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Northside Brass Music Co. Reviews

Northside Brass Music Co.

Northside Brass Music Co.

Chicago, IL
4.9 out of 5 rating, 42 Reviews
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Reviews

4.9 out of 5 rating
42 Reviews
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100% Recommended by couples

Awards

42
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2012 Winner
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    Steve C. Sent on 09/24/2019
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    Northside Brass: an awe-inspiring component of our daughter's wedding

    My daughter asked me to look into live music for her outdoor wedding in the loggia at Cafe Brauer. I cold-contacted Ryan Hobbs at Northside Brass and was immediately hooked. Ryan was responsive, pleasant and professional at all times. NSB has samples of its wide-ranging ceremonial repertoire on its website, so the wedding party was able to get a true sense of what we actually would be hearing at the wedding. On top of that, NSB is flexible: I was looking for the depth provided by the brass quintet, but my daughter wanted a trio piece as her processional; no problem, they arranged it for the quintet. The bride and groom wanted "their song" for the recessional; no problem, NSB found an arrangement and learned it. Another flexibility advantage of a brass choir (compared to strings): it's not fragile. While exploring our music options, we learned that the violins get put away pretty quickly if the weather is not to their liking, but the trumpets and tubas keep on playing. Also, brass instruments have the ability to increase the volume if necessary: we had a windy day, but every guest heard the music. It is hard to do justice in words to the joy and majesty that Northside Brass brought to this wedding. These guys simply knocked it out of the park. That was just part one. Part two was the cocktail hour for which they unobtrusively filled the loggia with a mix of jazz, standards and Motown. It's not like the UW Marching Band playing Sousa marches: these musicians are seasoned professionals who know how to set the right tone. The bottom line: a brass choir at a wedding takes everything to the next level, and Northside Brass exceeded our already-high expectations.
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    Nora Sent on 08/21/2018
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    Northside brass were so great to work with, and provided such wonderful service. They provided a string quartet for our ceremony and a jazz combo for our cocktail hour. Our guests raved about both groups of musicians. Everyone arrived early, handled set up and break down efficiently, and were just outstanding musicians. I would recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for just the right touch of live music for any part of their wedding.
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    Dawn Sent on 07/31/2018
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    Northside Brass and Strings did my daughter's ceremony and cocktail hour on 7/21/18. Extremely easy to deal with, reasonable price, and completely professional job. Not a moment of worry with them and the music was flawless. Highly recommend.
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    C Sent on 11/15/2017
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    Awesome group! Guests enjoyed the beautiful processional music at the ceremony and raved about the wide variety and top-quality songs played during the cocktail hour. We were very pleased with their talent and service!
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    N Sent on 01/08/2018
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    Northside Brass was great, very easy to work with!
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    Troy Sent on 11/22/2017
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    Amazing talent and very flexible to work with!
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    Kevin Sent on 12/02/2017
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    We had a brass quintet from Northside Brass play for our outdoor wedding ceremony at the Wilder Garden in Elmhurst. Ryan Hobbs runs Northside Brass, and he was also the lead trumpet player/director of the quintet at our ceremony. I dealt with Ryan throughout the planning process, primarily through e-mail, and he was always highly responsive and helpful in answering my questions. We chose specific tunes from a brass quintet wedding repertoire that Northside Brass has. Their repertoire was broader than other brass groups that we looked at, and pricing was also reasonable. Those factors, along with Ryan's responsiveness, helpfulness, and professional experience were the reasons we chose Northside Brass. We were very pleased with our choice!

    When watching our wedding video, the brass music is one of the highlights, as it added joy, beauty, and class to the entire ceremony. We chose 5 tunes that were played as guests were arriving for the ceremony; a couple of tunes for the wedding processional; one for the bride's entrance; one during the ceremony; one for the recessional; and two for postlude music as guests left the ceremony. The wedding day went very smoothly as Ryan's group arrived promptly and set up efficiently in the perfect location for our specific wedding venue. We dreamed of having beautiful, uplifting brass music at our ceremony and Northside Brass made our dream come true!




