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Happy New Year and Happy News! 

Happy New Year, Symphomaniacs! This time of year always naturally comes with some reflection as it's the time of year when the gigs slow down, the holiday hustle is over, and we start to book out the rest of the year.  Our years tend to fly by with wild abandon, considering we are not only musicians, but also have full-time jobs, partners, and some of us, children. This past year was filled with some fantastic gigs and we hope to see you at those same venues and even some new venues this year.  We are also actively (and speedily) booking weddings for 2019 and 2020.

We in the band have some happy news to share: our lead singers, Christine & Ricky, have also gotten engaged to one another. The two met when Ricky was auditioning for Christine's former band, She Said Sunday, and more or less sang together before they actually conversed.  Almost eight years of harmonizing later, Christine and Ricky are now actively planning their own destination wedding in Turks and Caicos for June 2020.

Both Ricky and Christine's experience in performing at weddings and working with our local vendors has facilitated their own wedding planning.  If you're considering having live music at your reception, we encourage you to reach out to a real couple who knows the ins-and-outs of the wedding business here in the Lehigh Valley.  

Contact us for our rates and details about our wedding entertainment options and hurry! We're running out of dates for 2019 and booking now for 2020.

We're just looking for some Tush  

It's our craziest time of the year! Summer for Sunshine Symphony involves playing tons of community events, festivals, and weddings in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia areas. This summer is no exception! We've managed to cram another special event into our schedule this week.

Tonight, we head to Toll Man Joe's bar in South Philadelphia to compete in the WMGK House Band competition. If you're not familiar with WMGK, it's a classic rock radio station out of Philadelphia. Many of the DJs have been on the air for multiple decades. In fact, morning show host John DeBella was one of the DJs I listened to that inspired me to get into radio. In any case - this is huge and legendary for me personally, that we could be the house band for a radio station I've been listening to for a long time. 

We are required to play a 25-minute set of classic rock tunes, and one of them must be Tush, the 70s song by ZZ Top. We don't play a whole lot of blues tunes (we tend toward pop and 80s stuff), but boy, was this song fun to learn (and easy - it's only 2 minutes long!).  We were racking our brains trying to think of ways to make our version accurate but different, and we decided to play up Ricky's experience on blues harmonica. He does a killer solo that fits right into the feel of the song.

Listen to our version from rehearsal and let us know what you think! 

UPDATE: Well, we didn't win the semi-final round, but put on a performance to be proud of. Congrats to the guys in The Mad Trio, who move on to the finals. They were a 3-piece rock group that made a lot of noise! Also, fun to see Raised on Radio, and Retro 45. Some killer pipes and musicianship among all the bands.

White Wedding 

Summer and fall weddings - seems like everyone's having one. And while there is something beautiful about being outside, or under a tent with the moonlight overhead, I believe there's something equally magical about a December wedding and it's a wonderful option that more brides should consider.

This past weekend, we performed at  Jen & George's wedding at Cairnwood Estate in suburban Philadelphia, PA. This venue is stunning in every detail - from the long driveway as you approach, to the giant front door that makes you feel like you're walking into a castle. And you are, in essence, as Cairnwood is the former country mansion of the Pitcairn family, the founder of Pittsburgh Plate Glass (which you may know now as PPG).
 

Best Thing About Winter Weddings #1: Holiday Decorations 

One of the most beautiful things about the mansion is that it was decked out for the holidays, with a giant Christmas tree in the main room, plus lights on the giant staircase, greenery, and candles everywhere. By the time the guests started arriving and the reception started, the sun was retreating for the day, but the candelabras gave a soft ,glowing ambience that couldn't be matched at any other time of the year. I can understand that non-Christian brides and/or grooms may not be thrilled by the idea of a giant Christmas tree in your reception space, but most of the decorations were non-denominational and more "wintry" - think pine greens and candles. 

Best Thing About Winter Weddings #2: Winter Accessories
There is something especially beautiful about a bridal gown with a vintage fur stole, modern faux fur look-alike, or woolen coat or wrap to keep your arms warm in your wedding dress (or bridesmaid dresses!). Bride Jennifer wore a beautiful stole over her dress and passed out pashminas to her guests to keep warm if they were chilly. 

Best Thing About Winter Weddings #3: Winter and Christmas Songs
For Jennifer and George's wedding, the Sunshine Symphony duo performed a set of acoustic love songs, and it was fun for us to be able to throw in holiday songs like "Baby, It's Cold Outside," or "Let it Snow." Your favorite classic holiday songs also work well as mixes for cocktail or dinner music, think Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives or Tony Bennett.


