It’s a “when it rain’s it pours” situation with a band like ours here in St. Louis. A few Fridays ago a musician friend asked how the band was doing, and I said that it was a bit slow. I should do that more often because before the sun set on that very February day, we booked three gigs!
Two of them were fundraisers we have played before. We already had one booked, and just yesterday we got a “panicked” email hoping we’re available for another one in July.
Return engagements — we love ’em. With several great organizations it’s become a tradition to have us back every year, and we’ve enjoyed the strong relationships we’ve developed with them because of it.
One of our favorite’s is the annual KEEN affair (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now — gets less-abled kids up and moving). We friended them on Facebook, and when I saw the 2015 event was scheduled, I shot Dave an email about it, jokingly asking, if they needed a classy band … he wrote back: “We have the classiest band in St. Louis — the Kevin Mitchell 4. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to ask them. Would be honored to have you again! Sorry, one day I’ll get this right.”
Last year when we played they raised a whopping $106,000 for their kids.
No that is not a typo.
We have to admit we are an excellent fit for the many wonderful causes in St. Louis, and the many hard-working folks who put their do-or-die fundraisers together. We’ve gotten to play a lot of them, and we mean A LOT, so like weddings, we have opinions on how to make them better. Our ability to start off low-key and build into fun, more pop/blues type music throughout the evening is just a natural. People come in and get their first glass of wine and enjoy our soft jazz and cocktail music, but by they end of the evening, they like it when the guitar comes out and we increase the energy.
Hire a band. Us? Sure we’d like that. Not us? Someone. There’s a lot of good ones. Don’t skimp. I’m sure like many we offer a discount for nonprofits, but it’s still “expensive.” We’re typically $550 for good causes. Can’t afford it? Let us tell you more about KEEN and their record-breaking number. They did it up right — everything.
Our advice to you is go big or go home. Get them in the room with good live music, amazing catering, get a great, fun, pro photographer, and make sure everyone is having a good time. We’ve seen it — the difference between someone at the end of the night throwing in an extra $100 versus a $500 to your important cause.
