Best entertainers in Cairns North
Don't read this page as a separate town. Cairns North is the strip of suburb between the city centre and the airport, and its list is the Cairns list with the starting point shifted a few minutes north along the Esplanade. What that shift does is put two bands at the top, one of them a blues band, ahead of the singers and duos that make up most of the Far North's supply.
So for anyone in Cairns who wants a band rather than a soloist, this is a useful angle on the same pool. The bands are the thin end of the Far North's list, they get asked for the same dry-season Saturdays, and there's no bigger city an hour away to fall back on. The singer-songwriters and duos in Cairns City and the acts up at Kuranda are all here too, and for a ceremony on the northern beaches they're often the better call.
Top picks in Cairns North
Top picks are the nearby performers with the most visible reviews, then rating, then the closest; further afield the closest come first, and premium listings break remaining ties. Distances are straight-line from Cairns North. Ask each act whether they travel to your venue and what that costs.
Questions people ask about entertainers in Cairns North
How much to hire a band in Cairns North?
In Cairns the number is set by the band's size, the hours and the season, with the dry months from June to October at the top. Distance hardly figures for a Cairns North venue, because the bands here are a few minutes from the city and the northern beaches both. Where a from-price is shown on a band's card above, that's what they're quoting as a starting point today.
Are there enough bands in Cairns for a wedding reception?
There are a few, and the two closest to Cairns North are among them, but it's a short list compared with the singers and duos. Most Cairns couples book a soloist or duo for the whole day and a DJ or the duo's louder second set for the dancing, and that works. If it must be a full band, ask early and have a second name ready.
Do Cairns acts play the Tablelands?
Yes, and Kuranda is close enough that a couple of acts live there. Mareeba and the Atherton Tablelands proper are an hour up the range, which usually means a travel line on the quote and, for a late finish, sometimes a bed. Say the venue and the finish time and let the act price the drive.
Booking tips
Bands book out in the dry
June to October is wedding and conference season in Cairns, and the handful of bands up here take the good Saturdays early. If it's a band you want, send that enquiry first and the others after.
Northern beaches are twenty minutes, not an hour
Yorkeys Knob, Trinity Beach and Palm Cove are a short run up the highway from Cairns North, and most acts here treat them as town. Port Douglas is the one that turns into a travel line.
Hotel rooms have their own rules
Many of the function spaces at this end of the Esplanade are hotel rooms with their own sound limits and finish times. Check them before you promise a band a full rig, and pass them to the act.