We were so honored to provide entertainment for local radio station 100.7 WLEV's Little Pink Dress Party. The annual event brings together breast cancer survivors, friends and family, local organizations and businesses and this year benefited "Breast Friends of PA" and "Womens 5K Classic", two local support organizations.  

I've been performing for many years, and in all my years, I've never seen something as cool as this: a Flash Mob dance reminiscent of a music video, breaking out on the dance floor just in front of the stage.  Watch video evidence here!




Thanks to all the sponsors: Toyota, Morris Black Designs DeSales University Nursing, Sorelli Jewelry, State Theatre, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ideal Image, A&A Limo, Metro Design Center, Cooper Electric, Richard Kroll, Meera Salon & Day Spa, Massage Envy, Eight Oaks Distillery, Rockin' Remaley Photo Booth
Find out more about: Breast Friends of PA, Womens 5K Classic

Hi Symphomaniacs - we can't believe Musikfest has come and gone, with another performance in the books. Record heat, thunderstorms and lightning WOULD have cancelled our show if we were outside this year - we're thankful that our performance in Musikfest Cafe went on as planned to a full house!

Our friend and photographer Kenn Miller took some awesome shots of our performance, which I'm proud to share with you here.


The month of August is crazy busy with three weddings and several other shows, including our debut at West Deptford, NJ's RiverWinds summer concert series.

Hope you're staying cool! Thanks for coming out to our shows this summer!

We're up for a "Lehigh Valley Happening" award again this year. We've been finalists for the last two years, so it would be awesome if you could take a minute and vote for us. We are up for an award in TWO categories this year:

Musician or Band
Entertainer

You can vote here:

http://lehigh.happeningmag.com/happeninglist/musician-or-band-2016/ and

http://lehigh.happeningmag.com/happeninglist/entertainer-2016/

Thanks so much for supporting us!

We've had such a great couple of months! Thanks for coming out to see our summer shows at Tunes at Twilight, Musikfest and Live at Riverside Park. Check out our silly video clip of what "backstage" at Levitt Pavilion looks like.

It's fall wedding season, and we're getting ready to entertain the guests at four weddings in the next four weeks.

We were super excited when Lehigh Valley Academy asked us to perform for their fundraiser on Friday, October 16th at Martin Guitar, the awesome guitar factory right in our backyard in Nazareth, PA. The Sunshine Symphony trio of Tim, Ricky and Christine will be performing.

Also, we're very excited to announce the full band will be back at the Levitt Pavilion stage on Sunday, October 18th for the Runner's World Half Marathon Festival. 

Some other big announcements are coming up later in the month - stay tuned!


 

Hard to believe it's already August. We are getting ready for our TWO Musikfest shows this week, and we'll have a special tribute to Musikfest artists at both performances.

Here are our shows:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6th - 5 p.m. - Preview Night at Levitt Pavilion at Steel Stacks on the Southside of Bethlehem.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7th - 7:30 p.m. - Opening Night of Musikfest at Levitt Pavilion Steel Stacks on the Southside of Bethlehem.

We'll have our brand new t-shirts for sale at the 'Fest as well!

Thanks to Matt Smith of the Express Times, who mentioned our shows at the 'Fest in a little article about new music.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be performing at Musikfest's Preview Night, Thursday, August 6th at Levitt Pavilion at Steel Stacks!

Musikfest has added 80s-rockers Duran Duran (one of Christine's FAVORITE bands as a youngster) on Sands Steel Stage, so we are thrilled to get you Duranies warmed up just "next door" at Levitt Pavilion.

Here's the schedule of events for Preview Night August 6th:

5 p.m. - Sunshine Symphony on stage -
7 p.m. - M80 on stage - TD Bank AmericaPlatz - Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks
8:30 p.m. - Duran Duran at Sands Steel Stage

Don't forget - we'll also be at TD Bank AmericaPlatz/Levitt Pavilion at Steel Stacks on Musikfest's Opening Night - Friday, August 7th starting at 7:30 p.m. for a free show.

