King

Ensemble

One of East Coast Soul's flagship ensembles, King's performances showcase unmatched vocal prowess coupled with elite musicianship and energy

Unparalleled vocal prowess

The "King" ensemble blends deep cuts of both classic and modern funk, and R&B with the best of contemporary pop and soul music. The end result: packed dance floors, night after night.

Video

East Coast Soul: The King Ensemble (Live)



From Our Clients

While I didn’t share this with East Coast Soul, I do have a background with event and wedding planning. I have planned and worked on weddings/events for years, and of varying sizes, budgets, themes, and locations. Many brides think that food or the dress makes or breaks the wedding. In reality, it comes down to the music. You want to have music that makes people want to dance (obviously) but also feel like they belong. East Coast Soul BLEW my wedding out of the water! I have seen many wedding bands due to my past planning experience, and ECS were without a doubt the BEST. They completely understood the type of music we were looking for and did a great job curating the perfect playlist of both classic and contemporary music. Half of our wedding guests were from Sweden and they did a great job adding Swedish pop songs to their songlist (ABBA, Robyn). Their sound was tight and they flowed through songs in a smooth – not clunky – manner. One of our wedding guests is a music producer in Europe (Sweden) and stated that it was the single best wedding band he’s ever seen. He also knows Robyn and said she would have loved and been very impressed by their rendition of ‘Dancing on My Own.’ When ECS (KING BAND – 9 pieces) was done performing, guests didn’t want to leave because the band brought such wonderful energy. While I know guests won’t remember the flowers, hors d’oeurves, or party favors, I know for a fact that they will remember the band as many said the band made the wedding the best wedding they’ve ever been to. If you’re contemplating East Coast Soul, BOOK THEM. You will not only love them, but you will remember them for the rest of your life.

Meet the King Ensemble Crew

Meet the musicians that make up the East Coast Soul family.

Testimonials

Our clients say it better than we ever could. Check out our most recent testimonials below.

"East Coast Soul was incredible!! We had the 8-piece King Ensemble at our wedding and they kept all of our guests dancing all night! Their energy was amazing, they had an incredible setlist, and were so open to our suggestions. They also performed for our ceremony and cocktail hour, and the quality was so high. The band was one of our top priorities and ECS absolutely delivered. One of the best wedding bands out there! The band managers we worked with for planning were also so responsive and helpful. Could not recommend them more -- thank you so much for everything!"

Corey (Bride)

Wiscasset, ME
August 6, 2022
"So Amazing! HIGHLY recommend! The King Ensemble played at our wedding and they were amazing!!!! One of our highest priorities at our wedding was to keep the dance floor packed all night long and it definitely was! They made our reception a huge success. So many of our guests asked us where we found such an engaging, energetic and fun band. They danced all night long with us. They followed our requests to a T and the band leader even checked in halfway through the night to make sure everything was going as expected. Easy Coast Soul was extremely easy to work with in the planning stages as well."

Campbell (Bride)

Woodstock, VT
July 23, 2022
"While I didn't share this with East Coast Soul, I do have a background with event and wedding planning. I have planned and worked on weddings/events for years, and of varying sizes, budgets, themes, and locations. Many brides think that food or the dress makes or breaks the wedding. In reality, it comes down to the music. You want to have music that makes people want to dance (obviously) but also feel like they belong. East Coast Soul BLEW my wedding out of the water! I have seen many wedding bands due to my past planning experience, and ECS were without a doubt the BEST. They completely understood the type of music we were looking for and did a great job curating the perfect playlist of both classic and contemporary music. Half of our wedding guests were from Sweden and they did a great job adding Swedish pop songs to their songlist (ABBA, Robyn). Their sound was tight and they flowed through songs in a smooth - not clunky - manner. One of our wedding guests is a music producer in Europe (Sweden) and stated that it was the single best wedding band he's ever seen. He also knows Robyn and said she would have loved and been very impressed by their rendition of 'Dancing on My Own.' When ECS (KING BAND - 9 pieces) was done performing, guests didn't want to leave because the band brought such wonderful energy. While I know guests won't remember the flowers, hors d'oeurves, or party favors, I know for a fact that they will remember the band as many said the band made the wedding the best wedding they've ever been to. If you're contemplating East Coast Soul, BOOK THEM. You will not only love them, but you will remember them for the rest of your life."

