Mockingbird Musicians » Mockingbird Musicians

Wedding Music at War Memorial

Chris — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:28:08 +0000

We had a beautiful wedding on Saturday in downtown Nashville! The ceremony was performed in the plaza outside of War Memorial with a gorgeous view of the State Capitol to the north. The weather could not have been better and it was a pleasure to add music to such a great event. The bride chose two cellos for her ceremony and we played some of her favorite pop selections by Coldplay, One Republic and Christina Perri. After the ceremony, the guests moved to the atrium and were serenaded by one of our violinists!

Wedding Music at Cheekwood

Chris — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:46:01 +0000

Our second of two weddings last weekend was outdoor at beautiful Cheekwood! It was musically traditional - a nice violin/cello combo. The grounds of Cheekwood are enough to put me in a good mood, but when combined with the crisp fall afternoon, it was just the perfect way to cap off a day of gigs! Whether you want a traditional classical ensemble, or you'd like a guitarist and vocalist singing Jason Mraz (our next Cheekwood wedding) - we can take care of your wedding music!

Chris

Wedding Music in the Wightman Chapel at the Scarritt-Bennett Center

Chris — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:34:53 +0000

We had a busy weekend! We had an afternoon wedding and then went straight over to Cheekwood to top the night off! It was an idyllic fall day - I love it when the weather cooperates with wedding plans!

The couple had an amazing mix of music - prelude consisted of a favorite Grateful Dead song (with violin, cello, and guitar), while the ceremony music was traditional all the way. Just goes to show you that you can have ANY kind of wedding music you want and that we can help accommodate you!

Chris

Listening Sample – “Standing on the Moon”

Chris — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:53:24 +0000

I've never been a huge Grateful Dead fan, but that hasn't stopped me from transcribing a song for a client this week! How cool is it to have guitar, cello and violin playing Grateful Dead songs at your wedding?

My favorite living pianist, Bruce Hornsby used to play with the Dead. I've heard him cover this song live a few times, and it's been in my head a lot recently - mostly because of the recent death of Neil Armstrong. I love this tune - hope you enjoy!

-Chris

mockingbirdmusicians.com

Wedding Music at the Nashville Zoo

Chris — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 23:08:50 +0000

We've been very busy recently! Wedding season is in full swing and we are trying to catch up on blog posts! One of our recent gigs was a gorgeous wedding at the Nashville Zoo. The weather was absolutely ideal (unlike today when it's 100+ degrees!) and the sun poked through the trees right in the middle of this prelude piece. I hope you enjoy "Ashokan Farewell" - if it sounds familiar, it first appeared on the soundtrack of Ken Burns' "Civil War" miniseries. There's something about playing this beautiful piece outside at dusk in the summer...

-Chris
mockingbirdmusicians.com

NPR Ads

Chris — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:32:51 +0000

We started advertising on Nashville's NPR station, WPLN, and I can't lie, it was pretty cool to hear our name announced by some of our favorite radio personalities. We've had several friends call us and say "Did I just hear about your business on the radio?" Let us know if you heard our ad, and of course remember to pass our name your friends in need of live music for a wedding or event.

Here's the radio spot... give it a listen! WPLN AD

We are so grateful to have been very busy so far this summer and we have several blog posts in the works so stay tuned!

-Nicki

Mockingbirdmusicians.com

RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles at Tennessee Performing Arts Center – May 1-6

Chris — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:25:00 +0000

I'm very excited, because this week, my full time touring gig is parking itself in downtown Nashville and I get to play 8 shows in my home city!

(It also gives me a great excuse to record and post a Beatles song on my blog...)

As I've previously mentioned on this blog, this is my absolute dream gig. I'm a Beatle fanatic, and getting to perform with guys who sound just like them (eerily so, at times) is as close as I could come to ever getting to play with the Beatles themselves. More info about the shows this week can be found here.

I've been playing with Rain for almost two years now, and one of the questions that I'm most frequently asked is, "What is your favorite Beatles song?" Every Beatle fan knows this is an impossible question, but I kind of should be able to answer it. I usually just tell the asker whichever obscure one pops into my head, because they really ARE all my favorite. Still, if I absolutely had to pick a favorite, I guess it would be the one song that has ever directly benefitted me. "The Long and Winding Road," was the song I performed in a contest at a Beatles festival in 2009. Winning this contest sent me on an amazing trip to Liverpool, and allowed me to meet the other keyboardist from Rain who invited me to audition the following year. Entering that competition turned out to be one of the best things I ever did, and I'll always love this song for that reason. Hope to see you downtown at TPAC this week!

-Chris
mockingbirdmusicians.com

Our Trip to Sweden and Norway

Chris — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:23:36 +0000

What a lucky wife I am that my husband, Chris, is a rock star! He plays for a show called RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles and gets to travel all around the world. This last trip was to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Belgium. I teach dance at a high school and happened to have spring break at the same time as this trip so I got to go with him to Sweden and Norway! We had an incredible time and since we are both major foodies, we punctuated the trip with fantastic food in each country. Here are a few highlights from the trip.

Beautiful sunset in Stockholm.

Huge monkfish at Saluhall in Stockholm.

Our amazing meal of Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam and salt pork dumplings at Saluhall.

Beautiful college campus in Uppsala, Sweden.

Akershus Fortress in Oslo.

We actually spent a lot of the trip emailing and calling clients to book weddings for this summer. We even had an event at Modern Trousseau, a bridal boutique, while we were in Stockholm. The fabulous Garrett Overcash played for their opening!

See...proof that no matter where we are in the world, we're ready to help you out with the music for your wedding or event!

Overall, the trip to Europe was amazing and I can't say enough good things about Stockholm and Oslo. Both cities have such a rich history and beautiful culture. Chris's next big gig for RAIN is taking him to another fantastic city...NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE! That's right, they will be playing in our very own Music City from May 1-6. Definitely check them out if you like the music of The Beatles!

-Nicki

mockingbirdmusicians.com

It’s Almost Valentine’s Day!

Chris — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:30:27 +0000

We already have a few gigs booked for Valentine's day, but we have room for more. If you're looking for a sweet way to say "I love you" nothing says it more than a serenade. Book a musician for as little as $100 and turn your average Valentine's day into a night she'll remember forever!

You don't have to do this...

Let us do it the right way!

-Nicki
www.mockingbirdmusicians.com

Happy Holidays! (Listening Sample- “To Be With You”)

Chris — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:46:08 +0000

The holidays are approaching and we are busy getting into the spirit! I even decorated our house this year and put up a tree for the first time. I had no idea how much a lit tree could lift your spirits after a long day. We had our friends, Nick and Lauren, over for dinner the other night and of course it turned into a super-fun jam session. We did a lot of holiday music, but let's be honest, we had the most fun with the '80s and '90s hits. Seriously, who doesn't love a little Mr. Big now and then? I hope this song brightens up your days as much as a well-decorated Christmas tree.

-Nicki
mockingbirdmusicians.com