What IS Musikfest, you ask? Well, it's just one of our humble little city's shining moments - a 10-day arts and culture festival featuring free outdoor concerts (and only a few that are NOT free), food and crafts. It's one reason I moved to Bethlehem! It's a lot of fun and a little crazy and despite the occasional parking woes, it brings a great deal of income and recognition to Bethlehem. We're so thrilled to be a part of the festival, which is celebrating it's 30th anniversary this year.

Here are some informational links about Musikfest:
Directions and Parking
Festival Map - our performances are on the "South Side"
Musikfest FAQs

Hope to see you there!
Peace, Love & Rock n Roll,
Christine

It was December 5, 2014, when I got the call that changed my life. I had gone for a routine mammogram, which led to an ultrasound and then a biopsy, after which the doctor said, "it's better that you know than don't know." With no family history of breast cancer, and leading a relatively active and healthy lifestyle, here I was, suddenly a cancer patient.

The first thing I thought was, "How am I going to fit this into my schedule?"  I work full-time, I help my boyfriend and band-mate Ricky Bell raise his two little girls, and we have the band, of course, which has become a very busy enterprise. Not to mention, we have two households and the stuff that comes with them.  All are important to me for different reasons.

The whirlwind began, and suddenly I held a dozen appointment cards in my hand for surgical consults, pre-op appointments, blood tests, radiation and medical oncologists. Ricky coined "Team CB" - the name of my support group of family and friends to get me through this ordeal. Surgery was first, which was a fairly straightforward recovery, and then came seven weeks of radiation.  Fast forward five months later, and here I am - treatment complete.

I'm thankful to my partner Ricky, who helped me make arrangements, came to appointments, and gave me a whole bunch of pep talks. We managed to play gigs (and most of the time I felt pretty decent), rehearse, find new guitarists, update the website, book more gigs, book weddings, and all the things that come with running a successful band. We rented my house and then packed it up and moved. We continued, business as usual, with his kids, explaining that CB had something called cancer that she had to go for treatments for, but that she was going to be ok.

I am happy to say that I feel pretty decent overall, am healing just fine and am thankful that I am able to continue to perform like nothing has happened - which is completely untrue, as I am a changed human being. Oh yes, I more fully understand the need to have a good time, to unwind, to hear and sing along with great music - to celebrate life's happy occasions because life is challenging and throws some difficult things our way.

Thanks to our friends, family and fans for celebrating these happy milestones with Sunshine Symphony! We love you!

Peace, Love & Rock n' Roll,
Christine

Thank you to Tall Ships America, who found Sunshine Symphony after a band search and asked us to play their Annual Awards Banquet and Gala, which was held in Philadelphia. We said, "Sure!" and then made plans to travel the hour or so into the city to the Sheraton Society Hill.

Tall Ships America is a diverse organization of sailors and educators who host programs to teach young people how to sail and other valuable life lessons, like confidence, leadership,  The organization also has a scholarship program which allows many young people the chance to join the program, even if they never thought it possible.  Tall Ships wanted Sunshine Symphony to entertain the staff after dinner and after their awards ceremony.  We perform at a lot of private parties - and this audience included many age groups and musical tastes. The group was ready to have a good time, and we got everyone dancing and singing along by the end of the night, which you can see in this video clip.

Post by Sunshine Symphony.

 

Organizer Darlene Godin had this to say about working with the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia's best cover band:

"I just wanted to let you know that we received rave reviews about Sunshine Symphony’s performance at our annual awards banquet on Friday the 6th.  When the dancers finally got on the dance floor, there was no stopping them. Your professional attitude and amazing performance was over the top fantastic. We wish we could bring you with us to all our conferences. From the whole staff here at Tall Ships America,
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"

Sunshine Symphony has quite a bit of experience working with event planners and corporations to provide entertainment and sound support for special events. Christine, in her former life, worked as a Marketing and Corporate Event planner, so she is very familiar with what corporate party-goers expect and enjoy at special events. She's also aware of the questions that event planners ask, has great attention to detail and knows just what information needs to be exchanged in order to make all aspects of the party a success.

