembles; and performers such as close-up magicians and dancers. Every booking comes with the sound and lighting to support it, so an act never depends on what happens to be at the venue.
Who is on your roster?
Our DJs include performers who have held residencies and played rooms such as Ministry of Sound, the Hippodrome, Electric Brixton and Village Underground, and who now work largely in private and corporate events. Live acts range from a leading Mayfair electric violinist who performs over DJ sets, to a jazz saxophonist trained at Leeds College of Music and Rotterdam’s CODARTS conservatory, to a Latin and Cuban quartet moving between bossa nova, boleros and traditional son. Beyond music we book award-winning close-up magicians and professional belly dancers.
How much does entertainment hire cost?
Entertainment is quoted per act, from £650. The figure depends on the performer, the length of the set, whether sound and lighting are supplied with the booking, and how many acts are scheduled across the day. Combining a DJ with a live musician is quoted as a single package.
Should we book a DJ, a band, or both?
It depends on what each part of the day needs. A live ensemble suits a drinks reception or dinner, where the music is a backdrop and guests are talking over it. A DJ suits the evening, because only a DJ can respond to what a floor is actually doing and change direction in a bar. Layering the two, an electric violinist or saxophonist playing over a DJ set, gives you the live focal point without losing that responsiveness, and it is the combination we are asked for most often.
What makes a good wedding DJ?
Crowd reading, more than track selection. A wedding room usually spans four generations and several musical traditions at once, and the skill is in moving between them without losing anybody. That is why our roster leans towards open-format DJs with long track records across club, corporate and Asian wedding work rather than genre specialists.
Which events do you provide entertainment for?
We book music and performers for weddings, celebrations, receptions and gala dinners, award ceremonies, fashion shows and charity events, usually alongside dancefloor hire and the AV rig.
How do we check who is available?
Tell us your date, venue and the mood you want the evening to have, and we will come back with the acts we would recommend. Get in touch to check availability.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of music do your DJs play?
Our roster is deliberately open-format, covering house, garage, R&B, hip hop, Bhangra, Bollywood, funk and current chart music. Several of our DJs have twenty-five years behind the decks and specialise in mixing genres for a mixed-age room.
Can we combine a DJ with live musicians?
It is one of the most effective ways to lift an evening. An electric violinist or saxophonist performing over a DJ set adds a live focal point without changing the energy of the floor, and both are scheduled together.
Do you provide the sound and lighting too?
Yes. Sound systems, DJ booths and performance lighting are supplied by our own audio visual and lighting teams, so the act does not depend on whatever equipment happens to be at the venue.
Can we choose the playlist?
You can give must-play and do-not-play lists, and the DJ will work to them. Beyond that we would encourage you to leave room for the read of the floor, which is what an experienced DJ is genuinely being hired for.
What non-musical entertainment do you offer?
Close-up magic, belly dancers and other performers are available for drinks receptions and between courses, where they work particularly well as an icebreaker while guests are still settling.
Ready to talk about your event?
Share your date and rough guest count, we will come back with next steps within one working day.