To book a musician for a holiday dinner in Edmonton, pick one player who suits the room: a pianist if there’s a tuned piano, or a guitarist, singer-guitarist or violinist if there isn’t. Keep the music low enough for table talk, plan around the toast, and allow for a cold, dark arrival.
A holiday dinner, for your team, your club or your family, is mostly about the meal and the talk. One musician can fill the gaps between courses without taking over. Settle the room, the songs, the volume and the timing, then send us your date, venue and guest count. You can compare options with prices for musicians, and we’ll check your date with the one you pick.
Below, you’ll find which musician suits which room, what to ask the venue, how to plan the evening and what to get in writing.
Do you need a musician, or will a playlist do?
Choose a musician if your dinner has a toast, a few courses and guests who’ll stay at the table for most of the evening. A musician can ease off when the talk gets louder, stop for the speeches and start again without anyone reaching for a phone. Live music also gives guests something to enjoy while they wait for the next course.
Choose a playlist if it’s a short, casual meal, or the room’s too small for anyone to set up without crowding a table. A playlist costs less, but someone at the dinner has to run it, keep the volume right and pause it for the toast.
Which musician suits a holiday dinner?
Most holiday dinners need one player, not a group. Here’s how to choose:
- Choose a pianist if the room has a piano that’s been tuned, or space and power for a keyboard. A piano can carry quiet dinner music and a carol for everyone to sing.
- Choose a guitarist if the room’s small or there’s no piano. A guitar takes little space, and you can ask whether they’d play without a speaker.
- Choose a singer-guitarist if you’d like songs with words, such as carols your guests know. Ask how they keep the singing soft while people eat.
- Choose a violinist if you’d like quiet, elegant music with no singing. Ask whether they’d play on their own or with a backing track, and how that changes the sound.
The trade-off is reach. A solo player suits a seated dinner, but one guitar or violin can sound thin in a large hall with many tables. In a big room, ask the musician where they’d set up so the sound reaches everyone, and whether they’d add a small speaker.
If you’d like dancing after the meal, one musician may not be enough. You could book a band for the whole night: see bands for hire in Edmonton. Or keep a musician for dinner and add a DJ once the plates are cleared: see DJs in Edmonton.
What should you ask about the room?
In a restaurant’s private room or a hotel, ask whether outside musicians are allowed, where the musician can set up, where the nearest power outlet is, and when the music has to stop. Pass the answers on to the musician before the night. If the venue has rules for outside performers or asks for proof of insurance, check with the venue what it needs, and tell the musician early.
At a club, ask whoever runs the hall the same questions. The hall may have another booking that day, so ask when you can get in and when the room has to be empty.
At home, find a spot that doesn’t block the table, the kitchen or the way to the coats. Keep the musician clear of the oven and the front door, where heat and cold air come and go. Tell them about stairs, pets or a child asleep upstairs, so they know what to expect and how loud to play.
Wherever you hold the dinner, put the musician where every table hears a little of the music and no table gets all of it. A corner, or the side of the room away from the head table, often works.
Should the musician use the room’s piano?
If the room has a piano, ask the venue when it was last tuned, and tell the musician. Ask whether the musician may play it, whether it can be moved, and whether there’s a bench.
If there’s no piano, or it hasn’t been tuned in a while, ask the pianist whether they’d bring a keyboard. A keyboard needs power and a little more floor space, plus room for a speaker if the room’s large. If that’s hard to fit, a guitarist or violinist may suit the room better.
At home, an upright piano against a wall can leave the musician with their back to your guests. Ask them whether they’d rather play it where it stands, turn it a little, or bring a keyboard that faces the room.
Holiday songs, or a mix?
Some groups want carols all evening. Others want a few seasonal songs, or none at all. Tell the musician which you’d like, and ask what they’d play.
If your guests celebrate different holidays, or none, a mix is often the easier choice: a few holiday songs as people arrive, then jazz standards, folk or pop covers through dinner. For a family dinner, ask for a few songs the children will know.
If you’d like a sing-along, plan it for after dessert, once the plates are cleared and people are ready to join in. Ask the musician whether they’d lead it, and whether you should print the words.
Send a short list of songs you’d love to hear, and any you’d rather skip. Keep it short, so the musician has room to read the table.
How quiet should the music be at a seated dinner?
At a seated dinner, guests want to hear the person across the table. Ask the musician how they keep the sound low, and where they’d set up so no table gets too much of it.
Tell them how many guests are coming and how the tables are laid out. Ask whether they’d play without a speaker in a small room, and how they’d adjust as the talk rises and falls through the evening.
If someone will give a toast, ask whether the musician can bring a microphone for it, or use the venue’s. Say so in your request, since sound for speeches can change the price.
How should the music fit the evening?
Send the musician a short timeline: when guests arrive, when each course is served, when the toast or speeches happen, and when the evening ends.
One simple plan: welcome music as coats come off, quiet music through the courses, a pause for the toast, then a few livelier songs or a sing-along with dessert. Tell the musician which parts matter most to you.