Kathryn (Bride)

Kittery Point, ME
July 16, 2022
"The BEST - Hire them! We cannot say enough about this East Coast Soul! We hired the King ensemble for our small, coastal Maine wedding and they TORE. IT. UP. They kept people on the dance floor all night and ended the evening with some truly epic sing-alongs. We keep getting rave reviews from our guests - "This isn't a regular wedding band - they're incredible," "This feels like going to a concert" and "I'd pay to see this band perform again" many, many times. Even the staff at the venue said they were the best wedding band they've ever seen. Not only were they amazing musicians and performers, they were also total professionals throughout the whole process. From our first meeting with Sean to the final breakdown at the end of the evening, the band was super responsive, easy to work with, and extremely flexible. They seamlessly transitioned from a jazz duo for cocktail hour to an instrumental group for dinner to a full funk/pop powerhouse for the dance party. They can honestly do it all. Do not hesitate - book this band!!"

Abigail (Bride)

New Harbor, ME
June 25, 2022
"East Coast Soul (the King ensemble) performed at my wedding in Vermont last weekend. I'm not exaggerating when I say that almost every one of my friends and family came up to me at some point in the evening or the next day to say how incredible the band was. The energy they brought was infectious and kept people on the dance floor, chanting for an encore at the end of the night, and then another encore. I can't imagine any other band having been better! Mostly classic soul, funk, R&B, with some newer hits thrown in. They played something for everyone!"

Gabby (Groom)

New Haven, VT
May 21, 2022
"We loved working with Art and East Coast Soul. They were so on top of everything, were extremely communicative, and were fun to collaborate to make sure we got everything we wanted. On the day of the wedding, from the performances during the ceremony to the fabulous emceeing and full performance during the reception, ECS shined. The dance floor was so fun, and was in large part to the awesome performances of the band. We got so many compliments on their energy and talent as well. Would highly recommend them to friends and family."

Nicole (Bride)

Sharon, MA
October 23, 2021
"Wow. East Coast Soul truly made our wedding special. We had SO MUCH fun with them! We had the eight-piece band, King, at our event, and they truly made the event a spectacular one. This is a group of uber-talented musicians that come together into an incredible ensemble. We heard all night, and after the event, about how talented and high-energy the band was. People truly can't stop talking about it! We haven't been to many weddings where people stay on the dance floor the entire time, and our guests truly did! We asked the band to learn a few songs which they performed flawlessly... they even had us come up on stage to sing with us at the end, a moment we truly will never forget. If you have the chance, HIRE East Coast Soul. You won't stop talking about them for years!!"

Suzy (Bride)

Jefferson, NH
September 25, 2021
"We LOVE East Coast Soul! Their performance for our wedding was absolutely amazing! We keep hearing so many compliments from our guests - from their fun range of classics to new hits, to their liveliness and energy bringing people in to dance! We want to get married again and again just to get ECS back!!"

Julia (Bride)

Plymouth, MA
September 5, 2021
"East Coast Soul was awesome! We hired them for a 150 person wedding in Maine and they were great to work with from our initial inquiry through the wedding reception. The band was fantastic and made the wedding celebration so much fun. Would highly recommend!"

Nick (Bride)

Portland, ME
August 28, 2021
"The East Coast Soul King Ensemble performed at our wedding in August and words simply cannot describe how amazing they were! They had everyone on the dance floor all night long, even people who never dance at weddings! In fact, they were so good that my husband and I opted not to take sunset photos because we were enjoying the dancing and performance so much. Special shout out to Darrean and Jamaal, who were the most incredible vocalists we have ever seen live (seriously - so talented!!) Many of our guests told us that they either sounded like the original recordings of songs played or performed even better versions of the songs. Almost 3 weeks later, and many of our guests are still talking about how incredible the band was. Also, Sean and Art were both incredible during every portion of the booking and planning process - they both went above and beyond every step of the way to make sure our music experience exceeded our expectations, and they succeeded in every way possible. Booking the East Coast Soul King Ensemble was the best decision we made for our wedding and we wish we had another excuse to book them again!"

Kelsey (Bride)

Chebeague Island, ME
August 15, 2021
"Holy smokes! We are still getting rave reviews about ECS from our wedding guests months after our reception. ECS was outstanding! I was worried since we had not met anyone in the band, only really working with their coordinator, and it felt a bit stressful leading up to the wedding day trying to communicate final details. But the band was great and worked easily with our day of coordinator. They were on time, friendly, played the right music at the right times, and were overall exceptional. Everyone was on their feet the entire night. We had live versions played for our first dance and parent dances, and the band covered the songs perfectly. They set up the mic for the ceremony, and played fun jazz music at our cocktail hour. So happy we went with ECS, they did not let us down."