We have a substantial sound system as well, that can handle large rooms like the very large ballroom at the Sheraton Society Hill without overpowering it. With our sound set up, Tall Ships America was able to use our wireless microphone and PA system to announce their award recipients, and we were happy to run sound during the awards banquet and make sure everything sounded great.

If you need Sunshine Symphony to illuminate your special event, please use our form to Contact Us, or give us a call a 888-937-3568

Peace, Love & Rock n Roll,
Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony

 

Happy 2015 to our new fans and our fans from the very beginning! We are overjoyed that 2014 was so successful.

We booked lots of new venues! We met so many great people and got to celebrate with our wonderful new friends and fans at their happy occasions.  We'll be making our debut at Club Gravity at Chicago's Restaurant (previously Mezza Luna in Allentown). We're excited to be playing for the members of the Fullerton Fire Company in May, and playing more shows at the Coplay Saengerbund this year.  Also, we hope to soon add a few dates at the Parx Casino in Philadelphia. Several weddings are already booked here and in Philadelphia and there are a few more in the works.

We're working on new music! At rehearsal on Monday, we worked on 5 new songs that we'll be adding to upcoming sets and probably a few more in the next few weeks before we start getting ready for "wedding season". The result of our 2014 Music Poll showed the MOST votes for the Luke Bryan song "Play it Again" - so we may be adding that to our set soon.  Other high-ranked songs from our poll: "Happy" from Pharrell Williams, "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea (I am not fantastic at rapping, but I'd try it),  "Rude" by Magic (already in our set list!) and "All of Me" by John Legend.

I'm currently obsessed with Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" song and can't seem to get that out of my head...we may have to add that one as well.

What would you like to see from us in 2015? More videos? Where would you like to see us play? Let us know in the comments, and we'll do our best to make it happen. Happy New Year - hope it's a great one for you, too!

Peace, Love & Rock n' Roll,
Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony
 

Sunshine Symphony is excited to announce the addition of guitarist/vocalist Kyle Campbell to the band. Kyle is a native of Nazareth, PA, where he played with local band original/cover band Project 67 and won two WZZO Backyard Bands competitions. 

Interestingly enough, Ricky and Kyle have many mutual musical friends and have almost crossed paths in the past.  They realized this after Kyle agreed to join the band and they started determining whether they had jammed together previously.

Kyle's been involved in many different projects over the year, including writing and recording original music as a solo artist. He is releasing his solo album "Sunday's Best" in mid-January.

We think Kyle is a nice guy, with a great sense of humor, serious guitar skills, and may now be the most stylish member of the band. Kyle and his wife Teara live in Manayunk, but have family up here that you'll probably see at some of our local gigs. You may even see a bit of Sunshine down in the Philly soon, too.

 

We are so thrilled, as we approach our first birthday, to have been nominated for a Lehigh Valley Music Award for "Discover New Artist!" Sponsored by Discover Lehigh Valley, the award goes to the best new artist in the Lehigh Valley.

It's easy to vote! Go here: ​http://blog.discoverlehighvalley.com/2014/11/30/discover/vote-for-the-2015-lehigh-valley-music-awards-discover-new-artist/

1. Select "Sunshine Symphony"
2. Enter your email address.
3. Click Submit!

Done! Thank you so much for your support this year. We are so excited about 2015!

Peace, Love & Rock n' Roll,
Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony

(And Ricky Bell, Tim Kerrigan, Ian Frey and Steve Nesbit)

We have had the opportunity to play at a couple of beautiful outdoor weddings in the past two months.  We were thrilled to be a part of Sandy and Josh's wedding at their friend's gorgeous home in Zionsville, and Lindsay and Charlie's wedding in Richlandtown, PA. 

