In this episode, Jared kicks off the 2025 wedding season with a stunning mountain gig—and a reminder that professionalism always matters. He reflects on how doubling his soloist rates was a game-changer, shares how he problem-solved a ceremony-to-cocktail transition like a pro, and recounts a cringeworthy run-in with a DJ who wasn’t quite ready for prime time. This behind-the-scenes peek at what it takes to thrive (and stand out) at high-end weddings is packed with lessons—and a little bit of gig gossip too.

"Your value as a musician is more than just the music you play—we are problem solvers."

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What's up, renegade musicians? It's Jared Judge. Welcome back to another episode of the Gigging Musician Podcast. All right, I'm excited to share with you guys about the first wedding gig of the season, which happened 4:20, April 20, 2025, and how I met a DJ that made me think, any one of you could probably do a better job as a DJ than this dj.

Not that you want to, because this is The Gigging Musician Podcast. All right, so it is officially wedding season, and I kicked it off with this gorgeous wedding up in the mountains here in Colorado. And I was playing electric violin for ceremony and cocktail hour.

And I actually, I remember booking this gig. It was one of the. One of the first gigs where I basically, like, doubled the prices that I charged when I moved to Denver, which is a very exciting thing to do because, you know, even I am subject to these, like, pricing beliefs that we musicians have.

And when I first got into the electric violin world, somebody told me, oh, yeah, I mean, you should just charge 500 bucks as a soloist for weddings for a ceremony. And I was like, yeah, that sounds like a lot, because previously to that I'd been playing in string quartets where we weren't making even half of that. And so 500 as a soloist sounded super appealing.

And so I spent the first year ish of my my life here in Denver charging 500 bucks for a wedding ceremony for electric violin. And over time, I started to feel like, hey, that's not actually enough. I want more, and I deserve more because I kept getting these great reviews from people saying, you know, that was, like, such an incredible experience.

And one of them specifically mentioned, I'm so glad I went with jared over a DJ, and I was like, Man, 500 bucks is a steal considering the value that I provide. So that's kind of one of the first big things is, you know, don't be afraid to raise your rates and not just raise them, but, like, literally double them.

What would that do for you? If you were able to double your rates as a musician overnight, would it make you a little more financially free? Because I think for many, many musicians, it would.

But by the way, I charge even more than that now. So, like, anytime a couple hops on to a zoom call with me to chat about possibly booking me, you know, the minimum number that I say is like 1500, which is three times over what two years ago was. And I'm planning on even raising that further just because, like, people are still saying yes, with.

Which is awesome. All right, anyway, hop over to the gig yesterday. And so I was contracted to be ceremony and cocktail hour music.

And I do provide a PA system. And in fact I mentioned, I don't know if I mentioned this in the last podcast, but I bought a new PA system because I am kind of a gearhead. And ever since I learned about PA systems, like I have had my eyes on some QSC speakers.

And so I dropped four $500 on two QSC 12 inch speakers, which is the, the ones that go on the poles. So they're K 2.12s. And then the other part is I did splurge and get the KS118 subwoofer.

And this thing is a beast. It is like gigantic. It probably weighs 60 pounds to the point where when I, I bought it from Guitar center because I do want to keep my local stores in business.

And so I bought it from Guitar center and the guy, you know, he brought out a dolly and he wheeled it out and then we had to do like a two person lift to get it into my car. And it was massive. And so my wife was not too pleased that I brought home a big subwoofer that's now taking up a giant spot in our garage.

But I wanted it and I deserved it and so that was, that was cool. So for this gig, I brought the 12 inch speakers on poles just because at a typical wedding you don't need a subwoofer unless you're doing a reception to get people dancing. But you know, I'm thinking a bit long term, like I want to.

I am. I'm already booked for a couple festivals and even just some outdoor concert type experiences. Like there's a neighborhood that hired me to play a concert in July, playing a beer festival, in fact, later, not this weekend, but next weekend, I am playing a chalk art and wine festival in Jefferson County, Colorado.

And I was just thinking for these like bigger concert type experiences and maybe some of my corporate events, it would be awesome to have a subwoofer. So I bought it and so I just brought the mains, the 12 inch speakers to this gig. And it was ceremony cocktail hour.

And the ceremony was outside. The cocktail hour was supposed to be outside, but it was cold, so. So they actually decided in advance to move it inside.

But it was right next to the ceremony site. So I talked with the bride and I said, hey, you know, I'll be playing ceremony outside and there won't be a ton of time for me to switch over. Would it be all right with you if I ran a cable from my setup outside to the inside space, that way people will hear my music for cocktail hour.

And she said, yeah, that works perfectly. And I didn't even know that was an option. And so that's kind of just another side note.

Your value as a musician is more than just the music you play. We are problem solvers. And especially at gigs, with the experience of playing these gigs, I just knew that that setup would work because I didn't want to do a transition time between the outdoor and the indoor time.

And I knew that I had the gear for it, so made it happen and they were happy. So I set up for the ceremony. And we had never discussed providing microphones, because if you've never done a wedding, typically the officiant uses a microphone that's oftentimes supplied by the DJ.