Mary (Bride)

Plymouth, MA
August 7, 2021
"We are so pleased with the impact that East Coast Soul made on our wedding day! We booked ECS 3 months before our date; the booking and planning process were so smooth, and they kept us calm throughout. We didn't get a chance to meet the band beforehand, so we went off of online reviews, and a previous client's reference which was helpful and reassuring. They are so talented, were great entertainment at our wedding and played beautifully during our ceremony. We were most impressed with their willingness and ability to include our culture's traditional music, and played an incredible Hora! We are hopeful we will be able to see ECS at a wedding in the future! "

Miriam (Bride)

Walpole, MA
August 25, 2019
"ECS was the best wedding planning decision I made. They put on a show my friends and family will never forget. They hit different genres, across generations, and catered to my very specific requests! Could not be happier!"

Meghan (Bride)

Wellesley, MA
October 7, 2018
"I booked East Coast Soul for my wedding without ever seeing them live. My sister was at a wedding and she Facetimed me from it while screaming "THIS WILL BE YOUR WEDDING BAND." I wasn't even engaged at the time, but she was adamant about it. Once I did get engaged, I decided on a short 9 month engagement. I knew bands would book up fast, so I booked them on a whim. There were other people looking at my date so I had to act fast, but I experienced slight fear afterwards that maybe I should have looked around. My wedding was this past weekend and I can be rest assured that there is NO better band than East Coast Soul. I am the first to admit when I am flawed, and I will say I was a pretty annoying bride when it came to the music. I was very nit picky and gave them a ridiculous amount of requests. They treated me like a Queen. Throughout the wedding planning process they were awesome to work with. Sean and Art responded to every e-mail and call extremely promptly and listened to everything I had to say. When it was time for the main event, the band absolutely CRUSHED it. They were so fun, energetic, kind, and insanely talented. I literally had to drag people off of the dance floor. My guests will not stop talking about how awesome the band was. They played all the right songs and really took my requests into consideration to create the perfect setlist for the type of wedding I wanted. The MC was so organized and kept everything flowing smoothly. Timing is huge at a wedding and it was an absolute flawless execution. I could go on for hours. Moral of the story is, East Coast Soul rocks. If you haven't booked them already, what are you waiting for??"

Alexa (Bride)

Farmington, CT
September 2, 2018
"ECS is AMAZING! Hands down one of the highlights of our wedding. We first saw ECS at an event for work a few weeks after our engagement and we were thoroughly impressed. We thought there was no chance we could have them at our wedding, but fortunately they were available on our date and the price was reasonable. Sean and Art were a pleasure to work with and helped to understand our vision for the day. They learned a couple of songs that weren’t on their normal song list and sounded just like the recording with their own unique flair. At one point in the night, they even let me get on stage and sing with them. As most reviews say, our guests could not stop talking about the band a month later are still talking about them today. If you are looking for a professional, extremely talented, flexible, and energetic band, ECS is the band for you."

Winston (Groom)

Plymouth, MA
October 21, 2017
"Absolutely unbelievable! I first saw ECS in 2011 when they were performing in Boston. I knew then that I wanted them for my wedding someday! Over the next few years I actually used them for a couple of corporate events as I am an event planner by trade. Finally when I got engaged in 2015, they were literally my 3rd call after my family to say "It's time to finally perform for me!". I worked with Sean & Art leading up to the wedding on exactly what I wanted and they did more than deliver. They got every detail exactly as I wanted-include a music mix for my Father/Daugther dance. As a former wedding coordinator, I was very particular that I wanted our music to be the "key feature" of the event- after all, that's what people remember the most! Wedding day came and ECS killed it- they performed our first dance which was a country song- a bit out of their element but you'd never know it! (Dan & Shay, From the Ground Up). The kept the crowd on the floor the ENTIRE night- including my 85 year old aunt!! At the end of the night, my guests were literally yelling "encore, encore". When else do you see that at a WEDDING?! I honestly can't say enough good things about ECS. I can't think of anyone else that even compares to the level of entertainment they provide. I can 200% guarantee that if you book them you will love them just as much as I did- well a close second anyways ;) Thank you Sean, Art & Crew for making our night SO special! We love you guys! "

Jackie (Bride)

Mashpee, MA
September 17, 2017
"When you are a destination bride, choosing vendors is stressful and nerve wracking! In selecting East Coast Soul, I basically went off of online reviews, YouTube videos and conversations with the band director (?). I am so glad we chose them and COULD NOT have been happier! Not only was the band director incredibly easy to communicate with, flexible and reliable, the band was outstanding! Everything went according to the questionnaire we filled out a few weeks before and they were lively and high energy. We had a small wedding (75 guests) and I was worried about the dance floor being "dead" the whole time. This was not the case. East Coast Soul did an incredible job keeping everyone dancing!"