If you love historic mansions and want to visit Cairnwood, they offer afternoon teas once a month and lots of events that are open to the public. You can find more information on their website:  http://www.cairnwood.org/

Hot Time, Summer in the City 

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!

Election Day 

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!

Special Musikfest Double-Header 

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

Lehigh Valley Music Awards - we're nominated! 

This weekend is the musical community's biggest event in the Lehigh Valley - the Lehigh Valley Music Awards happen on Sunday, March 8th at ArtsQuest.  Sunshine Symphony is thrilled to be nominated by our peers in the music industry as "Outstanding New Band" this year (our second together).

We have been thankful to have performed all over the area in the past year, from "Tunes at Twilight" to Forks Township's Summer Concert series, to Fullerton Carnival, and happy that people have noticed the passion we put into our performances, the time we've spent rehearsing and re-rehearsing, and the variety of the music we play, like our tongue-in-cheek humor as you listen to our version of "Raise Your Glass" that bursts suddenly into the chorus of "Let it Go" from Frozen.

We are also thankful to be a part of the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia music scenes, and have such a variety of venues in which to perform. To be part of a community that recognizes the arts and its talented musicians is a blessing!

Read about some of the other industry nominees for awards here in this article by Dustin Schoof:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/music/index.ssf/2015/03/lehigh_valley_music_awards_16_2.html#incart_2box_entertainment_index.ssf

Make Your Special Event Shine with Sunshine Symphony 

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.

 
 
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

 

Email Issues 

UPDATE: 2/5 - it appears that our email is back up and running as of last night. We have recovered old email, but do not have emails from between 1/31 and 2/4, when the server failure occurred. If you did send a message to us in that timeframe, it may have bounced back to you. Please resend. We apologize for any inconveniences while the server problem occurred.  Thank you!

Our email/website provider is having a serious technical issue with their email servers. As a result, we have not been able to receive or access our email since Saturday, 1/31. We apologize for any inconvenience if you're trying to get in touch with us. The best way to get in touch with us right now is to call our toll-free number (888-937-3568), or submit our custom form here: http://sunshinesymphony.com/contact

Alternatively, you may message us on Facebook.

Thanks for your understanding. We pride ourselves on our quick responses, but unfortunately, our email situation is out of our control.

Peace, Love & Rock n' Roll,
Christine

Happy 2015! 

Sunshine Symphony, 1/9/15 - Thanks to Andy Sawran for the photo.



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
 

Welcome Kyle Campbell 

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.

 

Vote for Sunshine Symphony as "Discover New Artist" 

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)

Fall Weddings and Two New 5-star Reviews! 

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."

The Chicken Coop Bar



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! "

Table arrangements


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

You CAN afford a wedding band! 


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

Summer Weddings! 


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/
 

How We Made a Pop-Punk Song into a First Dance  


We had a great time at Evan and Ciara's wedding last night at The Eastonian (Kunkle Drive in Easton/Palmer Township, PA).  It's really enjoyable meeting couples getting married and hearing their thoughts on their music for their big day - it's such a huge part of people's memories that we realize the importance of our job when we're hired for a wedding.

Typically, we'll learn songs for the couple if we don't already know their "first dance" songs, or learn other songs that the couple really wants to hear during their reception.

Ricky's going to kill me for mentioning it, but he's a huge fan of Wilson Phillips. As am I - I totally wore out my cassette.  Their song "Hold On" recently came back into the public's collective consciousness after the song was featured in the hit movie, "Bridesmaids." When Ciara mentioned she's a huge fan of the movie and wanted us to learn "Hold On" for their reception,  we were openly excited. Harmonies! That's one of our specialties.

In addition to that, Evan and Ciara were fans of the Ataris, a pop-punk band known for their cover of the Don Henley song "Boys of Summer" a few years back. They asked for us to put together an acoustic version of the song "I.O.U. One Galaxy." Normally, it's a faster-paced rock tune. Ricky and I worked out an arrangement where we alternated lines and added harmonies to make a slow-danceable song for Evan and Ciara's first dance.  We knew we hit the mark when we saw the two dancing, totally absorbed and enjoying the moment.  That's probably our favorite part of being a wedding band - helping to create the special moments that people remember forever.

At the bride and groom's request, we'll record a version in the studio that they can keep forever to remember the moment (and our arrangement). That's a unique service that we can offer to our wedding clients that doesn't cost a dime  - we enjoy the creative process and the challenge of arranging a song to capture our brides' and grooms' visions. 

