A mariachi big band lives in Rowville. That is not the sentence anyone expects to read about a suburb of brick veneer and sporting ovals, but the card sits right at the top with a zero next to it. Around it are three cover bands within five kilometres, at Wheelers Hill, Ferntree Gully and Dandenong North, plus a violinist, a DJ at Knoxfield, a singer at Wantirna South and a face painter.
Rowville books a lot of club functions. Presentation nights, fundraisers, a fortieth in a sports pavilion with a bar at one end. Cover bands are the obvious answer to most of those and there are three of them on your doorstep, so the real decision is which one rather than how far you have to reach.
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 Rowville. Ask each act whether they travel to your venue and what that costs.
Three sit within five kilometres, at Wheelers Hill, Ferntree Gully and Dandenong North, which is a strong local showing for one suburb. None of them is pricing a drive across town into your quote. Get all three to send a set list and you will see quickly which one suits your crowd.
Work out first whether the night is a dinner with awards or a party with a dance floor, because the answer changes everything. A covers band suits the second and gets in the way of the first, where a soloist through the meal and a microphone that works for the speeches matters far more. Confirm who is supplying that microphone, since the club almost certainly is not.
Both are on the nearest ten, the mariachi group in Rowville itself and a violinist five kilometres away at Wheelers Hill. Short appearances are how acts like these usually work, so decide whether you want one entrance or a set through the meal before you ask for a price. Tell them where they will be standing, because a big group needs more room than a function centre stage sometimes allows.
Sporting pavilions around here give you a room, a bar and power, and almost never a sound system worth using. Check that sound and lights are inside the quote, since the lowest number you get back is generally the one that assumed the club supplies them.
All three are inside five kilometres, so travel is not going to separate them. Ask each for a set list and the number of players, and you will find they are aimed at quite different rooms.
A mariachi group or a violinist for half an hour breaks up an evening that would otherwise be three band sets and speeches. It costs less than you would guess for a short appearance and people remember it.