Sandy and Josh's day started with pouring rain, which caused the ceremony to be moved inside to the lovely Chateau Peach, their friend and photographer's home. As the guests arrived, we set up in the tent, complete with sides, which were essential to keep our gear (and us) dry.  By the time the ceremony was over and the guests emerged from the house, it was only a drizzle, which eventually cleared to blue skies and sunshine.  The advantage of hiring an experienced wedding band is that we have performed and worked with all kinds of family situations. Sandy and Josh had teenage children from previous marriages, and didn't want to do a father/daughter dance in a traditional sense - but they did want to dance with their own children. We played Five for Fighting's song "100 Years", Sandy and Josh each danced with their children, and each others' children and then invited other family members up to join them, which ended up being a lovely tribute to their blended families.  An ice cream truck surprised guests later, and the night ended clear and chilly, with fires burning outside to keep everyone warm. 

Sandy and Josh had these nice things to say in their 5-star review: "So easy to work with and so organized in their delivery of events. Thank you so much! Keep rocking rockin' in the USA Christine & Ricky and the rest of the band."

Lindsay and Charlie got married on Lindsay's family's historic property in Bucks County. Her family renovated their circa 1800s farm house over the years.  The property included a genuine pottery barn - literally, a barn where Lindsay's mother, a potter, practiced her craft. Historically, the barn had been used for pottery-making for many years prior to that!  They also had a generous, flat lot with a chicken coop that Lindsay and Charlie used as a bar.  The couple also held their ceremony on site, overlooking a grove/marsh framed with grasses and reeds. As it happens sometimes with weddings, there was a snafu happened when one of the shuttle buses bringing guests to the site broke down, which meant that another bus had to go rescue the stranded wedding guests. The bride and groom didn't want to start the ceremony without those guests - so we kept everyone entertained in the meantime.

Here's what Charlie and Lindsay had to say about it:
"On our wedding day the band was prompt in setting up and were ready to go exactly at the planned time, unfortunately the transportation of our guests was unexpectedly running behind - the band was flexible and continued to play mixed tunes while the guests mingled. When the time came for their set to start they rocked the house! "
Charlie and Lindsay's big day went smoothly from there, and a bonfire and fireworks closed the night.

Thanks to our experience performing at weddings, and years of event planning and other professional experience, we know how to handle situations as they come up. Staying calm and cool and troubleshooting is what we do! We have worked with people in the past who have toed the line of professionalism when something doesn't go as planned. While it's important to stay on schedule, we do understand that things come up, and we will make sure everyone is having a good time, while always handling things professionally.

Photo credit: Top photo - Terree Yeagle, The Moment Photography
Other photos: Taken by Christine

Some of the hardest decisions to make for couples are songs for the special moments of their receptions. What songs work well for bridal party introductions? What about a first dance? You'd be surprised how many times we hear "I'm not sure what song to dance with my Mom to..." or "I need a good father daughter dance song!" Of course this changes as new songs come out, but classics remain popular over the years and are still chosen today.

We also hear: "We don't want to be the center of attention for the entire 5 minutes of my (first dance/father/daughter/mother/son) song, because that makes us uncomfortable." - a lot. The beauty of a live band is that we can edit the song for you. Many times, we play the first verse and a chorus or two, and try to keep the song at about 2 minutes or 2:30, which is the sweet spot, in our opinion.  Note that there are certain "story" songs that aren't well-suited to an edit. We can certainly advise you of what songs are best if you want to edit them during our pre-wedding consultations!


Bridal Party Introductions
Think: Upbeat, Happy, Fun

American Authors - Best Day of My Life
Pink - Raise Your Glass (recently eclipsed in popularity by "Best Day of My Life")
Robert Palmer - Bad Case of Loving You
Bruno Mars - Marry You
Kool and the Gang - Celebrate
Katrina and the Waves- Walkin' on Sunshine
Hall and Oates - You Make My Dreams Come True
Pink - True Love

First Dance Songs
Think: Meaningful, romantic

John Legend - All of Me
Blake Shelton - God Gave Me You
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up
Christina Perri - A Thousand Years
Keith Urban - Only You Can Love Me This Way
Jack Johnson - Better Together
Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz - Lucky
Sara Bareilles - I Choose You
Hunter Hayes - Wanted
Frankie Valli - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
Train - Marry Me
Brad Paisley - Then
Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
Queen - You're My Best Friend - SOMEONE, please request this song! We would LOVE to sing this!