Have a wedding coming up? Have some creative requests or dreams for your special event? Contact us. We can help make those dreams a musical reality.

Peace, Love & Rock 'n Roll,
Christine

You've Got Class! 

Thanks to Pius X Class of 1974 and Dunmore HS Class of 1989 who just booked Sunshine Symphony for their class reunions!  We hope this is a trend that's continuing.  

We love the idea of bringing a live band to a reunion - there's no better icebreaker than getting everyone on the dance floor with a nostalgic song from your high school years. We always like to go the extra mile when it comes to keeping our clients happy, and we enjoy learning new songs to enhance the event. One of the most fun parts of our job is looking at the Billboard charts for the top hits of that year, and deciding which ones we think will go over well with our audience.

Cara booked us for her class's 25th high school reunion after seeing us perform at Bar Louie in Wilkes Barre. She really enjoyed our variety of music.  1989 was the year of power ballads, including songs from hair bands like Skid Row, and pop/rock bands like Bon Jovi and Poison. Since we grew up loving late 80s music, we're not too proud to admit we already know some of the big hits of 1989, like "When I See You Smile" (Bad English) and "Lost in Your Eyes" (Debbie Gibson). We may have to break a few of those out for slow dances at the reunion.

The Sunshine Symphony duo of Ricky Bell and Ian Frey will be playing the Pius X Class of 1974 reunion at Northampton Country Club. Great songs abounded in 1974 as well - an era that included disco, soft rock and plain old rock n roll! Top hits in 1974 included "Jungle Boogie" by Kool and the Gang, "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band and "Sunshine on my Shoulders" by John Denver.  

Interestingly enough, there was one song that was a Top 100 hit in BOTH 1974 and 1989, can you guess what it was?
"Rock On' - recorded by David Essex in 1974 and Michael Damien in 1989. So if we learn that one song, we're covered at both reunions!

If you're planning a party, wedding, or class reunion, consider live entertainment to make it a party that no one will ever forget!  Ask Sunshine Symphony about performance options - we can perform as a full band, as a duo or a trio to deliver live music at an affordable price.

 

Music for Your Destination Wedding 

Stacey and Jeff's wedding in Turks and Caicos.
Music by Ricky Bell and Ian Frey of Sunshine Symphony.
Eloping isn't quite the same as it used to be. According to a survey by TheKnot.com, 24% of brides choose a destination wedding - where not only the bride and groom escape to an exotic location, but the wedding guests do, too! A vacation and a wedding in one, destination weddings have an average of 86 guests! 

One unique thing that Sunshine Symphony can offer is entertainment for your destination wedding ceremony, rehearsal dinner and reception.  Just this past week, Ricky, Ian and Christine traveled to Turks and Caicos in the British West Indies (just next door to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic) for our friends and longtime fans Stacey and Jeff's wedding.  It was a wonderful opportunity to escape someplace warm in spite of a dreary, chilly Spring...but behind the scenes, it required an immense amount of planning and coordination to make it happen. We are happy to say that everything went off with only one hitch - Stacey and Jeff's "hitching!" (Sorry for the corny wedding joke).

Destination wedding planning is challenging, and it seems like a lot of jumping through hoops to get it to happen (and it is), but it can happen. If you have your heart set on having your favorite musicians play your song as you walk down the flower-petal lined beach aisle, it can be done.

One thing we discovered is that Top 40 bands in the islands are few and far between - in fact, there was ONE in Turks and Caicos and the restaurant manager we talked to said they were not so good. You could always hire a DJ, sure - but it's just not the same. I can vouch for that!

At Stacey and Jeff's wedding, the walkway for the bridesmaids and bridal party was LONG. In fact, Stacey wanted Jason Mraz's song "I Won't Give Up" performed for her bridal party AND her processional, and the song would have ended way before she even got on the beach. Ricky and Ian were able to add instrumental parts to make up time so she set foot on the beach at the very moment in the song she wanted. Cue Stacey's tears. There is just something so special about someone singing your favorite song live.

Since making Stacey and Jeff's dream wedding come true this week, we know what it takes to get us and our gear to your destination wedding location. We can handle getting necessary things like work permits, Customs and Immigration, dealing with wedding planners, and renting sound equipment so everyone can hear us perform, too. For what it's worth, Christine also speaks French so she can communicate with the appropriate wedding professionals if need be.

If you're getting married and are thinking about music for your destination wedding, please don't hesitate to contact us. We LOVE making couples happy on their special day!

 

New videos! 

