Best entertainers in Lilydale
A DJ and a jazz singer both give Lilydale as home, and behind them it is Mooroolbark and Chirnside Park, two suburbs that are barely a suburb apart. Two singers, a cover band, a duo, an MC, a drag performer at Croydon. Everything on the first screen is inside seven kilometres, which for Melbourne is a rare thing to be able to say.
Lilydale is also where the Yarra Valley starts, and that changes what people book here. A weekend in the valley means a winery reception with a hard music cut-off and a car park a long way from the lawn, and an act that works this corner of the city already knows which properties are which.
Top picks in Lilydale
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 Lilydale. Ask each act whether they travel to your venue and what that costs.
Questions people ask about entertainers in Lilydale
What entertainment suits a Yarra Valley winery wedding?
Split the day in two. A soloist or a small group for the ceremony and the drinks on the lawn, then whatever the room can carry once everyone sits down, which the venue's music cut-off usually decides for you. Ask the act about the carry from the car park too, because a lot of valley properties park you a long way from where you play.
Are there entertainers based in Lilydale itself?
A DJ and a jazz singer both list the suburb, and Mooroolbark is two kilometres on with two more singers and a cover band. That stretch along the Maroondah Highway holds a real working scene, which is not something every outer suburb can claim. The kilometres printed here are the real thing, not a city address measured out to the foothills.
Do I need an MC as well as a band?
For a wedding or a formal dinner, usually yes, and for a backyard party, usually not. The job is keeping the running sheet moving and making the announcements so the band can concentrate on playing, and the two roles pull in different directions when one person tries to do both. There is an MC within five kilometres of Lilydale, so it is an easy thing to arrange here.
Is this the Lilydale near Melbourne or the one in Tasmania?
This page is the Victorian one, at the end of the train line east of Melbourne where the Yarra Valley begins, and every distance shown is measured from there. Tasmania has a Lilydale of its own north of Launceston. Name Victoria in your message anyway. A good number of these performers work interstate, and on its own the town name could mean either place.
Booking tips
An MC is on the doorstep and most people forget to book one
There is a master of ceremonies five kilometres away at Chirnside Park, and a reception without one leaves the running sheet to the band or to an uncle. Book the MC and the music separately and tell each of them who the other is.
Ask the winery about the cut-off, then tell the act
Valley properties frequently have an amplified music finish time written into their planning permit, and the venue will not bend it for you. Get that time in writing before you shortlist anybody, because it decides set lengths and whether a DJ is worth booking at all.
Jazz is the format the valley actually wants
There is a jazz singer living in Lilydale, and a jazz or swing set fits a long afternoon of food and wine better than a covers band waiting for a dance floor to fill. Worth a listen before you default to something louder.