The best guitarists in Adelaide
A guitarist is the quietest live music booking you can make, and in Adelaide that suits an enormous amount of the work: cellar door lunches in McLaren Vale and the Barossa, ceremonies in the Hills, and city restaurants where a band would drown the conversation. Some play and sing, some play instrumentally, and the difference matters more than most people expect.
Decide which one you want before you shortlist. An instrumental classical or jazz player gives you atmosphere that people talk over comfortably; a singer with a guitar becomes the thing the room listens to and eventually sings along with. Neither is better, but booking the wrong one is the most common mistake here.
Top picks in Adelaide
Top picks are the acts in this category in Adelaide, without a review, rating or premium ranking: all these sort keys are tied.
Questions people ask about guitarists in Adelaide
How much does it cost to hire a guitarist in Adelaide?
The set length and where you are decide most of it, since a two-hour restaurant booking in the city and a four-hour winery afternoon out past Tanunda are different days. Whether you want them singing also changes the rate with many players. Starting figures come straight from each Adelaide player's own listing, and asking what one includes tells you more than holding two bare numbers together.
What kind of guitarist suits a wedding ceremony?
For the aisle and the signing, a classical or fingerstyle player is the traditional choice and works well in a Hills garden or a stone chapel where the acoustics do half the job. If you want your walk-down song to be something modern, ask for an arrangement rather than assuming, because a lot of pop songs sound thin on solo guitar without one. Either way, book the same player for the canapes afterwards and save yourself a second fee.
Does a guitarist need a PA?
For a small room or a quiet ceremony, often not at all, which is part of the appeal. Outdoors or over more than about forty people they'll want a small amplifier or speaker, and nearly every Adelaide player carries one. Check there's a power point near where you want them standing, or ask whether they have a battery unit for a garden or vineyard ceremony with nothing nearby.
Can a guitarist take requests on the day?
Within reason, and the honest answer is that anything they already know is fine and anything they don't is a rehearsal. Send your must-play songs a few weeks out and mark the one or two that really matter, particularly a first dance or a processional. Adelaide players who work weddings regularly keep a broad book and will tell you straight if a song won't translate to one guitar.
Booking tips
Ask whether they sing
The listing word covers both, and it changes the whole feel of a room. Say which you want in your first message rather than assuming, because the same player often offers both at different prices.
Check the Fringe and Festival weeks
Through late February and March a large share of Adelaide's working players are committed to shows most nights. Book early for those weeks and don't read a slow reply as a lack of interest.
Mention the drive to wine country
A Barossa, Clare or McLaren Vale booking is a longer day than a city one, and an honest quote says so. Give the venue name up front and the travel arrives in the first price rather than the second.