Hey, everyone! It's finally spring - we think, anyway.  We are getting ready to play some epic outdoor shows all over the Lehigh Valley - from Allentown, Bethlehem to Easton, we'll be entertaining the outdoor masses.

More and more people are hearing about Sunshine Symphony, and our Facebook page likes are growing every day.  We make videos each time we hit a milestone, so, here are two we made for the milestone of hitting 600 likes (at the time I'm writing this, we are edging ever closer to 700...better get ready with our next one).

You can help us grow our fan base two ways:

1) Go to Sunshine Symphony's Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/sunshinesymphony and on the right hand side under our cover photo and top banner, you'll see a box that says "Invite Friends" - if you think your friends would like us, please invite them.

2) Also, you can like, comment on and share our videos. The more likes and shares we get, the more we appear in our fans' NewsFeeds.

Enjoy our videos and thanks for getting us to 600 Likes!

Sunshine Symphony Avicii Cover - Wake Me Up



Sunshine Symphony - Paramore Cover - Ain't It Fun


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

What's Happening? We're Happening! 

Hey, happy April to our Symphomaniacs out there.  We are so excited that the awards and accolades for Sunshine Symphony keep on coming!  We found out a couple of days ago that we were named Finalists in the Lehigh Valley Happening List.  Thanks to everyone that voted, and thanks for spreading the word about Sunshine Symphony!

We really think 2014 is going to be an amazing year - we're riding on those rays of sunshine and spreading the positivity everywhere we go. In the past couple of weeks, we've been booking, booking, booking, and taking some new group shots (hey, did you see our new banner up there at the top of the page? Isn't it awesome?), We'll post them around the website, so click around and see if you can find them.

Last but not least,  if you want a little sunshine in your life, stop by one of our shows and we'll give you a new Sunshine Symphony sticker.
We've been busy! Let's keep the buzz going! Like us on Facebook, add us to your Circles in Google +, share our videos or blog posts or pictures! Thanks, fans!

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

Top Philadelphia Cover Band! 


We are thrilled to be/have been a part of two groups named "Top Philadelphia Cover Bands" on CBS Philly. As you may know, Christine spent seven years performing with She Said Sunday, and Ricky, three.  Although we were saddened by our unexpected December 2013 departure from SSS, we feel a renewed energy and are very fortunate to be working with the talented musicians in Sunshine Symphony. We're very excited about our future with our new band. Thanks to CBS Philly for helping us make this list TWICE!

Read the article by Susan DeFeo here:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/top-lists/top-cover-bands-in-philadelphia/

By Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony

Sunshine Symphony Booking Tons of New Shows! 

We've been busy for the past couple of weeks and we've added a ton of new shows to our books, and quite a variety, too!

As always, you can check our Shows page for all of our shows, but here are some new ones to note:

April 18 - Sunshine Symphony's debut at Rival's in Easton - 10 p.m.
May 2 - Cinco de Mayo - Chili's in Whitehall, 5 p.m.
May 22 - Tunes at Twilight - Sun Inn, Bethlehem -  6 p.m.
June 21 - Relay for Life in Whitehall - 10 am - 12 noon
June 21 - Summer Concert Series at Lehigh Valley Mall - 6:30 p.m.
July 4 - City of Allentown Independence Day - J.Birney Crum Stadium - Time TBD
July 9 - Forks Township Concert Series

We are looking forward to warmer and sunnier weather, as every single one of these (except Rivals) is an outdoor show! If you're thinking about a band for your wedding or private party, come see us locally this summer - we'd love to meet you! 

By Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony

Networking, socially and otherwise! 

We'd like to everyone for coming out to our debut show at The Barrister's Club. We were so thrilled with the experience and very happy with the performance and our reception from the crowd! We love doing encores, so thank you for being an enthusiastic audience.

We're continuing to build on the momentum we've started!  We decided last week at rehearsal to record a video for our Facebook fans, because they have been tremendously supportive, sharing our page and our content and helping us grow our likes.  Ricky decided we should record the quirky tune "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors, which features a banjo and a semi-sparse arrangement but a catchy chorus...so Pete said, "I'll bring my mandolin!" and Ricky said, "I have a banjo in my studio," Ian announced, "I'll use my cajon," and Tim said "I'll bring the standing bass"! So, we set up our alternative instruments - just wait, I'll be breaking out my flute eventually - and went to town!

We had a blast, and then Pete suggested, "Why don't we do Walking on Sunshine acoustically as well?" So we did.  And we laughed, and had a great time.