Lizzie (Bride)

York, ME
September 16, 2017
"Working with this band was incredible. From our initial engagement all the way to the event itself, the band and it's members were extremely accommodating. Our wedding was fairly unconventional, and the band rolled right along with all of our odd requests. Not only did they learn a Vulfpeck tune for us, but the rest of their set was incredible and much of it was not the standard wedding band tunes you'd expect. They had us dancing all night, and their sound was full and fun!"

Jon (Groom)

Jackson, NH
October 6, 2016

Configurations

Check out the multiple, flexible ways to get East Coast Soul involved at your wedding

Ten Piece:

Vocalist

Vocalist

Vocalist

Horn

Horn

Horn

Keys

Bass

Drums

Guitar

Nine Piece:

Vocalist

Vocalist

Vocalist or Horn

Horn

Horn

Keys

Bass

Drums

Guitar

Eight Piece:

Vocalist

Vocalist

Vocalist or Horn

Horn

Keys

Bass

Drums

Guitar

Seven Piece:

Vocalist

Vocalist

Horn

Keys

Bass

Drums

Guitar

Frequently Asked Questions

Great question. There’s a few factors that we feel can contribute to the decision of which size ensemble to go with:

  • Your Vision: We think this is the biggest factor. Essentially, when you envision the band at your wedding, what kind of ensemble are you seeing? Is it bigger, with a bunch of horns and vocalists bouncing around, or is it a little smaller to perhaps align with a tighter venue space, smaller guest list, etc? That should be your first litmus test, and generally can provide some initial benchmarks to compare against.
  • Your Budget: We sometimes say that’s it’s not about the money, but it’s not *not* about the money, haha — budget is an unavoidable decision-making factor, and the size of the ensemble is one of the biggest aspects in terms of price. Comparing your budget against our pricing, keeping in mind the potential for travel and ceremony charges and travel, is not a bad idea. Though we can also say, your guests will remember us a lot more than they’ll remember your flowers, lolz
  • Your Guest List (?): We actually find that guest list size isn’t, or doesn’t have to be, a huge factor in terms of ensemble size. We’ve carried out performances for some of our smallest guest counts with some of our largest ensemble configurations (a ten piece ensemble for a 40 person wedding — yep, that happened! Haha). Likewise, some of our largest audiences were juxtaposed with our smaller/smallest configurations (college festival with a smaller budget – 2,500 kids in attendance, and a seven-piece ensemble!). So we generally don’t recommend this be your primary decision-making factor. That said, at the extremes we just mentioned, it can feel a little “top-heavy”, haha — feel free to ask us about this if you have any questions!

Some other information for you to consider:

  • Our eight-piece ensemble tends to be our most utilized ensemble configuration. We find this tends to be a nice sweet spot in terms of space, ensemble size, and budget. The option for three vocalists also allows sharing of lead singer duties, which translates to the need for shorter break(s) — always a good thing. If you’re not sure where to start in terms of band size, start here, and see how things line up for you.
  • We can also book the smaller/smallest ensemble you’re considering right now, and add musicians later. It’s true. If you’re considering the nine or ten piece, for example, we can lock in nine pieces now, let your budget and other decisions take shape, then revisit the idea of adding a musician closer to your date. If you’ve got the bandwidth, great! If not, you know you’ve got a killer ensemble lined up already.
  • All our ensembles sizes kick ass. Don’t worry if your budget or preferences is leading you towards a smaller ensemble size. Nothing is lost in terms of dance-ability, fullness of sound, etc. Each configuration is tried and true, and all have been a part of absolutely epic dance parties. You’re in great hands regardless of the number of musicians, so don’t hesitate to be conservative here. We can always revisit the idea of more players later, and either way, you’ve got an incredible ensemble lined up! The other thing to consider, is that your guests won’t be aware that there was an option between 8, 9, or 10 pieces. All they’ll see upon arrival is a kickass band or probably at *least* seven or eight pieces, which will probably be bigger than most of the bands you’d see out and about anyways!

