With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, any entertainment agency worth its salt should be putting out some kind of blog about romantic entertainment ideas. And who are we to disappoint? So we’ve been thinking of that most romantic of entertainment options, the serenade.
Done right, it can make you feel like JFK on his birthday or Kelly McGillis in a bar full of fighter pilots. Done wrong it can leave you, say, feeling the force of full opera. So to help simplify the art of singing into someone’s face, we’ve picked out five brilliant acts who get the serenade right.
WANDERING HANDS
Sternberg Clarke favourites and strolling sensations in their own right, Wandering Hands have taken the events industry by storm by effectively turning the serenade into their USP. The band’s unplugged, unshackled performing style means they can wander the event performing for pockets of guests all around the venue, and with a killer repertoire of songs from the last half century, they never fail to delight their audience.
BARBERSHOP QUARTET
Decked out in candy striped suits and straw boaters, our Barbershop Quartet deliver a pitch perfect paean to the days when you could listen to a group of men sing in close-part harmony while you got a shave and a haircut for less than a nickel and still have change to take your sweetheart to a talkie. Simpler times.
LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT
Much as we joked about the idea of unleashing “the force of full opera” earlier, operatic baritone Le Gateau Chocolat is a different matter altogether. A vision in glitter, feathers and spandex, when this drag diva singles someone out for special attention the effect is at once hilarious and deeply moving. Blessed with a powerful voice and an even more powerful personality, Gateau’s mastery of his cabaret craft lets him command an audience like no other.
RAT PACK SINGER
Ask most people how they’d prefer to be sung at, chances are you’ll get a lot of people saying “crooned please!” And no one croons quite like a vintage rat pack singer. Oh they might try, but nothing comes close to a singer with a velvet-smooth voice cruising through the great American songbook through a haze of smoke and booze. Naturally, our performers don’t smoke or drink on the job, but the effect is largely left intact.
LUTIST
You might decide you want to go traditional, really traditional, reaching back to the origins of the serenade to kick it old school with a lutist. The form became popular in medieval times when a singer (usually a man) would perform, accompanying himself with a lute for the pleasure of a lover, friend or person of rank. And if it’s good enough for Sting it’s good enough for you. Guy’s been married 25 years. Pretty sure that’s down to the lute.
So that covers our suggestions, anything we missed? If you have your own favourite means of serenading someone, do let us know in the comments, or serenade us with the sweet sound of your tweets.