Bride/Father Dance (or Bride/Mother/Family Member)
Think: Sentimental
(Many of these songs are suitable for either a bride or groom to dance with a parent/family member)

Rascal Flatts - My Wish
Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses
Heartland - I Loved Her First
Billy Joel - Lullaby
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
Carrie Underwood - Mama's Song
Judy Garland or Israel ‘Iz’ Kamakawiwo’ole- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
The Beatles - In My Life
Stevie Wonder - You Are the Sunshine of My Life

Groom/Mother Dance (or Groom/Family Member)
Think: Sentimental

Five for Fighting - 100 Years
Rod Stewart or Glee (Acoustic Version) - Forever Young
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
Lee Ann Womack - I Hope You Dance
Phil Collins - You'll Be in My Heart
Kenny Chesney - Don't Blink
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
Ben E. King - Stand By Me
Lady Antebellum - Never Alone
Jason Mraz - 93 Million Miles

It varies from person to person as to what makes a song special enough for a first dance or father/daughter dance, but here are some ideas for your reception. We'd love to hear YOUR suggestions in the comments, too.

Peace, Love & Rock n Roll,
Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony
PIN THIS BLOG POST:   

Thanks to Ciara and Evan for the use of their photo. Photographer: Sturazzi

We had a great time on Sunday meeting tons of brides and couples at Green Pond Country Club's Summer Bridal Bash. One thing we heard a LOT when we told people we were a wedding band, was "I've thought about having a band but didn't think I could afford it." We are here to tell you, "YES! YOU CAN!" Sunshine Symphony's rates are designed to be competitive with the price of a DJ, and fair.

We charge what we feel is fair, based on the amount of time it will take to prepare (in advance, via planning sessions, conference calls, song lists, etc), and then perform, including set up and tear down of our equipment. Performing at a wedding, 99% of the time, requires that we bring all of our equipment, and in some cases, multiple set ups for a ceremony or cocktail hour that is in a different location than the reception. Sunshine Symphony is not a bargain basement band, but we're a fairly priced entertainment option, and we strive to be comparable and competitive with DJ rates, while providing so much more excitement and energy.  Part of our services also includes party hosting, which means we'll make all the introductions and announcements to keep everything flowing and to let you know what's happening next.

A nice bonus for you? We care about our wedding couples. Yes, you're our clients, but we'll make time for you. We're spending one of your most important days with you, and we know that getting married is incredibly stressful for most people.  We do everything we can to make it less stressful, and even fun for you! We want to accommodate you and your ideas and make your reception memorable and uniquely "you."

One thing has consistently happened at the end of each and every wedding we've played: the guests crowd onto the dance floor, and when we say our final thank yous, they unanimously chant "ONE MORE SONG!" We're not kidding when we say this happens every time. We've all been to our share of weddings with DJs, and while great, we've never seen this same phenomenon happen. Ever.

If you even had a passing thought about having live entertainment at your wedding, please give us a call. We're flexible, experienced, professional, talented and honest, and we're happy to answer your questions.

Peace, Love & Rock n Roll,
Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony

Congratulations to Lauren and Adam, whose wedding we played last weekend at Riverview Country Club.  What a beautiful location! Riverview is definitely a scenic location for a wedding ceremony and reception.  As we performed at the ceremony, and reception, we got an up-close glimpse at all the details that make Riverview a great location for both ceremonies and receptions.

Riverview's reception location is called "Villa on the Green" - it's a round room with windows all around overlooking the golf course, which is beautiful landscaped. As soon as you walk in, you see a huge, dramatic stone fireplace goes perfectly with the natural wood beams inside and view of the rolling hills of the course.  Lauren's theme of navy blue and sunflower gold perfectly accented the space and lent a summery look to the room.

The ceremony location is behind Villa on the Green. As you can see in the picture above, a long wooden boardwalk with past the pond leads to a rustic wooden gazebo. A natural hill overlooks the gazebo, so all of your wedding guests will have a great view of the proceedings. We set up at the end of the boardwalk, where Ricky and I performed acoustic songs while the guests were being seated, and then, once the bridal party was ready, started playing Sara Bareilles's song "I Choose You."