Ask how long they play at a time and when they take breaks, so the breaks fall between courses, not during the toast. Ask where they can wait during a break, and whether they’ll need a meal or a glass of water.
Choose one guest, or a staff member at the venue, the musician can turn to during the evening. If the main course is late or a speech goes on, that person lets the musician know, so the music can stretch or stop.
How many hours should you book?
Count from when the first guests arrive to when you’d like the music to end. Include the meal, the toast and dessert if you’d like music through all of them. Agree an end time that fits the venue’s, or your own at home.
Ask how setup and packing up are counted, and whether they come before and after the booked time. Ask what happens if dinner runs late and you’d like the music to keep going. Agree ahead how extra time would work, so nobody has to settle it at the table.
How do you plan for a winter evening in Edmonton?
A holiday dinner in Edmonton often falls on a cold, dark evening. Ask the musician how they plan for winter roads and how early they’d arrive. Tell them about parking, stairs or a long walk from the car, so load-in doesn’t delay the start.
Ask whether their instrument needs time to settle after the cold before it’s tuned, and allow for that in the arrival time. Tell them where they can leave a coat, a case and wet boots, out of the way of your guests.
If the weather turns on the day, agree who’ll call whom and by what time, so you’re not left waiting at the door.
What changes the price of a musician for a holiday dinner?
We don’t publish a price range for solo musicians in Edmonton yet, so you’ll see the price with each option we send.
Here’s what moves it:
- how many hours you book, including dinner and dessert;
- the instrument, and whether a keyboard or a speaker has to come;
- sound and a microphone for the toast or speeches;
- the date, since a holiday-season date can cost more;
- travel, if the dinner’s outside Edmonton.
If your date can move, ask for options on another night as well. Give the full address in your request, so travel is counted from the start.
What should you get in writing?
Before you pay, check that these are written down:
- the date, the arrival time, and when the music starts and stops;
- the instrument, and whether it’s the venue’s piano or the musician’s own;
- whether sound and a microphone for the toast are included;
- the songs you’ve asked for, and any to skip;
- when the breaks fall, and what happens if the evening runs late;
- what happens if the musician is ill on the day;
- what happens if you need to change the date or cancel.
If anything’s unclear, ask about it before you book.
Questions to ask before you book
- Can you play holiday songs, and what else would you play?
- Will you use the venue’s piano, or bring your own instrument and sound?
- How much space do you need, and where would you set up?
- How do you keep it quiet enough for table talk?
- Can you pause for the toast?
- How long are your sets, and when would you finish?
- How do you plan for winter roads, and when would you arrive?
How booking works with AGNT
AGNT is a booking company. You send us your date, venue and guest count, and we send you options with prices from musicians in Edmonton. You pick one, we check your date with them, and it’s booked once you’ve paid. If your first pick isn’t available, we’ll tell you, suggest a similar musician, and check your date with them.
Some of the Edmonton musicians you can book through AGNT are Jared Sieusahai, Nothing Runs Like Nadir and Boycriedmel. You can see more on musicians for hire in Edmonton.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead should I book a musician for a holiday dinner?
Book once you know the date, the venue and about how many guests are coming. We can’t say how far ahead people book for December, since we don’t hold reliable numbers on it. We check the date with the musician you choose, so an early choice gives you an early answer.
Can a musician play quietly enough for people to talk?
Ask each musician how they keep the volume down at a seated dinner, and whether they’d play without a speaker in a small room. Tell them the guest count and the layout, so they can plan where to set up.
Should I choose a pianist, a guitarist or a singer?
A pianist suits a room with a tuned piano. A guitarist fits a small room, or one without a piano. A singer-guitarist suits you if you’d like carols with words, and a violinist if you’d like quiet music with no singing.
Will the musician use our piano or bring their own instrument?
Ask. If the venue has a piano, find out when it was last tuned and tell the musician. If there isn’t one, ask whether they’d bring a keyboard, and check there’s power and space for it.
How long does a musician play, and do they take breaks?
It varies, so ask each musician how long they play at a time and when they break. Plan the breaks between courses, not during the toast, and agree an end time that fits the venue.
What should I tell the musician when I ask for options?
Your date, the venue, the guest count, the timings and the mood you’d like, from quiet background music to a sing-along after dessert. Add any songs you’d love to hear and any to skip.
Is live music better than a playlist for a dinner?
Choose live music if the dinner has a toast and guests will sit for most of the evening. A playlist costs less, but someone has to run it and pause it for the speeches.
How we put this together
We wrote this from what people ask when they book a musician for a holiday dinner: which instrument suits the room, the piano, the songs, the volume, the toast and getting there in winter. We also read the guides that come up when you search for live music at a Christmas dinner, and covered the questions they leave open for Edmonton. We don’t list prices, because we don’t publish a range for solo musicians in Edmonton yet. You’ll see prices with the options we send.
Your next step
Tell us your date, venue and guest count, and we’ll send you Edmonton musicians with prices, then check your date with the one you pick: book a musician in Edmonton
Featured photo by Anthony Cantin on Unsplash