There was a reason that "Sunshine" stuck as part of our name. Ricky and I, as founders of the band, are passionate and creative people, and I think we were drawn to the idea of music's transformative ability. You could be having the worst day ever, and a song can turn that around! We aim to be your musical sunshine, your passport to a happier place...thanks for coming on the ride with us!

By the way, you'll find us on a bunch of new places now:
We're on Google+
We're also on Instagram!
We have a YouTube channel

And if you didn't already know it, 
We're on Twitter,
On Facebook
and on ReverbNation.

Come see us live, or online!

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

Spaceship Panda and the Band Names We Passed On 

Ricky and I put this band together pretty quickly. Things that normally take a couple of weeks, we managed to cram into a day or two. One of the hardest things to do is to name the band, and that task often takes the longest. Presumably, you'll be using this name a long time, so you better like it.

Our previous band name came about by randomly putting words together...many successful bands come up with their name this way. Screaming Trees? Death Cab for Cutie? Imagine Dragons? 

Anyway, I just found the paper in my purse with names we liked enough to write down. Here you go!
  • Spaceship Panda - this was a close runner up with Sunshine Symphony
  • Fur Taxi - A little too weird
  • Operation Famous Burger - too much like a restaurant
  • Loofah Rigno - hard to spell correctly
  • Naked Quartet - Sets incorrect expectations
  • Sweet Waitress - Just no.
  • Everywhere Sunshine - Hmmm, you see a theme developing
  • Deep Dish Sunshine - Tasty
  • Sunshine Kumquat - Does anyone know what a kumquat is?
  • Stealing Sunshine - This was a top contender. I still like it.
  • Operation: Sunshine - Already taken by a charity
  • Operation: All-Nighter - Close but not exactly a good name when you say it out loud
  • Sunshine Agency - This was also a top contender. Sounds sort of like an insurance agency, though.
  • Tone Agency - Again, is this insurance? 
  • Operation: Tone
  • Rock Doctors - Theme ideas abound with this one
What do you think? Should we have gone with one of our runners' up?
Christine Bainbridge, Sunshine Symphony

Sunshine Symphony Prepares Blazing Debut Performance 

Sunshine Symphony Prepares Blazing Debut Performance
New cover band features award-winning Lehigh Valley performers.


February 17, 2014Bethlehem, PA - Former lead singers of award-winning Lehigh Valley cover band She Said Sunday, Christine Bainbridge and Ricky Bell make their debut performance with new group “Sunshine Symphony” this Friday, February 21st at The Barrister’s Club in Allentown.

Bainbridge was the recipient of the Lehigh Valley Music Awards Tonya Brown Award for Best Female Vocalist in 2009 and 2010, and nine other awards with former band She Said Sunday.  Bell’s original song, Shallow, won him a WZZO Songwriting Contest in 2002, which Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull performed on stage with Bell at the State Theater in Easton. Bell then won the Lehigh Valley Acoustic Performers Contest in 2005, and went on to host the contest from 2007-2012.

“Together, we plan on bringing a vocally strong, harmonic yet musically diverse performance,“  Bainbridge explained. The two find common musical ground in their love of melody-driven pop, country and rock music like Bruno Mars, Bon Jovi, and Keith Urban – all featured on Sunshine Symphony’s set lists. “Anything goes musically with Sunshine Symphony. If it’s got good harmonies, it’s recognizable and danceable, it’s something we’ll play,” Bainbridge adds. “We’ve got an amazing rhythm section and our set lists include songs that really groove.”

Sunshine Symphony consists of Bainbridge and Bell, plus drummer Ian Frey, bassist Tim Kerrigan and guitarist Peter Johann.  Frey, a graduate of Lehigh University with a B.S. in Music Composition, has been performing with Bell for almost a decade as part of an acoustic duo. Kerrigan is an accomplished bassist who has played in funk, bluegrass, rock, jam and blues bands in California and in Pennsylvania. Johann fronts his own cover/originals band, The Peter Johann Band, and has a background in jazz theory and bluegrass as well, and has been nominated for several Lehigh Valley Music Awards as well.

“With such a diverse blend of musicians, we’re really excited to see what type of musical ground Sunshine Symphony will cover,” Bell says. “When we came up with the name, it means ‘happy music’ to us. That’s really what we want to play.”

Sunshine Symphony’s debut performance takes place Friday, February 21st, 2014 at The Barrister’s Club, 1114 West Walnut Street in Allentown. The show is from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available for advance purchase by phone at 610-433-6204 x19  or at the door.

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