One advantage to having professional musicians perform at your wedding is our ability to customize your entrance song "on the fly." Since Riverview's boardwalk aisle is quite long, if we had played a recorded version of "I Choose You," we would have been three whole minutes short by the time Lauren got to the end of the aisle. So, we added an instrumental break, and two extra choruses to make sure that as soon as Lauren set foot at the altar, the song concluded - but she still got to hear a good bit of her selected song.  We received one of the nicest compliments ever, when Lauren and Adam told us afterwards that they felt like they were in a movie, with the way the music was perfectly timed.

We then took care of introducing Lauren and Adam's bridal party and getting the reception going inside the beautiful Villa on the Green.  The benefit of having a live band is we were able to introduce the bridal party and then Lauren and Adam in between choruses of "Best Day of My Life," by American Authors.  We then performed the couple's first dance to Blake Shelton's song "God Gave Me You," a Father/Daughter dance to "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts, and Adam and his Mom danced to "100 Years" by Five for Fighting, all performed live by Sunshine Symphony.

At the end of the night, after getting the whole room onto the dance floor with "Shout", and hearing everyone singing along to "Don't Stop Believing", we received the ultimate compliment from our couple: "That was EXACTLY what we wanted!" Thanks again to Lauren and Adam for choosing Sunshine Symphony for your wedding. We always aim to deliver total satisfaction!

We'll be appearing at the Summer Engagement Bash Bridal Show on July 13th from 12-3. If you're thinking about a band at your wedding, stop by and see us - we'll be there to answer questions and show you some footage from shows and weddings we've performed at. Get free tickets (free for brides, $5 for guests) here:
http://bridalexpopa.ticketleap.com/pennsylvania-bridal-expo-presents-a-summer-engagement-bash-at-g/
 

So you searched online and found a wedding band that sounds great. You've read their reviews and their bio. Now what? How do you know they're going to be the right band for your wedding? Here are some things to think about when selecting your band.

A lot of bands have videos posted on their website. A video is a great start, but, ideally, it should be current. Why? Bands can switch personnel frequently, or sometimes have special guests that are not a part of the normal line up. A good, working band will always keep their content up-to-date. If they're not working hard to impress you BEFORE your wedding, what makes you think they'd work hard after you book them? 

The best way to get a feel for the band you're interested in is to see the band performing live. Sure, you'll hear how well they play together, but you'll also be able to see their personalities in action. First of all, do they play frequently? A band that performs together regularly is going to naturally be more rehearsed than a band that only performs occasionally. Are they entertaining and poised on stage, or are they boring with no stage presence or, worse yet, sloppy or even intoxicated?  If they are professional on stage, it's pretty likely they'll be professional around your guests. These are all important considerations.

If you go to see them live or watch a video, confirm that the band you like will have the same personnel the day of your wedding.  Just ask about it. It's not something that's typical, but it can happen, so you may want to make sure that a clause about what you would consider an adequate substitution is in your contract.  One of our clients had this very problem - they went to book the band because they really liked the lead singers, and then they found out via social media that the lead singers had been fired (and were not informed by the band until they confronted them about it). To add insult to injury, the band refused to return their deposit when they wanted to cancel. Talk about a huge headache only a couple of months prior to their wedding. The key point here is to put everything in the contract, especially to specify that the lead singer that you liked will indeed be doing their killer version of your first dance song.

In our experience, there are a lot of great bands out there, but only a few great wedding bands. The main difference? The ability to lead an event. It's relatively easy to show up, set up, and play at a bar or festival, especially if sound is being provided. It's not nearly as easy to plan and set up for a wedding. It requires attention to detail, because a wedding has a lot of details to remember! It requires a knowledge of sound equipment and proper set up for the event, with potentially disastrous results if the band is inexperienced. It requires finesse and the ability to deal with a venue and other vendors. It also requires a knowledge of event planning, but lastly, the ability to put aside your own ego in order to make the client happy.

Finally, use your best personal judgment. Never be afraid to ask questions and be ready to move on if you don't get the answers you want.