And so the. About 10, 15 minutes before the actual wedding starts, I'm already playing prelude music. And then this person comes over who says, hey, I'm the dj, Efficient.

And I was wondering if you could provide me a microphone. And I was like, what? Usually the DJ brings that and the couple. And I hadn't talked about it, but it was the first winning of the season.

I was feeling very generous and in a very happy mood. And I had the gear there. I just had to set up my receiver and, you know, set up the mixer so that I could mix their voice.

Not a ton of extra work. And I was like, sure, why not? You know, a little wedding present for the couple. And so that was fine.

She wasn't that great of an officiant, to be honest. She kept complaining on the microphone about the wind rustling her papers. Which, if you're an officiant and you're doing an outdoor wedding, please don't use paper, especially separate loose leaf paper.

That's just going to create chaos for you and everybody else. Like, either have it stapled together or in a binder, which is very common, or just use an iPad. Like, that's what most people do these days is they have it all digital.

All right, so that was fine. And then I'm playing cocktail hour, jamming out. People are enjoying my music both inside and outside.

And then my contract ended at 6:00, and I assume that the DJ knew, like, oh, let me just play some music afterwards, right? That's typically what DJs do, is they play music. And so it gets to 6:00 and my song ends, like right at 6 minutes and maybe 30 seconds.

And so I let the song finish and then I turn off the music and I go to turn off the speakers and everything, and at that point, the DJ officiant comes up to me and says, oh, could you.

Could you play another song? Like, I haven't even set up yet. And, guys, this is a huge faux pas. And I know I'm coming across as kind of mean by talking about it, and I'm sorry, but this is just that level of professionalism that if you're playing a wedding and you're the dj, you have to have your setup already set up before the guests start to arrive.

Like, that's just standard. I mean, I'm not a dj, but I know that just by playing all these weddings and you see the DJ set up even before, like, the ceremony starts, maybe some of them will be setting up during the ceremony, but they will have it all set up by the end of ceremony so that when people come for cocktail hour and then dinner, there's music. And so that, to me, was a huge thing.

And then she. She said, can you play some. Some music? But once again, I was feeling in a very cheerful mood.

And, hey, this was like, you know, I. The first wedding of the season where I doubled my rates and felt really good about it. So I was like, sure, I'll just tear down the outside setup and keep some music playing inside while you get your equipment set up.

And so then as I'm on my way out to go and tear down the rest of my setup, she says, oh, can you. Can you help me actually set up this table? That to me, was like, I actually have to go set up my. I have to go tear down my equipment.

I can't help with that right now. And I think she understood and got the message. But, like, this is a level of professionalism that I.

Maybe I just take for granted. But once again, you gotta have your equipment set up before the gig starts. I'm cracking myself up because I shouldn't have to say that, but, yeah, have your equipment set up before the gig starts.

Sound check before the gig starts. That way you're not dealing with issues. Once you start playing, those issues should already be resolved, and you definitely should not be starting to set up after you're supposed to already be playing.

Like, come on, you're never going to get hired if you have that. That level of professionalism. Or you might get hired once, which.

That's kind of what happened for this. This dj. You get hired once, but, you know, you might not get hired again.

Then the icing on the cake for me, this is kind of the. The little bonus at the end, as I finished packing all my stuff, put it all in my car, and then went to say goodbye to the bride and groom and everything.

The DJ at that point had already set up and was playing music, which is great, but I couldn't actually find the DJ because the DJ actually had asked me, oh, you're the, you're the electric violinist.

I got to grab your. Your info on a connect with you. And so I couldn't find the dj, so I left my business card on her mixer or her laptop, one of those things.

And then I go back to my car, and then that's when I find the dj. She is at the cars hanging out with two other people. And I think I saw she was smoking a joint, so she was getting high on the job and going to go and DJ someone's wedding.

And I, I hope to God that she is friends with the couple. That way, it's not like she was being unprofessional. That's the way she runs her business.

But even so, if I am playing for a friend's wedding or a friend's event, like, I'm going to approach the way that I handle that event pretty much exactly the way I would handle a stranger's event.

Because you never know who is there observing you, like me. You know, I just told you this story and that story, I'm not obviously going to reveal the DJ officiant's name, but.

But, like, that's now a part of their history. And when they reach out to me to possibly work together, I'm going to most likely say no, because, like, I do not want to work with, you know, people who run their business that way. So that is kind of the fun drama from this first wedding of the season.

So I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about that and congrats to y'all. Happy wedding season. Hope you have some successful weddings.

And if you don't have weddings and you want to learn how and you're maybe feeling you don't know where to start, I would love to help you with that.

So go ahead and book a free call with me. Just go to fulltimemusicacademy.com/call and we'll hop on a chat, come up with a game plan for you to book your first or next wedding or corporate event or nonprofit gala or just gigs that pay very well.

So I will see you soon. And thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Gigging Musician Podcast.

Remember, "Your music will not market itself!". Bye, everybody.