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    Wendy Sent on 06/01/2017
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    We were absolutely thrilled with the music at my daughter and son-in-law's wedding. Sarah on trumpet and the string quartet all did a superb job! We are so grateful for their outstanding skill and artistry. And Ryan, you were the most wonderful person to work with on the music...you were responsive and flexible and SO fun to work with. The music really was flawless...we were overjoyed. THANK YOU.
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    Kora Sent on 09/15/2016
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    We booked the trio. They were very easy to work with and the music was beautiful!
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    Maria Sent on 09/24/2016
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    Northside Brass played at our outdoor ceremony in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Ryan was phenomenal to work with; they were also very flexible on our wedding day. Despite the rain, everything turned out perfectly. I walked down the aisle to Trumpet Voluntary; and it sounded so regal, just how I imagined. It truly blew our guests away. My husband and I received so many compliments on our ceremony as well as our cocktail hour. They played at our outdoor cocktail hour for an additional two hours, and our guests enjoyed every second! Thank you Ryan and Northside Brass for making our wedding day so beautiful!
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    Kim Sent on 07/09/2016
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    Northside Brass and Strings were great! They accommodated for the music I suggested and helped me to pick out the best music for the ceremony and cocktail hour. We received such great compliments from out guests! They were very professional and extremely nice. I knew everything was going to be great!
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    Dustin Sent on 06/05/2016
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    We booked Northside Brass & Strings to perform our ceremony music and to play during our cocktail hour. We met with Ryan and were very impressed with his attention to detail and ease to work with. Everything we suggested was met with enthusiasm, and he had a number of suggestions in turn that were wonderful. The day of the wedding, everything went smoothly. The quartet added a lot of fun to the ceremony, and the live music was everything we'd hoped it to be. They also played at the cocktail hour. While we were required outside for photos, I was told by many guests that they made the atmosphere there just as wonderful. In fact, I received a large number of compliments on the band from guests throughout the night and for the days following. We're so happy they were part of our special day, and would highly recommend them to anyone else looking for fun, live music!
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    Christine Sent on 05/24/2016
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    Northside Brass was phenomenal! We used a jazz quartet (upright bass, percussion, trumpet, and piano) for our ceremony and cocktail hour. I had done quite a bit of shopping around regarding price and stipulations for playing at an outdoor ceremony. So many vendors were very particular about the temperature being above 60 degrees or 65 degrees, which is hard to guarantee for an April wedding in Chicago. Ryan was much more accommodating in this regard. NSB was low maintenance regarding their requirements. They allowed us to use their microphones for the ceremony. They rehearsed with our singers before the ceremony. Ryan completely let us customize our song lists and what the quartet played when. I got exactly what I wanted, and we heard so many compliments after the fact regarding how great the music was. Ryan was very responsive and helpful with the planning and execution process.
  • User2319528 Sent on 09/16/2015
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    Northside Brass was the perfect choice. They ran our entire Catholic mass with the most perfect music. We had a vocalist and pianist. We were very thrilled. Northside Brass needed very little direction from us. Ryan and his team were proactive in checking with the church for anything they needed. They didn't miss a beat and I would highly recommend them to anyone.
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    Katie Sent on 08/23/2015
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    We used the Northside Brass Quintet at our wedding ceremony at Two Brothers Roundhouse. We are both music teachers and always knew we wanted a brass quintet at our wedding. They were also a great choice since our wedding was outside in the courtyard/gazebo. They also had a great selection of music to choose from (some tradition AND non-traditional), and even were able to play an original composition that the groom wrote. They sounded absolutely beautiful and are definitely worth the money we paid. So glad we hired them to make our day even more special!
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    Jordan Sent on 08/08/2015
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    Northside Brass performed at our wedding. We were very happy with the quality of musicianship presented which added a lot to our special day. As musicians ourselves we were very happy with the results. I even wrote a piece for them to play during the ceremony and they accommodated us without hesitation. They were very professional and easy to work with. Thank you for bringing music to our day.
  • User2165114 Sent on 06/05/2015
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    Super easy to work with for our wedding ceremony music. Provided examples and help for song selection and on the day-of worked directly with my other vendors for set up and sound checks. They worked with our officiant ahead of time to ensure her music requirements were met. Very professional in all conversations and beautifully delivered ceremony music. Great company to work with and would highly recommend.
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    Kim Sent on 12/22/2014
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    We had the pleasure of hiring Ryan Hobbs of Northside Brass to be our trumpeter at our wedding. He was one of the most professional, gracious, and easygoing vendor I have encountered. He responded promptly to any communication sent. He coordinated with our organist without questions asked. Most importantly he was and is a sensational trumpeter. Not only would I hire him again in a second, I would also recommend him to anyone looking for a musician. Thank you Ryan Hobbs!!!
  • User2006367 Sent on 01/12/2015
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    Ryan Hobbs and his colleagues are amazing! My wife and I wanted to find a good live music choice to play at our ceremony, and Northside Brass couldn’t have been easier to work with. One of our wedding guests who is a longtime trumpet player informed us that the group really knew what they were doing. Not only does Northside Brass have a large catalog of songs to play, they also created a special brass quintent arrangement of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” as our recessional song. Amazing.

    Ryan and team helped create a magical event, and we are so grateful. We recommend wholeheartedly.
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    Ella Sent on 11/13/2014
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    The string quartet was great. They did a wonderful job. All our guests loved the music. I would def hire this string quartet in the future for other celebrations
  • User1832565 Sent on 09/27/2014
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    They did an amazing job. I revived countless compliments on how amazing the band as. Ryan worked very well with my needs and questions. Hey made the whole planting process stress free and convenient. Thank you!!!
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    Barbara Sent on 09/16/2014
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    As mother of the bride, it was my desire to provide an instrumentalist specifically the trumpet for my daughter's wedding ceremony. Fortunately, I located Ryan Hobbs, of Northside Brass,who presented the most beautiful performance playing his wonderful trumpet solo and including a vocalist who played the piano and sang elegantly. The sounds created such a magnificent moment as my daughter walked the aisle with her father. I am truly appreciative of Ryan's assistance and recommendations, and also his flexibility for the bride and groom.
    Anyone who is planning a wedding or a special event, I highly recommend Ryan Hobbs, Northside Brass and you will have first-class, marvelous musicians who will make you affair amazing.
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    Chris Sent on 09/08/2014
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    Ryan and Northside Brass were fantastic. We hired them as a trio for a wedding, had high expectations, and were not disappointed. They were easy to work with, extremely responsive - and most important, sounded phenomenal on our wedding day. We'd recommend hiring this group in a second.
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    Lynn Sent on 08/24/2014
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    When our daughter announced she was getting married, my husband and i began searching for the most appropriate way to compliment her wedding ceremony with beautiful music. As we are a family of music lovers, it was very important that we find the perfect pieces. Ryan Hobbs of Northside Brass worked with me and was a tremendous asset in this process. Ryan made the selections of preludes, postludes and ceremony music simple and thoroughly enjoyable. The result was spectacular and celebratory. The Northside Brass Quintet was magnificent! Their performance made it the truly memorable event we had hoped it would be.
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    Tim Sent on 07/15/2014
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    Northside Brass went above and beyond to engage the audience. The evening was entertaining and historically informative. Both before and after the performance band members were available to chat with attendees.
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