The best musical duos in Cairns
Distance changes this booking more than anything else on the page. There is no nearby capital to pull a replacement act from, so the duos working here are the ones who live here, and if your first choice is committed there is no second version of them an hour down the road. Start earlier than the size of the town suggests and have a second and third name ready.
The wet season is the other local fact worth building around. From about December to April an afternoon can turn without much notice, and humidity is hard on guitars and on electronics as well as on people. Two players and a small rig can move under a roof quickly, which is a large part of why the format suits this town.
Top picks in Cairns
Top picks are the acts in this category in Cairns, without a review, rating or premium ranking: all these sort keys are tied.
Questions people ask about musical duos in Cairns
How much does a musical duo cost in Cairns?
Two wages are involved, so how long you want them decides most of the figure, and the loading in and out belongs inside that length rather than beside it. Then comes the driving, which up here can be considerable, since a job out towards Port Douglas, up onto the Tablelands or south down the coast is a long way there and a longer way back in the dark. The starting figures on this page came from the acts themselves, so ask each one for a number against the exact times you want.
Can a duo play an outdoor wedding in the tropics?
They do it constantly, and the practical asks are shade, a reliable power point within a lead's reach and an agreed wet weather spot. Midday sun on a black speaker cabinet will shut it down, and a guitar left in the humidity drifts out of tune between songs. Most acts here will raise all of that themselves, and one who does has played enough beach and garden ceremonies to be worth booking.
Is a duo enough for a reception, or do we need a band?
For most Cairns venues and a guest list under about a hundred, two players with a decent system carry the night and leave you floor space you would otherwise lose. A band earns its fee in a big open room or a shed on a property, where two voices have a lot of air to fill. Ask each duo to describe how they finish a night, because keeping a floor busy at eleven is where a two piece is really tested.
How far ahead should I book a duo in Cairns?
Further out than you would in a capital, because the local list is short and the dry season from about May to October is when everybody wants an outdoor function. Six months is sensible for a wedding in that stretch. The wet months are far easier and you can often find somebody within a fortnight, which is one genuine advantage of a February date.
Booking tips
Agree where they move to if it rains
Not whether, where. Pick the covered spot with the venue when you book the room and tell the duo what it is, because a decision made at four in the afternoon while guests are arriving is always the worse one.
Ask who the second person is
A duo is two specific people and in a small market the singer often works with several partners. Confirm both names in writing at booking, so the pair in the video is the pair who turn up.
No act here shows a rating
Nothing on this list carries a written review, so the footage and the reply are your evidence. Ask each duo which local rooms they have already played, because one who knows your reception venue has solved several problems before arriving.