Great question. We have our most common configuration suggestions listed below:

  • Seven Piece:
    • Two Vocalists
    • One Horn
    • *Four Piece Rhythm Section
  • Eight Piece:
    • Two to Three Vocalists
    • One to Two Horns
    • *Four Piece Rhythm Section
  • Nine Piece:
    • Two to Three Vocalists
    • Two to Three Horns
    • *Four Piece Rhythm Section
  • Ten Piece:
    • Three Vocalists
    • Three Horns
    • *Four Piece Rhythm Section

The ranges here are designed to show that each ensemble can alter its configuration slightly depending on your personal preference. However, it’s important to note that we do firm this up in our potential contract, so there won’t be any grey area once we hit the potential stage of locking things in.

The reason for this: some folks are particularly excited about horns/brass arrangements, while others are particularly excited for vocal harmony, and the energy that multiple singers can bring. All options represent powerhouse configurations that will deliver an epic performance!

*Follow up question: “What is a rhythm section?” In East Coast Soul, we refer to the rhythm section as bass, drums, keys and guitar. In general, we strongly recommend all four of these pieces be in place for any given performance. Bass and drums together represent the foundation of the sound, with keys and guitar working together to fill up the sonic space, play signature parts, support horn lines, etc. Removing one of these is an option in the most extreme situations of limited space, budgets, etc. but is something we recommend against if at all possible.

This is a very common question/concern. However, we’ve found that East Coast Soul is more comfortable squishing larger numbers of musicians into a smaller area that you might think possible. Generally we find the following (rectangular) stage areas are a good place to start the stage plot process, but we are flexible on this:

  • 18 ft2 to 24 ft2 per band member
  • 140 ft2 to 240 ft2 for the whole band

That leaves you with anywhere from 10 ft. by 14 ft.  to 12 ft by 20 ft. area, depending on the ensemble. This is more of a rough guideline, but nonetheless, here’s a rundown of each ensemble’s recommended sizes:

  • 10 Pieces:
    • Minimum: 10 ft. 𝗫 18 ft.
    • Preferred: 12 ft. 𝗫 20 ft.
  • 9 Pieces:
    • Minimum: 10 ft. 𝗫 16 ft.
    • Preferred: 12 ft. 𝗫 18 ft.
  • 7/8 Pieces:
    • Minimum: 10 ft. 𝗫 14 ft.
    • Preferred: 12 ft. 𝗫 16 ft.

Note: the seven and eight piece stage areas are roughly the same, since the presence or lack of an additional horn player or singer won’t change the footprint significantly


Performances

Check out recent performances by the King Ensemble

Featured Wedding

Whale's Watch Estate

September 15th, 2018

Pieces: Eight Piece
Wedding

Topnotch Resort in Stowe, VT

September 9th, 2022

An unreal September wedding at the Topnotch Resort in Stowe, VT where East Coast Soul's King ensemble had an amazing time!


Wedding

Marianmade Farm in Wiscasset, ME

July 2nd, 2022

An exquisite July wedding at the Marianmade Farm in Wiscasset, ME where East Coast Soul's King ensemble definitely made some new best friends!


Wedding

Beauport Hotel in Gloucester

May 14th, 2022

A stunning May wedding at the Beauport Hotel in Gloucester where East Coast Soul's King ensemble had a kickass night of music!


Wedding

The Hildene in Manchester, VT

July 30th, 2021

An amazing July wedding at the The Hildene in Manchester, VT where East Coast Soul's King ensemble just crushed it!


Wedding

Bald Mountain Camps in Oquossoc, ME

September 14th, 2019

An unreal September wedding at the Bald Mountain Camps in Oquossoc, ME where East Coast Soul's King ensemble definitely made some new best friends!


An exquisite June wedding at the Granite Ridge Estate & Barn in Norway, ME where East Coast Soul's King ensemble had an amazing time!


Wedding

York Harbor Reading Room in York, ME

September 16th, 2017

A beautiful September wedding at the York Harbor Reading Room in York, ME where East Coast Soul's King ensemble had a night to remember!


Wedding

Hill Farm Inn in Sunderland, VT

August 12th, 2017

An exquisite August wedding at the Hill Farm Inn in Sunderland, VT where East Coast Soul's King ensemble had a funky good time that won't soon be forgotten!